“Telefónica has been leading by innovation,” says Omdia’s María Rua Aguete of Movistar Plus’ parent, one of Europe’s biggest telecoms.
In June, Telefónica launched the Experience Design Lab, a Madrid-based innovation center that includes a gaming room with the latest AR and VR technology and games. Its LaCabina, a permanent exhibition, allows visitors to experience first hand latest advances in 5G, IoT, big data, cloud, edge, AI and cyber security. It has signed payment carrier systems with Facebook, Google and Microsoft for sub-scribers in Latin America.
Its investment in less traditional format TV dramas aligns with this innovation, Rua Aguete says.
Unlike many incumbents, Movistar Plus has stuck with sports, led by the purchase of La Liga and Champions League soccer rights through 2026-27.
In July, Movistar Plus relaunched a new souped-up version of its basic tier as an OTT for clients of any telco service in Spain. To date, only clients of Telefónica’s Movistar telephony service could access the offer.
“We expect this new service to double the number of streaming video subscribers in the next 12 months,” says Rua Aguete. Investing in SVOD, gaming and online advertising, Telefónica and Movistar Plus “are investing in the three main sources of revenue in Europe and revenue growth,” she adds.
Movistar Plus’ main selling point as a fiction producer is allowing some of Spain’s most prominent auteurs complete creative freedom. “We will not vary that,” says Domingo Corral, Movistar Plus director of fiction and entertainment.
“The defining characteristic of Movistar Plus’ management team is that it likes to take risks, making series that haven’ t been made before,” says Berto Romero, showrunner of “The Other Side,” an engrossing comedic horror thriller that has just made its world premiere at San Sebastian.
“We’ve have such slew of series on offer that as spectators we’ve learnt basic narrative structures. As a spectator I still want to be surprised. In the case of ‘The Other Side,’ it comes from its genre mix.”