RTVE Play offering “flexibility” as streaming opens up international drama

This Is Not Sweden

Spanish public broadcaster RTVE is using its streaming service RTVE Play to provide more flexibility around its drama offering, execs said at Conecta Fiction here in Toledo.

RTVE has become an increasingly frequent partner on international dramas over recent years, underlined by shows such as the recently unveiled European drama This Is Not Sweden and Chile’s Los Mil Días De Allende.

This Is Not Sweden is from Spanish prodco Funicular Films and Nano Films, with Anagram in Sweden, while RTVE is onboard alongside SVT in Sweden, Germany’s NDR and YLE in Finland.

José Pastor, director of film & fiction at RTVE, said the broadcaster’s streaming service is now allowing it to experiment in new types of dramas.

“With Play we have a fair bit of flexibility because we have been asked to be competitive,” he told a packed panel exploring co-production this morning.

“There are things that we we can play with now, shows like This Is Not Sweden, which might not premiere on La 1 but could be on La 2,” he said.

Spain’s Lat Am copro

RTVE is also onboard Chilean drama Los Mil Días De Allende, which is from local prodco Parox and tracks the last three years in the life of Chilean president Salvador Allende. TVN is attached for Chile while Argentina’s Canal 9 is also onboard.

The 4 x 55-minute drama was produced for €2.5m ($2.7m), according to Parox CEO Sergio Gándara, who added that the series provided insights for both local Chilean audiences and offered a way in for Spanish viewers via the character of a Spanish advisor to the president.

Alberto Fernández Torres, head of RTVE Play, added that while streaming had initially been a “defensive” move to compete, it was now allowing the organisation to secure more success across scripted.

“We now have shows with [global] platforms, with regional platforms and international broadcasters, it has allowed us to flourish – there are no language barriers, we can opt for international shows that can travel better. This moment we are sharing in is very good.”