Spain Steps Up its Format Sales

The first in a two-part series, TV Formats Weekly looks at Spanish companies that are successfully selling their formats around the globe.

The Spanish TV market has been importing ideas from around the world for years, but as of late the country is gaining attention as a hotbed for creative concepts that are being exported globally. A number of companies housed under the Audiovisual from Spain banner have been feeling the heat of Spain’s format hot streak.

"Spain has historically been a recipient of international formats, but it is slowly emerging as a new source of content," says Stefano Torrisi, the director of international development at Veralia, a Grupo Vocento company. "The arrival of DTT and its hunger for new low-cost content has sharpened up our young talented minds."

“The format business in Spain is pretty new," says Ruth Martínez, the head of entertainment sales and acquisitions for the Boomerang TV Group. "We have been importing foreign formats for the last 12 years but we were not a creative country. It’s only in the last three or four years when Spanish production companies realized that there are good ideas and local talent to export to the rest of the world here. It’s not an easy task because the Spanish broadcasters never want to take risks in bringing to life paper formats. Nevertheless, Spanish creativity is struggling to overcome its borders.”

One of the most popular formats to come out of Spain is Physics or Chemistry (Fisica o quimica). From Ida y Vuelta, part of the Boomerang TV Group, the series deals with the world of teaching, as seen through the eyes of a group of young teachers. María García-Castrillón, the head of fiction sales and acquisitions at Ida y Vuelta, says that the show’s initial success in Spain surpassed all expectations. García-Castrillón notes that youth and families alike were instantly drawn to the series, with its depictions of real problems and real situations. "I think this approach to reality was the key for its success," she says. The show aired for seven seasons on Antena 3 in Spain, and is now being revamped by Antena 3’s youth-skewed digital channel Neox. The series has also sold around the world. In France, Physics or Chemistry aired on the digital channel NRJ12 and the show is being produced with local treatments for Telemundo in the U.S. and CTC in Russia.

In its third season on Antena 3 is The Protected (Los Protegidos). García-Castrillón says that the blend of family, adventure and mystery have given the show its international appeal, with an adaptation in the works for Italy. Mamma Detective (Los misterios de Laura) is another lead format. The comedy, which features closed episodes, brings "a breath of fresh air to the police genre," says García-Castrillón. The second season is on air on TVE, and García-Castrillón says Mediaset is close to making a deal for its adaptation in Italy.

Also a member of the Boomerang TV family is 3 Koma, which has had a number of formats make their way outside of Spain. Among them, the quiz show The Calendar of the Year is weekly series that has been optioned in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the U.S., Italy, Germany, Australia, Belgium, Romania, France and Portugal. The show has been produced for Prima TV in Romania, VRT in Belgium and KRO in the Netherlands.

3 Koma’s docu-reality format The Prison Choir had three seasons produced for TVE in Spain, as well as pickups from TVNorge in Norway and MTV Italia. Options have been secured in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the U.S., Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa, Colombia, Belgium and France. The dating show Love Suspects, which uses police-style lineups to help find suitable partners, is a daily series that has been optioned in Italy and France. Rounding out the 3 Koma slate is the reality talk show You Are Invited, an Antena 3 series optioned in the Netherlands, the U.S., Canada and Italy.

Veralia is also focused on taking its formats outside of Spain. Veralia’s catalogue is culled from the IP developed within its three production outfits: BocaBoca Producciones, Europroducciones TV and Hill Valley. Lead offerings from Veralia include Lady Burlesque, a reality show for Sky Italia. "Lady Burlesque made a huge buzz from its preproduction, when it automatically triggered the interest of the French market with three production companies competing for the rights," says Stefano Torrisi. "Finally, Coyote was our choice to pitch it in France. So far, we have had interest from Canada, the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands."

Veralia’s game show DNA has been sold in Germany, Italy and India. "The simple mechanism of the show works as a hook for the audience," says Torrisi. "You only need to correctly pair up ten children with their respective parents to opt for the jackpot. This show was developed as an alternative for a daily stripped time slot in the form of a game where no specific knowledge is needed to participate."

P52 Producciones has more than 50 original formats that have aired on national and regional broadcasters in Spain. Ramon Ribao, the CEO of P52, points to recent hits as being Bus Stop, a dating show on wheels that sees singles searching for love in a new city every day, and You Have to Be Brave, which Ribao bills as "a kind of Strictly Come Dancing with a ‘little’ twist: our celebrities have to learn to bullfight!" P52 is in negotiations in several territories on You Have to Be Brave, including Japan and Australia.

"Our next goal is Take the Ball and Run With It, which has just been released on Canal Sur in Spain," Ribao says. "It’s a bingo show where studio contestants will fight in crazy games to win some of the prizes of the show and, most important, to be the first completing their grid." P52 is looking to bring Take the Ball and Run With It into the U.S. and the U.K., notes Ribao.

Meanwhile, fiction formats have been the strongest sellers for Vértice Sales, according to Gonzalo Sagardía, the company’s managing director. Sagardía highlights scripted titles such as The Mata Family, which has been sold to Portugal and Uruguay. The series tells the story of a young couple who are living under the same roof as their in-laws.

The thriller Karabudjan, about a successful young publicist who is battling against a kidnapping ring, has been sold to Mexico. Also having scored a Mexican pickup is the magic-show format Nothing Up My Sleeve. Sagardía notes that entertainment formats from Spain are becoming increasingly popular. He highlights the success of The Ant Hill, a fast-paced magazine program. The format has been sold to Portugal, Chile and Brazil, and is garnering interest from a number of other international markets, Sagardía says.