Movistar‘s streaming platform, in addition to producing, also distributes third-party content on its service, but the company made it clear that it is in a moment of reinvention, so it is ‘moving to the ‘next stage’, according to its Movistar Plus+ GM Maria Valenzuela.
The executive attended a conference at the recent edition of NEM, last June, where she discussed the Spanish giant’s attempt to reinvent the thriller genre and how the writer’s strike is gifting opportunities to spotlight international content with a focus on co-productions.
The company is acquiring shows like Rapa Seasons 1 and 2 and Off World (Apagón), which have sold to Vix+ in the U.S. and LatAm, and is in the process of taking a bunch of new shows to market, which Valenzuela described as the ‘new stage of the business in the following months and the following year.’
‘The successes that precede us have generated good responses from our partners. Because although we are not a platform that is available outside, they trust in our value as a premium producer and as a distributor of disruptive content’, said.
The executive was emphatic when referring to co-productions and collaboration opportunities, and she said these would emerge as the distribution arm improves. ‘Our team has been using personalized distribution models tailored to our clients. An example of this was the agreement we had with Beta Film for several of its titles, which although it has already expired, we are still in collaboration’.
One of the differentials that Movistar has is its extreme care and curation regarding the content they acquire and in which they get involved. The executive specified that they observe the USP of a Spanish series and how LatAm would be translated to audiences in France, ‘our team has an expert eye in translating opportunities, we do not delegate everything to an algorithm. My job is a journey between those two worlds of creativity and distribution’.
In addition to looking for opportunities in fields such as co-production and development, Movistar is also attending markets to promote the list of its exclusive originals, like upcoming thrillers La Mesías, Canneseries winner, The Left Handed Son and Rapa.
Focus on genres and opportunities
Valenzuela highlighted that one of the strategies they currently have is to focus on the thriller genre, with its variants and perspectives. For this, the executive explained that they will continue to bet on new forms of consumption, such as the duration of the episodes, the number of seasons, or even the format, ‘we will continue to characterize ourselves as a company that offers freedom and flexibility to creatives to try, mix and position your language on a project. All these years we have been developing our DNA, and I believe that our content is characterized by programs that are based on characters and not events’.
Among the most recent titles, she mentioned Rapa, the mystery series co-produced with Portocabo, and created by the director of original Movistar hits La Unidad or Hierro, Jorge Coira, ‘with this series people gradually discover the mysteries of the plot, because it plays with making a mystery out of the mystery’.
Another of the platform’s successes that it is showing to the international market is Left Handed Son, which won Best Short Series in Canneseries that follows the story of Lola, an upper-class mother who watches the drift of her youngest child, Lorenzo, towards the darkness of a neo-Nazi group.
Likewise, the company has been advancing private screenings of its anticipated series El Mesía, in co-production with Suma Content, the acclaimed production company of Los Javis, who created the 2021 hit Veneno.
‘Another opportunity that has given us relevance is the writers’ strike in the United States, as it represents opportunities to stand out in original content with a Latin American essence,’ she concluded.
