Mediapro’s China office ‘affected’ by virus

The Coronavirus pandemic is having a significant impact on the TV industry

Imagina-owned Mediapro Group in Spain is implementing global company-wide contingency measures after its Chinese office was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the firm revealed one of its Chinese outposts had been “affected” by the virus, though it did not detail the extent to which employees in the territory had been impacted, nor which of its Beijing or Shanghai bases had been hit.

“The appearance of the virus in China affected the Mediapro base in the country but provided useful experience for the rest of the group to be fully prepared,” the company said.

Mediapro added that it was acting “responsibly” and had adopted “extreme safety measures” to manage the situation and adapt its business to the pandemic.

“With the first cases in Europe, a cross-departmental team was set up to implement contingency plans for each business unit and, at the same time, provide maximum information to its staff to help them take the appropriate safety measures.

“As a consequence, in just a few weeks, a remote backup system has been implemented for services which the group provides, and will be put in operation in the event of lock-down scenarios, with close to 90% of the group’s staff in Spain working from home.”

The company revealed that a detection protocol and follow-up system had been put in place to track any possible cases of infection. This has also been introduced in its offices in Argentina, Colombia and the US, where the spread of the virus is in its initial phases.

Mediapro has already had to suspend production on a number of its projects, with the Antonio Banderas- and Penelope Cruz-fronted comedy series Official Competition being temporarily put on hold. Amazon series El Internado: Las Cumbres (The Boarding School: The Summit) and Movistar series Paradiso are also suspended.

Spain is currently Europe’s second-worst Covid-19-affected country behind Italy, with more than 18,000 cases and 800 deaths at time of writing.