Telemundo Streaming strikes drama production pact with Spain’s Secuoya

NBCUniversal (NBCU)-owned Telemundo Streaming Studios and Spanish producer Secuoya Studios have struck a deal to co-develop, coproduce and co-finance multiple fiction projects together through to 2023.

James Costos

The alliance was announced by Juan Ponce, senior VP and general manager of Telemundo Streaming Studios in the US, and James Costos, president of Secuoya Studios, during the first Iberseries Platino Industria event in Madrid this week.

The Spanish-language content will seek to bring visibility to original Spanish and Latin American stories internationally, the two companies said.

Telemundo Streaming Studios was set up earlier this year by NBCU Telemundo Enterprises to supply content for Latinos on streaming services.

Secuoya Studios, meanwhile, is the production arm of Spain’s Grupo Secuoya, owner of the Madrid studios used by Netflix for its first European production hub.

The studio last year hired Costos, the former VP of global licensing and retail at HBO who also served as a US ambassador to Spain and Andorra between 2013 and 2017.

The agreement will see a mix of US and Spanish creative executives look at potential projects with global appeal and selected properties will move on to concept development and production of a pilot.

Juan Ponce

NBCU Telemundo Enterprises will take exclusive international distribution rights to the projects and look to license the series in the US and Spain on networks and streaming platforms.

It comes after Secuoya Studios has been seeking strategic relationships with leading international industry partners to create, develop, coproduce and distribute entertainment, fiction and film formats. More partners are expected to sign up to the venture, the company said.

“We hope this will be the first of many future joint efforts in terms of content creation and production and in other areas, such as structuring financial agreements, services, back-office and the rental of stages that comply with the highest standards of the international markets, where Secuoya Studios has a proven track record of professional expertise,” said Costos.

Ponce added: “We are proud to be able to work with Secuoya Studios to develop top-level content for our streaming clients. We found in Secuoya the same mission and commitment to develop and produce stories that are able to connect deeply and in a novel way with a global audience.”