Global sales top agenda for nets
Spanish companies focusing on int'l markets
Two satcasters launched in 1997. Cable followed suit in 1998. A digital terrestrial television set-top bowed in May. November saw the adjudication of two free-to-air DTT licenses.
This multichannel revolution is beginning to turn Spain's once-cozy TV industry inside-out. Anticipating a scramble for product, broadcasters and congloms are pushing into content creation and raising their production ambitions.
Often filled by Beta-Mediaset co-productions, Telecinco's "Great Stories" miniseries skein has put a chokehold on Saturday night drama. Co-produced by Spain's Morena Films, weekly swashbuckler "Queen of Swords" has notched middling ratings (1.6) in the U.S. November sweeps.
For the first time in history, a bevy of Spanish TV companies are sharpening their international market focus:
Produce Plus. The recently launched TV production arm of pay service Canal Plus Espana is courting international partners on action-suspense series "Gotica" and the docu (six 50-minute episodes) "Evolution: The Human Venture," says managing director Macarena Rey. Morena will co-produce both.
Media Park. Twenty-five percent owned by Telefonica Media (TM) since 2000, beginning in 2001 the niche channel producer will "really push the boat out on sales to Latin America" on two high-profile docu series a year, says Michael Turner, director of thematic channels. First up will be docu series "Sahel, la frontera herida."
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Boca Group. After the Correo Group took a 30% stake in Boca this December, Boca is moving its first international co-production project, mystery-thriller "Cabala," and pushing formats of hit cop drama "El comisario" and high school soap "Al salir de clase."
Telecinco. The private web has teamed with Miami's Venevision Internacional on the Miami-shot comedy soap "Radio Pirata." Telecinco also partners with Beta and Mediaset on a raft of event miniseries, and is the lead producer on Spanish dancer bio "Anita Delgado."
MediaCarlton. In December, U.K. TV behemoth Carlton announced the creation of MediaCarlton, a 50-50 joint production venture with Barcelona-based producer MediaPro, that will focus on high-end fiction production for Spain and Latin America.
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Zenit Multimedia. The 50-50 TV drama production venture was created in October by Spain's Gestmusic Endemol and the Filmax Group.
Spain's TV industry still faces a sharp international learning curve. Production budgets are slight. For years, most small-screen companies have worked as virtual service subcontractors for broadcasters. The industry is still driven by a production rather than sales ethos, with animation the TV genre with much of an overseas sales record. (Based on hours produced, four Spanish companies figure among Europe's 10 biggest animation houses: D'Ocon Films Production, Neptuno Films, BRB Internacional and Cromosoma.)
Yet in selling abroad, Spanish animators are making a virtue out of a necessity. A Spanish TV station covers only around 30% of a BRB series budget, says Maria Bonaira, BRB's international sales director, who at the National Assn. of Television Program Executives will tubthump edutainment series "Toonimals" and "Nico," about a blind boy.
"Spanish animation is high on creativity, lower on local financing," says Sergi Reitg, managing director at Cromosoma, whose "Tom" is being developed with European Broadcasting Union members BBC, ZDF, RAI and RTVE.
Two newer producers could soon join Europe's bigger toon league. In September, Filmax tapped sales vet Francisco Rodriguez to head its animation acquisitions and co-productions. He will move sales on third-party pickups and inhouse Filmax series such "El Cid: The Legend," sci-fi comedy "Goomer" and family farce "Manolito Gafotas."
Planeta 2010, the film and TV publishing arm of publisher Planeta, is co-producing toon movies "The New Adventures of Heidi" with Beta, "Momo" with Beta and Cecchi Gori, and the series "El gato con botas" with Spain's Neptuno Films.
Format friendly
Beyond documentaries, the rising stars of Spanish exports are formats. International players such as TM, Gestmusic and the Arbol Group are developing international co-productions, setting up Latin American branches and buying into regional broadcasters there to reproduce hit formats and make original shows.
The Arbol Group has opened offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S.
"Through our Latin American affiliate, Promofilm, we're focusing on producing variety shows in Latin America," says Maria Aragon, sales head at Grupo Arbol's Spanish production arm Globo Media. "Schedules there are dominated by daily telenovelas. There's still very little scope for weekly series."
With a 60% stake owned by TM's Endemol Entertainment, Gestmusic Endemol aims to co-produce latenight talker "Cronicas Marcianas" in Mexico and Argentina.
"Straight (format) sales don't make much sense now. We're a production, not a distribution, company," says Isabel Raventos, Gestmusic Endemol's director of international and development.
Telefonica Media signaled a more hands-on approach to its Argentine assets with the appointment in October of its first Argentine general manager, Miguel Angel Miranda Garcia, as overall head of TV broadcasters Telefe and Azul (in which Telefonica has a controlling 50% stake).
His main task will be to continue developing the synergies between Telefe and Azul and Telefonica Media's European holdings.
In August, Claudio Villarruel, Telefe's programming director, sat down to look at around 45 formats owned by Endemol, which Telefonica purchased in April.
"We're going to do 'Big Brother' in 2001 and 2002 and one more format per year, from Endemol. I haven't defined which yet," Villarruel says.
Villaruel hopes the flow will not be one-way. Ideas del Sur, which produces mainly for Telefe, has opened offices in Madrid for co-productions with Antena 3 that include local versions of "Fugitivos" and "VideoMatch."
These, however, have met with mixed fortunes in the ratings. The first was dropped from A3's sked. The second may be relaunched early this year.
(Peter Hudson contributed to this report.)
