Netflix has launched its first European production center in Madrid. Situated in the Ciudad de la Tele, managed by the Secuoya group in the location of Tres Cantos, the new production center is part of the multimillion euro investment announced by the production company for its Spanish contents.

Netflix's investment in Spain began four years ago. In 2018 alone, over 13,000 actors, technicians and extras worked on its productions in Spain, and this year it is expected that the employment associated with this platform will reach 25,000 jobs.

In addition to generating employment, Netflix productions are an endorsement of the Spanish talent that goes into making them. In recent years it has acquired series already in production in order to incorporate them into its catalog, and has also launched new titles that have achieved great success outside Spain, such as La casa de papel, Las chicas del cable, Paquita Salas and Élite. Netflix has 139 million subscribers in over 190 countries.


 

Three studios of with an area of 1200 meters
With this transaction, which was announced in July last year, the Ciudad de la Tele, whose facilities cover 22,000 m², will cluster the production of original Netflix contents in Spanish in the coming years. The initial agreement committed the use of three 1200 m² studios, which can be expanded to meet the needs of the platform.

According to Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO: “We’re going to be a part of the Spanish creative ecosystem. We’re investing for the long term. We are here to stay and to participate”. He added: “It’s been amazing to see Spanish shows like Élite and La casa de papel win the hearts of fans not just in Spain, but globally. This is our first European production hub and we’re excited about the great stories that will be produced here in Spain, and watched by the world”.

Francisco Ramos, the platform's vice-president for original content, said: “We are very proud of the ongoing productions we currently have, the ones we are developing and the new ones that we have announced today. Stories in Spanish for Spain, Latin America and the rest of the world. Bringing our unique and personal stories of diverse genres and formats to every corner represents a great opportunity for our creative community”.

The opinion of the creators
During the presentation of the facilities, Álex Pina, creator of La casa de papel, explained: “Traditionally, Spanish fiction has always been much more watched in Spain than American fiction. Now I believe that the challenge ahead is to make the leap to other markets. With La casa de papel, we are experiencing success in many countries with cultures very different from our own, such as Saudi Arabia, which is incredible”.

Mariano Barroso, director of Criminal, added: “On the debate between film and television and the distribution windows, I think that we should work hand-in-hand with the Television Academy to support this very good moment for our industry, in which there is room to work with all market players and explore all kinds of exhibition formats”.

Teresa Fernández-Valdés, cocreator of the Las chicas del cable and Alta mar, said: “During the industry crisis, we creators couldn't think of stories that we already knew couldn't be produced for budget reasons. Now we see that we can have the resources to dream and develop more ambitious projects”.