Skydance and Movistar Plus extend HBO deal and launch joint Spanish originals
Spanish viewers will keep HBO Max series and Warner Bros films inside Movistar Plus for two more years, under an expanded pact that also puts both companies' names on new Spanish dramas.
Skydance and Movistar Plus have widened their strategic alliance to extend distribution and to make original series together, Variety reported on 13 October. Distribution is the plumbing of television. It decides which service carries which shows, and here it keeps a large US catalogue available inside the Movistar Plus subscription.
The extension runs for two years. It covers HBO Max programming and Warner Bros theatrical features, meaning cinema releases that move to streaming after their run in theatres, for Movistar Plus customers.
It also keeps a set of factual and entertainment channels on the platform. Those are the former Discovery TV channels, now part of Skydance TV, which continue to be carried on Movistar Plus.
The new element is production, not just carriage. The two groups will co-develop and co-produce series under a joint Movistar Plus and HBO Original label, meaning both brands commission the show and both names appear on it. That is a straight co-production, with two partners funding and steering a series from script to screen. Shows made under that label will travel widely, with worldwide distribution handled by HBO Max and Skydance.
The first title announced under the deal is Veredicto. It will be presented as a Movistar Plus and HBO Original series, produced in collaboration with Ikiru Films and Luminol Media. It was created by Eduard Sola, Pol Cortecans and Daniel Gonzalez from an original idea by Carles Porta.
The cast is large and familiar to Spanish audiences. It lists Nagore Aranburu, Ernesto Alterio, Alba Flores, Omar Ayuso and Secun de la Rosa. The line-up also includes Alfredo Castro, Marc Soler, Julia Mascort, Cris Blanco and Mamen Duch.
A second jointly branded project is already named in the agreement. It is a new Movistar Plus and HBO Original series from Carles Porta and Los Moriarti.
For viewers, this means continuity first and discovery second. The US series and films stay where they are. The Spanish originals made under the new label will start at home on Movistar Plus and then move out to a global audience through HBO Max.
