Spanish public broadcaster turns to global market for unscripted entertainment IP
Spanish public broadcaster RTVE is expanding its international format line-up, launching its own version of classic US format Jeopardy.
The series, which has run for 44 seasons in the US and is distributed by Paramount Global, has hit the Spanish free-to-air market as an opener to a cultural quiz show strand on La 2, RTVE’s second channel.
The Spanish version of Jeopardy is being produced by local independent producer Lavinia Audiovisual and debuts at 12.30, followed by fellow international format The Chase (aka El Cazador).
El Cazador, which previously aired on RTVE’s main channel La 1 in an evening slot for five years, is from ITV Studios Iberia, and is followed by Saber y Ganar, on air since 1997 and a flagship in-house production of La 2.
Reliance on international
While the Spanish drama industry might be best known for giving birth to dozens of new scripted ideas every year, the entertainment side of the business is the opposite.
Commercial and public broadcasters in Spain are one of the biggest importers of unscripted formats in the world, and RTVE is not escaping the trend.
The latest format that the public broadcaster is adapting is The Dog House, distributed by All3Media International and originally commissioned by Channel 4 in the UK.
Local producer Boxfish is again collaborating with RTVE after producing Bake Off in this factual show that tries to find forever homes for some of the more than 100,000 dogs being looked after in Spain.
La 1’s primetime slot also includes adaptations of Talpa Studios’s The Floor (from Satisfaction Iberia), and Jimmy Fallon’s That’s My Jam (LACOproductora). Both shows were previously aired on Antena 3 and Movistar Plus+, respectively.
The next international format to roll out on the pubcaster is The Connection (Satisfaction Iberia), distributed by All Right Media.
Although almost every commission was greenlit during 2024, it is expected that RTVE will continue to bet on entertainment formats over scripted series for its primetime slots, not least because Sergio Calderón, director of TV since last December, is a firm believer in entertainment as a way to engage with audiences.
Indeed, La 1 has aired only two prime time scripted series in 2025 so far: police drama Asuntos Internos from Mediacrest, and Weiss & Morales, a procedural set in the Canary Islands co-produced with ZDF.
“We want to be innovative and to bring fresh air to reach every demo, including the younger ones. International shows with a component of surprise that have had international success are on our radar,” said Calderón in February.
The executive spent 13 years at Mediaset España designing the strategy of its free-to-air thematic channels and is an expert on programming and analysing ratings. “RTVE is a public broadcaster but it needs to be relevant and to be watched,” he added.
Banijay’s MasterChef is one of the pillars of La 1’s schedule with up to three runs per year (with anonymous, celebrities and kids versions). The same producer, Shine Iberia, is in charge of Maestros de la Costura, the adaptation of The Great British Sewing Bee, which aired a celebrity edition on the Spanish pubcaster this season.
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