Spain at Mipcom

The ease of downloading films online, both legally and illegally, and film giveaways by newspapers have caused audiences for films in Spain to plummet and seen broadcasters focus on event TV movies and series. However, leading Spanish broadcasters TVE and Antena 3 are still buying films at a steady rate and Telecinco is slowly renewing its interest in movies.

TELEVISION ESPANOLA (TVE), public free-to-air
Film buyers Gustavo Ferrada, head of film ( Spanish and European films, pictured); Jose Antonio Anton, director of programme acquisitions, (US and international)
Annual film acquisition budget TVE’s acquisitions budget for Spanish and European films, documentaries and made-for-TV films is 5% of its annual income, which is around $52m (¤36m) this year. This will increase to 6% of its income from 2010. TVE has no obligation to invest a determined amount of money in international or US films each year.
Output deals Warner Bros, Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Typical TVE film Blockbusters for the primetime slot on main channel La 1, and smaller independent films for La 2, mostly Spanish productions and co-productions such as Claudia Llosa’s The Milk Of Sorrow.
Ratio of local films bought to international and US titles TVE aired 98% of all the Spanish movies which were shown on the free-to-air channels in Spain in 2008.
Markets and festivals Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, San Sebastian, AFM and the Malaga Screenings.
Pre-buys and investments TVE pre-buys films, taking international rights to some including Joaquin Oristrell’s comedy Mediterranean Diet and Javier Rebollo’s drama La Mujer Sin Piano.
Number of films shown “We were previously buying too many films and investing less in each one, which has created a situation where we have more than 170 films that have not run on TV yet,” says Ferrada.
On-demand A VoD service is in the works.
Five most viewed films on TVE, Jan-June 2009
(1) Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
(2) The Holiday
(3) Failure To Launch
(4) The Pacifier
(5) The Nanny Diaries

ANTENA 3 TV, private pay-TV

Film buyer Mercedes Gamero, CEO Antena 3 Films
Annual film acquisitions budget Approximately $60m.
Details of any output deals Package deals with the Walt Disney Co and Sony
Pictures Entertainment.
Typical Antena 3 film Family- oriented, thrillers and action adventure.
Ratio of local, US and foreign films bought Mostly US titles and Spanish
produced through Antena 3 Films, such as comedy Chef’s Special and Vicky
Cristina Barcelona.
Markets and festivals Berlin, MIP, LA Screenings, Mipcom, AFM.
Pre-buys and investments Recent pre-buys include Arthur And The Minimoys 2,
Transporter 3 and action adventure Ironclad. Production arm Antena 3 Films
invests around $60m a year in local and international projects including
historical biopic Lope and Paul Greengrass’ Green Zone.
On-demand services Plans are at an early stage.
Five most viewed films on the channel Jan-June 2009 (1) Mr & Mrs Smith (2)
Cries In The Dark (3) The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian (4) The
Unexpected Journey (5) The Guardian

TELECINCO, private pay-TV broadcaster

Film buyer Ghislain Barrois, head of acquisitions, producer, Telecinco Cinema
Annual film acquisition budget Telecinco is required to invest 5% of its annual income in Spanish and European films (approximately $60m-$70m) which
it does through production arm Telecinco Cinema. In 2008, only 10 films were shown in prime time due to falling viewing figures year-on-year. Telecinco is now focusing on TV series and TV movies.
Output deals With Spyglass Entertainment for two to three films a year.
Typical Telecinco film Mainstream US titles.
Ratio of local films bought to international and US titles Mostly US.
Markets and festivals AFM, Toronto, but as a producer with Telecinco Cinema, not a film buyer.
Pre-buys and investments As required by law, Telecinco Cinema invests in around 10 local productions and co-productions annually, including Che, The Orphanage and Agora (for which it provided 88% of the budget). However, it cannot show them on the channel as they are too violent for the allotted afternoon film slot, so sells the Spanish TV rights.
Number of films shown Telecinco is currently buying very few films. “They cost too much and have not been performing very well on our channel,” says Barrois. “However, we are slowly creeping back into the market on the look out for US films, but not for the prime time slot, for the afternoon instead, and so more family orientated.”
On-demand Not yet. “We’re weighing up whether it’s worth the costs involved, considering that online distribution is still only a small revenue stream
for most film companies,” says Barrois.
Five most-viewed films on Telecinco, Jan-June 2009
(1) Clear And Present Danger
(2) Asterix And Obelix Take On Caesar
(3) El Codigo De Carlomagno
(4) Forrest Gump
(5) El Soltero