J.A. Bayona’s Oscar-nominated “Society of the Snow,” Netflix series hit “Money Heist” and Prime Video’s “Red Queen” have spearheaded the success of Spanish content worldwide, per a new report unveiled at Mipcom by Spanish trade and investment body ICEX and entertainment analytics org, Parrot Analytics.
Data they presented at the annual confab in Cannes revealed that Spain-originated content has generated an estimated $5.1 billion in global streaming revenue over the past four years.
For 2024, Spanish content is expected to deliver $1.4 billion in global revenue, reflecting a steep demand across key regions and confirming the country’s dominance in the non-English content market. Spain is Mipcom’s country of honor in this year’s edition.
“Society of the Snow,” in particular, was the #4 movie driving the most subscriber sign-ups for Netflix and ranked second among movies that contributed to the giant streamer’s subscriber renewals in Q1 2024, according to the report.
The globally successful shows “Money Heist,” “Elite “and “Society of the Snow” lead a wave of diverse content such as Amazon’s “Red Queen,” AppleTV+ series “Land of Women” and Netflix movie “Nowhere.”
“Red Queen”was among the top five new Prime Video series in 2024 that contributed to attracting new subscribers or prompting subscriber renewals in the first 13 weeks, post-release.
Spain-U.S. co-production “Land of Women,” starring and produced by Eva Longoria, ranked in the top 15 new Apple TV+ series in 2024 that generated subscriber growth in the first 10 weeks.
“Nowhere” was the top non-English film on Netflix last year – in terms of driving subscriber growth during its first 13 weeks, alongside two other Spanish movies, “Birdbox Barcelona” and “Sister Death.”
Said Erik Rovina Mardones, director for creative industries at ICEX: “The $5.1 billion in global revenue generated by Spanish content over the past four years is a testament to the powerful impact our productions have on international audiences and their continued growth in popularity across the globe.”
“Working with Parrot Analytics helps us provide our industry and creators with data-driven insights, enabling them to tap into emerging global markets and maximize their content’s international reach,” he added.
In January, ICEX and Parrot Analytics inked an agreement for Parrot Analytics to make its services available at a discount to Spanish producers, enabling them to increase their chances of securing co-productions, sales and distribution.
“We are proud to partner with ICEX to quantify the increased economic impact of Spain’s film and TV content,” said Jaime Otero, VP of partnerships at Parrot Analytics, who added: “The growing demand for Spain’s content around the world matters because it is directly leading to higher revenues for major streaming platforms. This not only underscores the cultural impact of Spain’s productions but also highlights the significant financial returns they are driving worldwide.”
According to Parrot Analytics’ year-over-year growth data from 2023 to 2024, the global demand for Spain-originated content has seen exponential growth across all regions, particularly in Asia and Oceania:
UCAN (U.S. & Canada): +40%
LATAM (Latin America): +56%
Europe: +73%
Africa: +67%
Asia: +100%
Oceania: +175%
The market has responded to the increased demand. Parrot Analytics’ data shows a 22% increase in the availability of Spanish series and films on major streaming platforms since 2021, highlighting the streamers’ growing investment in content originating from Spain.
Spain ranks fourth among the top five markets for global revenue generated from non-English content, placing itself as the leading European and Spanish-speaking content market. It follows Japan, which tops the list, followed by South Korea and India. France ranks fifth.
Mipcom runs Oct. 21-24 in Cannes.
