Spanish pay TV and streaming giant details ambitions to launch 26 shows each year
Spain’s Movistar Plus is looking to expand its local drama output with the goal of premiering up to 26 series per year.
The Telefónica-owned pay-TV service and streamer made the announcement as part of a “new series strategy”, although it has not specified how its spending will change or what kind of productions it will focus on.
Movistar Plus said the increase would be “especially noticeable” on the originals front, where the platform aims to double its offerings annually from eight productions to 16. A timeline was not confirmed for this shift, however, with the company describing the evolution as happening “progressively.”
The announcement comes two months after Juan Andrés García Ropero ‘Bropi’ was confirmed as director of content at Movistar Plus, which reshuffled its operations to put Bruna Hernando in charge of both fiction and non-fiction series.
The changes followed the exit of director of drama and partnerships, Jorge Pezzi, who left the Spanish streamer in May, and the departure of chief exec Daniel Domenjó in April.
The Spanish company last week held its Update Series 2026, a series of meetings with up to 60 production companies that allowed it to learn about nearly 100 projects.
Bropi said Movistar Plus was “entering a new era for Spanish fiction”, with ambitions to offer more stories, reach wider audiences, and partner with Spanish talent and production companies. “We will grow in volume without compromising the creative and editorial standards that define our content,” he added.
Movistar Plus is also looking to increase acquisition of Spanish series, “expanding the volume of titles and the diversity of genres at a lower cost.” Among shows that will be added shortly are Ella, Maldita Alma, a melodrama created by Aurora Guerra and produced by Plano a Plano for Telecinco.
Other acquired shows include 33 Días - the first series by Carles Porta, written by Javier Olivares, Jordi Calafí, and Xabi Puerta - and La Casa Nostra’ (aka Our House), an original sitcom from 3Cat, now in its second season, created by Dani de la Orden and Oriol Pérez, and written primarily by Eduard Sola.
Coproduction strategy
International coproductions also remain on the agenda, with Movistar Plus partnering with Arte France on Los Años Nuevos, Anatomía de un Instante, and the still-unreleased Matar a un Oso, while Patagonia - a co-pro with Wood Producciones in Chile - is also in the works, with ZDF Studios handling distribution.
“These co-productions allow Movistar Plus to participate in projects of greater creative and industrial scope through alliances with international partners, maintaining exclusivity in the national territory and optimizing investment and improving the efficiency of the production model,” the group said.
All eyes have been on Movistar Plus over recent months as the Spanish industry awaits the company’s next steps following the exit of Corral, who had been in charge for alkmost a decade. Over the past year, the company has seen a flurry of changes in its management team, sparking speculation around its future production strategy.
Alfonso Gómez Palacio, formerly executive president of Telefónica in Latin America, was appointed chief exec of Movistar Plus in April, replacing Domenjó, while Pezzi, Fran Araújo and Guillermo Farré have left the service. Telefónica’s ongoing workforce reduction plan has also impacted the company.
“The combination of original productions, acquisitions and co-productions will allow us to expand our catalogue sustainably, offer a greater diversity of stories to viewers and continue contributing to the development of the audiovisual industry from a long-term vision to achieve our commercial objective of customer growth,” Movistar Plus added.
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