All articles by Jennifer Green – Page 55

  • News

    Vicuna returns to feature production

    2000-03-16T21:57:00Z

    Veteran Spanish film executive Jose Vicuna has returned to feature film production after an almost ten-year hiatus, during which time he became president of rights and acquisitions house Sogepaq, a position he still holds. Through his independent Madrid-based production house Impala, Vicuna now has more than a dozen feature films, ...

  • News

    Telefonica grabs Venezuela's Chevere

    2000-03-15T10:43:00Z

    Terra Networks, the Internet subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications and media giant Telefonica, has acquired one of Venezuela''s top web portals, Chevere (www.chevere.com). Terra aims to become the leading Internet provider for the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets and maintains web interests in seven countries in Latin America and the US.Terra''s move ...

  • News

    Antena 3 wipes out debt; posts 75% rise in profit

    2000-03-09T18:34:00Z

    Private Spanish broadcaster Antena 3 has eradicated its debt and posted its best ever financial results, according to CEO Juan Jose Nieto. The broadcaster reported year-end profits of $131m (pts20,887m), a whopping 73% rise over the previous year's results.Celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year, Antena 3's remarkable success is attributed ...

  • News

    TVE renews output deal with Warner Television

    2000-03-09T10:43:00Z

    Spain's Television Espanola (TVE) renewed its agreement this week with Warner Bros International Television (WBIT), in a move that gives the public broadcaster rights to WBIT feature film and television product through 2004. TVE and WBIT have maintained an ongoing output agreement since 1990.Included in the deal are feature film ...

  • News

    HBO to launch Spanish-language channel in the US

    2000-03-09T10:43:00Z

    HBO plans to launch a Spanish-language multiplex channel, HBO Latino, in the US by autumn 2000.The new channel is aimed the growing Spanish-speaking audience in the US. According to the network, 19% of Hispanic households subscribe to HBO and Latinos make up 11% of its subscriber base."HBO Latino fits perfectly ...

  • News

    Telefonica, Sogecable end year on high note

    2000-03-08T18:27:00Z

    Flush from their successes on Spain's explosive stock market, La Bolsa, telecommunications conglom Telefonica and its audiovisual rival, the Prisa Group-owned Sogecable, both reported top-notch year-end results for 1999.The strong performance of these two giants on La Bolsa demonstrates the need in Spain for a planned "New Market" index listing ...

  • News

    Spain gets greenlight for super studio

    2000-02-24T17:44:00Z

    Spain looks set to gain its biggest ever studio complex after the backers behind the proposed 'Audiovisual City' greenlit the project this week.The complex, newly dubbed "The City of Light" (La Ciudad de la Luz)', is being supported by the Valencia regional government and as-yet-unnamed partners from the 'Spanish and ...

  • News

    Spain's Filmax rolls out fantasy Factory blueprint

    2000-02-17T09:41:00Z

    Spain's aggressively expanding Filmax Group has announced a new slate of films for its fledgling Fantastic Film Factory and is now moving ahead on plans to construct a studio in Barcelona with the aim of transforming the city into the sci-fi and fantasy film capital of Europe.At the same time, ...

  • News

    Time Warner grabs key foothold in Spanish pay-TV

    2000-02-16T05:41:00Z

    Warner Bros. International Television (WBIT) has paid around $32m for a ten per cent stake in Spain's leading pay-TV operator, Canal Satellite Digital (CSD), exercising an option first offered in 1997. Sogecable remains the majority shareholder of CSD with 83% of the digital platform that had more than 800,000 subscribers ...

  • News

    Andalusia signs up for EC Mediterranean programme

    2000-02-15T11:04:00Z

    The cultural council of Spain's Andalusian regional government has signed an agreement with the European Commission's General Direction of Exterior Relations to join the Euro-Mediterranean Audiovisual Development Program, dubbed the MEDEA program.With a budget of $4.9m (euro5m) to be spread out over three years, MEDEA aims to support the development ...

  • News

    Mother shows legs at Spanish box office

    2000-02-10T18:23:00Z

    Domestic productions have been maintaining a healthy presence at the Spanish box office in recent weeks, spurred on by both Spain's Oscars equivalent, the Goya Awards which took place on January 29, and the growing popularity among cinema-goers of a new generation of young actors.Director Pedro Almodovar's international hit All ...

  • News

    Germany, Spain to renew co-production treaty

    2000-02-10T16:35:00Z

    Spain's culture secretary, Miguel Angel Cortes, and German culture minister, Michael Naumann, have announced that they will sign a German-Spanish co-production agreement tomorrow (Feb 11) at the Berlin Film Festival.The accord replaces and expands on an existing agreement which the two countries signed in 1956. It aims to encourage German-Spanish ...

  • News

    Fantasporto fetes Bowie, Bunuel at 40th bash

    2000-02-08T12:16:00Z

    Retrospectives dedicated to David Bowie and Luis Bunuel are among the highlights of the Oporto International Film Festival - better known as 'Fantasporto' - which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year (Feb 25-March 4). Although the festival is best known for fantasy and sci-fi, it boasts a wide-ranging international Official ...

  • News

    Telefonica gets approval for LatAm buy-outs

    2000-02-07T13:20:00Z

    Shareholders of Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica Friday approved a euro922m increase in capital to allow the conglomerate to follow through on plans to buy out 100% of four of its Latin American interests: Telesp and Tele Sudeste Celular of Brazil, Telefonica of Argentina and Telefonica of Peru. Telefonica will offer ...

  • News

    Onda increases capital; rebrands as Quiero

    2000-02-04T11:18:00Z

    Shareholders for fledgling Spanish digital terrestrial television network Onda Digital last night approved an extraordinary increase in share capital worth pts11,000m ($68.75m) and the contracting of an external auditing for fiscal year 1999. In addition, the network has announced it will change its name to Quiero Television SA.Only the second ...

  • News

    Euroficcion, TeleCinco team up for English comedy

    2000-02-02T16:20:00Z

    Fledgling Spanish production house, Euroficcion, part of the Europroducciones group, is co-producing an English-language romantic comedy Latidos with Spanish broadcaster TeleCinco. A UK co-producer is also likely to board the PTS400m ($2.6m) project which is scheduled to crank up in London this summer. Angel Garcia Roldan and Valentin Fernandez Tubao ...

  • News

    Alta readies first English-language production

    2000-01-25T15:38:00Z

    Alta Films' Enrique Gonzalez Macho is developing his first English-language production for the company, Once In Europa. Based on the book by John Berger, the £3.5m ($5.8m) film is planned for a May shoot in Spain. According to international production head Ana San Martin, Alta is in talks with UK ...

  • News

    Spanish cinema-going amongst highest in Europe

    2000-01-24T15:20:00Z

    Cinema attendance is higher in Spain than in most of Europe according to a report from Spain's General Society of Authors and Editors (SGAE) on the cultural consumption habits of Spaniards. Spaniards go to the movies on average 2.85 times per year, the report says, a figure well above ...

  • News

    Benitez seeks fame through start-up outfit

    2000-01-24T15:15:00Z

    Spanish producer Cesar Benitez is developing an ambitious international television series - Dreams - about a music and arts school in the style of popular 1980s US series Fame. The project is the first from Benitez's start-up firm, also called Dreams, formed several months ago with Alfredo Fraile, a music ...

  • News

    Via Digital subscriber gains fuel merger talks

    2000-01-23T17:10:00Z

    Spanish digital satellite platform Via Digital announced a 30% rise in subscribers over the last six months, bringing its total to 450,000. Though the numbers fall short of competitor Canal Satelite Digital's (CSD) 825,000 subscribers, Via is showing a faster rate of growth as well as a slight rise in ...