Telefonica has announced its original TV production plans, revealing that it intends to create and broadcast eight to ten series a year, starting in 2017. The company said it has a total of 20 projects in development and will begin shooting “La Peste”, a series set in a plague-ravaged 16th century Seville, later on this year. “La Peste” will be directed by Alberto Rodriguez, director of the critically acclaimed thriller "La Isla Minima" (“Marshland”), and will premiere in October 2017 on Movistar+. In a statement, the company said its plans will be mainly focused on Spanish-language TV series, but it will also take part in English-language international co-productions alongside other major European studios (Canal+ France and Sky).
Telefonica’s confirmation of its ambitious TV production plans comes around a year after it launched its Movistar Series VoD service. Telefonica’s chairman Cesar Alierta has repeatedly stated that his intention is to convert the operator into a “video company", and has already emulated Netflix's successful model in the production sphere by creating Telefonica Studios, the company's audiovisual content production unit. Netflix launched its Spanish service last October and last week Bloomberg revealed that HBO plans to launch a standalone streaming service in Spain by the end of the year.
