HBO Max strikes first-look deal with ex-Movistar Plus+ content chief Domingo Corral

SERIES MANIA: Global streamer HBO Max has agreed a first-look deal with Domingo Corral, the former content director at Movistar Plus+.

Domingo Corral

Micaela Maza

Under the agreement, which was revealed by HBO Max’s head of original content Sarah Aubrey during a keynote at Series Mania today, Corral will provide “exclusive television services in Spain,” with the first project already in development.

The in-development scripted drama follows El Nani, a real-life Spanish petty criminal who disappeared after being wrongfully arrested by a police unit that had been given broad powers and acted with impunity in the early 1980s. The project is set against the backdrop of Spain’s transition to democracy, with the country grappling with a surge in crime and the highest rate of bank robberies in the world.

For Corral, the deal comes less than a year after he left his post at Movistar Plus+. During over a decade at the streaming and pay TV service he played a key role in major Spanish series including Apagón, Hierro, Rapa, Antidisturbios and La Mesías.

Prior to joining Telefonica-owned Movistar Plus+ in 2014, Corral was the general manager of Turner Iberia, where he oversaw the Spanish operations of CNN, TCM, Boing, Cartoon Network and TNT.

For Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)-owned HBO Max, the pact represents a relatively rare first-look deal outside the US.

It also comes as the streamer, which has more than 130 million global subscribers, completes its roll-out across Europe, with launches in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein in January.

The service is set to make its long-awaited debut in the UK and Ireland this Thursday, March 26. By the end of this quarter, WBD said HBO Max will have more than 140 million global subscribers.

However, while the streamer appears to be moving full speed ahead, its global expansion – and its future – has been cast into doubt following Paramount Skydance’s US$111bn acquisition of WBD. This month, Paramount Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison said he planned to merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single service, although a timeline has not been established as the deal goes through a regulatory approval process.

“We are so happy to partner with Domingo Corral, whose remarkable body of work has helped bring contemporary Spanish storytelling to the world stage,” said Aubrey.

“Domingo has long been a champion of bold, distinctive voices and a trusted collaborator across the creative community. We are honoured to support this next chapter of his globally renowned work, and we look forward to the meaningful stories that will emerge from this new endeavour at HBO.”

Corral added: “I am delighted to have found a partner with whom I can continue producing the series I have always believed in. HBO’s commitment to quality, boldness and originality has always inspired my approach to the art of storytelling.”