BBC Studios to launch BBC Player and new FAST channels in Spain as Movistar Plus+ pact extended
BBC Studios drama Return to Paradise
BBC Studios (BBCS) has expanded its long-standing partnership with Movistar Plus+ in a deal that will bring international VoD service BBC Player to Spain for the first time.
Movistar Plus+ will be the launch partner for BBC Player in the region later this year, with the service made available to all subscribers to Paquete Movistar+.
The multi-genre BBC-branded service will feature up to 1,000 hours of curated content from the BBCS catalogue, including The Louis Theroux Interviews, Simon Reeve’s South America and Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job.
It will also feature upcoming episodes of Father Brown, Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise and Return to Paradise.
The move comes after BBCS expanded the reach of BBC Player in Europe last year after partnering with local telcos in Greece, Slovakia and Czech Republic. It is also available in Poland, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia.
As well as the launch of BBC Player in Spain, the new multi-year agreement also includes a suite of free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels.
Last month saw the introduction of four FAST channels to the Movistar Plus+ channel portfolio: BBC Top Gear, BBC Drama, BBC Food and BBC History. Under the expanded deal, Movistar Plus+ will introduce two further FAST channels later this year.
BBCS and Movistar Plus+ have worked together for the past decade on brands such as BBC Earth while also partnering on natural history content including Mammals and drama series such as Time 2 and Blue Lights.
The deal will also see Movistar Plus+ act as BBCS’s advertising sales partner exclusively for the FAST channels inventory on Movistar Plus+ as well as for BBC Player’s VoD advertising when the service launches.
BBCS and Movistar Plus+ have also renewed their commitment to a partnership around natural history and factual programming. The extended pact will see a continuation of a dedicated BBC Earth-branded block premiering series such as Kingdom and Blue Planet III.
Arran Tindall, chief commercial officer, executive VP, EMEA key markets at BBCS, said: “This expansion of our decade-long relationship demonstrates how BBC Studios is able to respond and adapt to our key partners’ needs and benefit their customers.
“The growth of BBC Player and FAST channels in EMEA is a core part of our strategy, offering complementary products that utilise our broad and high-quality content catalogue and provide opportunities to find new audiences in new markets.”
Janet Brown, president, global content sales at BBCS said: “Our partnership with Movistar Plus+ continues to thrive because we share a commitment to delivering entertaining stories that spark conversations.
“Our home-grown content, including crime dramas, natural history, science and high-end documentaries, resonates strongly with Spanish audiences. This expanded agreement offers even more ways to connect and entertain audiences in the region with the content they love and deserve.”
Ismael Calleja, partnerships director at Movistar Plus+, said: “The expansion of our partnership with BBC Studios demonstrates Movistar Plus+’s commitment to quality content that is valuable to our customers.
“In addition to premium content from the likes of BBC Earth and new series such as Blue Lights, we are incorporating up to six new BBC channels and launching the BBC Player service with its on-demand catalogue in Spain for the first time, which all our customers will be able to enjoy.
“In a market saturated with audiovisual offerings, Movistar Plus+ continues to be committed to excellence as a differentiating factor and in this sense we are very satisfied to have BBC Studios as a strategic partner.”
