In what looks like a win-win deal for, Netflix has renewed for a five years its carriage deal for Spain with Movistar Plus, the pay-SVOD operator of giant European telco Telefonica.
Originally announced in May 2019 with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings hidden behind a Salvador Dali mask and “Casa de Papel” outfit, the original three-year deal lifted off in December of that year.
The renewal was unveiled on Twitter Thursday by both partners, Netflix announcing that “La Resistencia Nos Une” – “Resistance Unites Us” – to a picture of a figure in a Salvador Dali mask – a reference to not only the political mantra of the Professor and gang in “Money Heist” but the title of Movistar Plus’ popular chat show “La Resistencia.” Shots follow from Netflix’s powerful offering of international shows – “Bridgerton,” “Stranger Things” and Spanish series – “Elite,” “A través de mi ventana” and the awaited “Feria, The Darkest Light.”
In the last few years, Movistar Plus has moved energetically to position itself as not only a local hero, producing some of the best Spanish series of the year, but also as Spain’s home entertainment gatekeeper, integrating the most powerful of global OTT players with easy to access high user interface visibility.
The impact of Netflix on subscriber take-up has been immediate, Movistar Plus confirming in Feb. 2019 that more than one third of new subscribers to Movistar, giant telco Telefonica’s telephony, internet and TV service, had taken the new Netflix option.
Movistar Plus’ subscriber base, holding steady at around 4 million clients, is by a head the biggest pay TV offering in Spain, with a loyal deeper pocketed clientele who are avid TV consumers.
“For five more years of great stories together,” the tweet ends.
That can be read various ways but raises the suspicion that the two partners could not only be thinking up muscular ways of promoting news series – “Money Heist, Part 5 Vol. 2 received its own dedicated channel on Movistar Plus – but even creating joint productions. Only a few years back that would have been unthinkable.
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