{"id":5958,"date":"2015-06-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tveurope\/2015\/06\/15\/spanish-style\/"},"modified":"2016-01-15T18:13:46","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T23:13:46","slug":"spanish-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tveurope\/2015\/06\/15\/spanish-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This article originally appeared in the MIPTV 2015 issue of <\/em>TV Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s television industry has had to overcome a lengthy economic crisis by reinventing itself and discovering new opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n

For decades, Spain has been considered one of Europe\u2019s hothouses of television creativity, producing high-quality series that have garnered top ratings at home and have also sold around the world.<\/p>\n

Among the nation\u2019s small-screen milestones are Farmacia de Guardia<\/em> on Antena 3, M\u00e9dico de Familia<\/em> and Los Serrano<\/em> on Telecinco, and Tell Me How It Happened<\/em> (Cu\u00e9ntame C\u00f3mo Pas\u00f3<\/em>), Red Eagle<\/em> (\u00c1guila Roja<\/em>) and Love in Difficult Times<\/em> (Amar en Tiempos Revueltos<\/em>) on Televisi\u00f3n Espa\u00f1ola (TVE).<\/p>\n

Then came the economic crisis of 2008, which seriously impacted most of Europe, but dealt an almost lethal blow to Spain. As unemployment soared, consumer spending dropped and advertising investments plummeted. As a domino effect, broadcasters and production companies, which had been developing vast numbers of original hours per year, were forced to cut from their budgets sums that had been earmarked for brand-new series, new seasons of existing shows and co-productions of animated titles for children.<\/p>\n

Major private broadcasters in Spain such as Antena 3 and Telecinco, not to mention the already cash-strapped pubcaster TVE and the regional networks, were forced to implement emergency plans in the face of one of the worst financial disasters in recent history. This led to serious consequences for the Spanish TV industry.<\/p>\n

But just as the famous saying goes, \u201cevery cloud has a silver lining,\u201d the economic super storm that hit Spain has yielded some long-term benefits. It forced broadcasters and producers to become more cost-conscious and creative, and to look beyond the country\u2019s borders for partners and sales opportunities. As a result, in the past few months, signs of recovery have been noticeable.<\/p>\n

UNEXPECTED IMPACT<\/strong>
\n\u201cATRESMEDIA\u2019s main source of income in Spain is advertising,\u201d says Jos\u00e9 Antonio Salso, the head of acquisitions and international sales at ATRESMEDIA, the parent company of Antena 3 and la Sexta. \u201cBetween 2007 and 2013, we suffered a decline of 50 percent in the TV advertising market.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Salso believes that 2014 marked the beginning of the turnaround: the TV-advertising market increased by 11 percent compared to 2013, a growth trend that has \u201cbeen confirmed in 2015, so it seems that the worst of the crisis has passed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Rafael Bardem, the head of program sales for TVE, agrees, stating that the crisis affected his company mainly in regard to the domestic market. \u201cInternational sales, especially those to Latin America, helped offset declining sales in Spain,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

According to Sergi Reitg, the CEO of Imira Entertainment, the crisis had a strong impact on the company, with local broadcasters drastically reducing their program-acquisition\u00a0 budgets almost to zero, while halting most co-production projects and both medium- and long-term investments.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time, business within Spain made up 30 percent of the company\u2019s total turnover,\u201d Reitg says. \u201cFrom one day to another, that 30 percent became zero. [As a result,] the company completely focused on its international business. Now we can say that international represents 90 percent of Imira\u2019s business and Spain represents 10 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secuoya Group has the distinction of having established its operations in 2008, right at the onset of the economic crisis. \u201c[Our launch] coincided with a paradigm shift in the Spanish audiovisual industry… which is why our focus and growth [strategy] had to consider this reality,\u201d says Ra\u00fal Berdon\u00e9s, the chairman of Secuoya. \u201cOur approaches and offerings tried to meet the new needs of television channels, the content consumers and the audiovisual services. This does not mean that we have been immune, but rather that we are managing the situation from a more flexible position that allows us to more easily adapt to changes in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Mar\u00eda Garc\u00eda-Castrill\u00f3n, an international sales executive at Boomerang TV International, as a result of budget cuts by Spain\u2019s broadcasters, the company also reduced the number of shows it was developing. \u201cThis involved restructuring the number of productions and made it so that, even though we were well positioned before and after the crisis, we relied more on ingenuity and we sought out [opportunities] where we could get more resources,\u201d she says. \u201c[This meant that] in Spain, we went from working with five networks to two because TVE stopped producing, so we really just had Antena 3 and Telecinco. We had to make cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

GLOBAL VIEW<\/strong>
\nBarbora Susterova, the sales manager at Imagina International Sales, explains that by reducing original productions in Spain, the company was forced to seek content from outside of the country. \u201cNot only do we incorporate into our catalogue series from different regions within Spain, such as the Galician thriller Black Forest<\/em> (Serramoura<\/em>), we\u2019ve also added The Manor House<\/em>, a family saga of Czech origin,\u201d she states.<\/p>\n

For the first quarter of this year, Susterova notes that the company has three drama series in production, two of which are new titles, in addition to various entertainment programs. \u201cI think we could say that the number of hours produced will increase by 30 percent,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings began to improve in 2014,\u201d says TVE\u2019s Bardem. This year, he says, \u201cwill be a very important year for us in terms of drama production, [since] we\u2019ll surpass 500 annual hours of drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berdon\u00e9s of Secuoya emphasizes that during the financial meltdown, the company had to adapt\u2014or as he puts it, the clients were the same, but the needs were different. \u201cWe work to understand the needs of each channel and their budget limitations in order to adapt our offer with the right creative and production design. The start of our production activity outside Spain and the positioning of Secuoya Content Distribution as a distributor of formats in other markets allow us to tailor our offerings by adding the value of international marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berdon\u00e9s states that the company has reached a good place regarding production hours and content quality. \u201cJust in January 2015, the group premiered six programs on four of Spain\u2019s six national channels, and half a dozen titles on five of the networks within the autonomous regions,\u201d he notes. \u201c[On the international front,] the trend is also leading upward.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHANGING WITH THE TIMES<\/strong>
\nImira has always had an international focus, according to Reitg, being that the Spanish market is not big enough to fully fund a production. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to adapt because of this, producing original English versions, working with [English-speaking] writers, mainly Americans,\u201d he says. \u201cThen we dub [the programs] into the required languages and make a production that can be adapted to the tastes of international broadcasters, at least in the Western world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new circumstances created by the crisis pushed the Spanish companies not only to create new work strategies, adjust their budgets and look for new production partners, but to also focus on exporting their titles beyond Spanish borders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have entered new territories, especially with The Time in Between<\/em> (El Tiempo Entre Costuras<\/em>) and Mom Detective<\/em> (Los Misterios de Laura<\/em>),\u201d says Garc\u00eda-Castrill\u00f3n of Boomerang TV International. \u201cWe\u2019re taking The Time in Between<\/em> to many markets, especially in Asia. In the U.S., all our formats have already been optioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within Spain, as Garc\u00eda-Castrill\u00f3n explains, the company is beginning to return to the production levels it was at before the crisis.<\/p>\n

STARTING OVER<\/strong>
\nAccording to Berdon\u00e9s of Secuoya, the expansion and incorporation of production outfits into the company has led to an increase in sales, in large part due to the company\u2019s volume of offerings. \u201cOriginally, Secuoya Content Distribution only distributed documentaries,\u201d he says. \u201c[We have] added entertainment and scripted formats, along with finished programs encompassing an array of themes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secuoya is currently working very hard to expand its presence in Latin America. \u201cAsia is another region where we generate business and, ultimately, our formats are spawning interest in the U.S., France, Italy, China and Germany,\u201d says Berdon\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

ATRESMEDIA\u2019s series have not only achieved excellent ratings in Spain, they are also finding success in other countries. \u201cEurope is the prime territory for our sales,\u201d says Salso. \u201cWe\u2019ve improved sales in Eastern Europe, selling for the first time to Poland, for example, and the goal for this year is to expand our presence in the Latin American market.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an example, Salso points to The Secret of Old Bridge<\/em> (El Secreto de Puente Viejo<\/em>), a daily drama that continues to be broadcast on Antena 3, with more than 1,000 episodes produced. That title is achieving the same positive results in Chile, Italy and several countries in Eastern Europe. In addition, the series Gran Hotel<\/em>, Velvet<\/em> and The Time in Between<\/em> have been sold to more than 30 countries.<\/p>\n

Imagina International Sales has successfully expanded its client portfolio, above all adding several VOD platforms and thus reaching windows that had not been exploited previously. \u201cWe\u2019ve made sales at the global level, meaning we\u2019re present in all territories,\u201d says Susterova. \u201cOur goal [now] is to nurture and maintain good relations with customers, besides expanding our contacts. In 2015, we would like to debut some of our titles in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of Imagina International Sales\u2019 broad catalogue, the scripted genre has gained the greatest global acceptance, explains Susterova, with the company offering titles such as Red Eagle<\/em>, The Boarding School<\/em> (El Internado<\/em>) and The Boat<\/em> (El Barco<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Faced with various social, cultural and economic changes, the Spanish television industry has learned how to adapt, devising new strategies and offering innovative alternatives. The combination of these elements resulted in two formats breaking into the English-speaking U.S. market.<\/p>\n

The Red Band Society<\/em> (Polseres Vermelles<\/em>), produced by Filmax for TV3, was adapted under the title Red Band Society<\/em>. The initial order of 13 episodes aired on FOX.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Television picked up the format Mom Detective<\/em>, produced by Boomerang TV for TVE, for broadcast on NBC. That production, titled The Mysteries of Laura<\/em>, stars Debra Messing of Will & Grace<\/em> fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe adaptations of [Mom Detective<\/em>] on NBC and [Red Band Society<\/em>] on FOX are great news for the Spanish audiovisual industry,\u201d says ATRESMEDIA\u2019s Salso. \u201cThey are series based on original ideas or premises that were produced for Spain\u2019s general channels with a very wide target audience in mind, which make them attractive products to an American network.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see the adaptation of a Spanish format such as [Mom Detective<\/em>] in the U.S. market as an important achievement for Spanish productions in general,\u201d says TVE\u2019s Bardem. \u201cNo less important for us is Televisa\u2019s recent adaptation of the scripted series Ana y los 7<\/em> into the telenovela format titled My Heart is Yours<\/em> (Mi Coraz\u00f3n es Tuyo<\/em>).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I talk with clients at the international level, I get the feeling that [the appeal of Spanish productions] is that they\u2019re family stories,\u201d says Garc\u00eda-Castrill\u00f3n of Boomerang TV International. \u201cEverybody understands a mother, a father and son, and the conflicts between them are totally universal.\u201d<\/p>\n

With its ability to deliver universal stories, Spain\u2019s content industry looks set to continue to bolster its reputation around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in the MIPTV 2015 issue of TV Europe. Spain\u2019s television industry has had to overcome a lengthy economic crisis by reinventing itself and discovering new opportunities. For decades, Spain has been considered one of Europe\u2019s hothouses of television creativity, producing high-quality series that have garnered top ratings at home and have …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-5958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","tag-spain"],"yoast_head":"\nSpanish Style<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spanish Style. Spain\u00e2\u0080\u0099s television industry has had to overcome a lengthy economic crisis by reinventing itself and discovering new opportunities.. 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