The Spanish telecoms operator, Telefonica, hopes to produce around 14 original TV series by the end of 2018, thanks to an investment of €70 million this year (4 series for 2017 and 10 more for 2018).
Luis Miguel Gilpérez, President of Telefónica España. Photography : JMCadenas / EXPANSIÓN
The first series will be La Peste, a historical thriller set in Seville during the 16th century epidemic of bubonic plague. The series has a budget of €10 million and is being produced by Atípica Films. It is based on an idea by Alberto Rodríguez (La isla mínima), who is both co-scripting and directing all six 45-minute episodes. The shooting began on February 2nd with 130 different locations, a hundred actors and 2,000 extras.
It’s an ambitious start, but Telefónica España’s chairman Luis Miguel Gilpérez wants to make Movistar Plus “the centre of original content in Spanish”. It is also about “reviving a television industry which has been hit hard by the crisis. Then revitalizing a slothful market, whose average audience ratings are well below the European average.”
Source: Satellifax, Telefónica, Lavanguardia, Expansión
