SAN SEBASTIAN — Spain is preparing to double down on its meteoric rise as a global audiovisual powerhouse, with top government officials confirming that state support for the country’s booming film, television, and digital content sectors will remain a long-term institutional priority.
Speaking at the San Sebastian Film Festival during a high-profile conference titled "The New Script of the Audiovisual Industry," Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Administration Óscar López announced on Sunday that his ministry will press forward with its unwavering commitment to the nation’s creative economy. The strategy relies heavily on continued financial backing through the Spain Crece Fund, alongside major strategic investments spearheaded by SETT, the ministry’s newly established sovereign venture capital fund.
"When a public policy works, it should be maintained without a deadline. It is the golden age for our audiovisual sector," López told an auditorium of industry leaders, creators, and international executives, highlighting a wave of record-breaking milestones that have redefined Spain’s standing on the world stage.
The minister’s address came at an opportune moment for the country’s creative sector. Just hours after his remarks, La Bola Negra, a highly anticipated Spanish feature directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, claimed the coveted TIFF People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The audience prize is widely regarded by industry insiders and international trade publications as a crucial bellwether for potential Academy Award momentum, further cementing the global prestige of contemporary Spanish cinema.
Simultaneously, Spanish content continues to dominate global streaming metrics. Recent data shows that four Spanish series seasons and three feature films currently occupy spots within Netflix’s all-time Top 10 lists for its biggest non-English-language hits ever—surpassing the footprint of any other country worldwide in that elite category.
Reflecting on the structural transformation that made these achievements possible, López noted that the missing ingredients were never about domestic creative potential. "We had the talent, the ideas, and the locations. What was missing was political will and a significant injection of capital," he said.
He pointed to the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan as a foundational pillar of this resurgence, describing it as an unprecedented institutional commitment tailored to the magnitude of the challenge. The initiative has successfully mobilized €1.6 billion to redesign the country’s economic and cultural landscape, allowing the local industry to reap the benefits and expand its horizons internationally.
Statistics Reveal Spain’s Dramatic Growth
The tangible results of this multi-year public-private push are laid bare in sweeping economic and cultural statistics. Spain has officially established itself as the largest production market within the European Union, with overall audiovisual production volume surging by an impressive 31% in 2025 alone. Furthermore, Spanish productions now account for an astonishing nine out of the eleven most-watched television series across the entire European continent.
Job creation has kept pace with this production boom. Employment figures within the sector have effectively doubled since 2020, climbing from 30,900 workers to more than 64,000 active professionals by 2025.
Looking ahead, López announced that the domestic industry is poised to receive another massive financial boost. The sector will soon benefit from €450 million in targeted investments mobilized directly by SETT (the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation), flowing into key production and creative infrastructure companies such as Lazona, Good Films, and Aurora Media.
High Praise for SETT and Government Support
The impact of these financial mechanisms was a central theme during the day’s panel discussions. Good Film Studios founder Miriam Segal, an independent producer with extensive international experience spanning the United States, the United Kingdom, and various European territories, offered high praise for Spain’s infrastructure, creative talent, and international potential.
Segal admitted she had previously been unaware of the country’s incredible industry framework or the government’s extraordinary passion and commitment to the sector. For the first time in her career as an independent producer, she noted, this robust level of institutional and financial support has directly enabled her to offer competitive pay-or-play deals to actors.
Similarly, José Carlos García of Ånima Kitchen expressed gratitude to SETT for backing the company’s ambitious long-term vision. He explained that the capital injection has facilitated critical corporate growth, talent recruitment, and a pipeline of three high-end animated films scheduled for production over the next five years—efforts designed to further solidify Ånima’s leadership position in European animation.
Europe Panel: A Roadmap to the Future
The international dimensions of the audiovisual boom were dissected during a dedicated European panel that brought together perspectives from Spain, Greece, and Denmark. The session focused on how European nations can preserve their distinct cultural identities while remaining fiercely competitive in a globalized marketplace.
The panelists reached a clear consensus that there is no single, homogenous European audiovisual model. Carla Redondo, representing Spain’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, described this rich continental diversity as one of the true strengths of the European media ecosystem.
While Spain highlighted its aggressive use of tax incentives, targeted investment, top-tier talent, and modernized infrastructure, Greece emphasized the strategic importance of leveraging international service productions to build local technical capacity and workforce training. Meanwhile, Esben Snoer Iversen of the Danish Culture Ministry underscored the vital role of cross-border regional cooperation and flexible funding mechanisms as the media landscape continues to evolve at a breakneck pace.
Participants in the discussion also called for greater administrative harmonization across EU borders and stronger support structures for emerging creative industries. Summing up the core philosophy of the panel, Leonidas Christopoulos of Greece’s Ekkomed noted that ultimately, "it’s all about the stories," arguing that universally resonant content remains the true driver of international competitiveness.
Linear Television Is Not Dead
Addressing the structural shifts shaking up the traditional media landscape, a separate panel focused on how broadcasters and digital platforms are adapting to changing consumer habits.
"Television is not dead," declared Mediaset’s Fernando Hernaiz, characterizing modern television as a sprawling, interconnected ecosystem that seamlessly spans linear broadcast channels, on-demand streaming, high-end production, and multi-platform distribution. "We have a capacity to adapt," he added, emphasizing that contemporary television is a complex synthesis of advanced technology, creative writing, artistic vision, and hard business acumen.
While acknowledging that ongoing audience fragmentation and the complexities of modern viewership measurement remain significant operational hurdles, industry leaders maintained an optimistic outlook. Panelists including Alfonso Morales of RTVE, Miguel Langle of Atresmedia, and Clara Ruipérez of Movistar Plus called for regulatory frameworks that keep pace with the rapid proliferation of digital platforms and social media. They agreed that sustained investment, aggressive promotional strategies, and bold storytelling are essential ingredients for ensuring that Spanish-language content continues to travel successfully across international borders.
Sneak Peek at the Olsberg-SPI Data
Providing empirical weight to the day’s discussions, Juan Manuel Guimerans of the Spain Film Commission and Leon Forde of international consultancy Olsberg SPI offered a preview of an upcoming comprehensive study on Spain’s audiovisual sector, commissioned using official state data.
The preliminary findings estimate that Spain recorded an astonishing €20 billion in direct production expenditure between 2020 and 2025. This activity generated nearly €18 billion in gross value added while supporting the aforementioned 64,000 jobs. Over the five-year period, direct investment grew by 45%, and gross value added rose by 38%.
Crucially, the data underscores the profound ripple effect the creative sector has on the broader national economy. More than half of the employment generated by the industry is created indirectly through related supply chains and service sectors, most notably construction, hospitality, transport, and tourism.
Forde stressed that empirical data is fundamentally essential for effective public policymaking, though tracking metrics remains a challenge within such a complex and fast-moving industry. Describing the audiovisual sector as an intricate ecosystem where every component is indispensable, Forde and Guimerans emphasized that maintaining this upward trajectory will require continued investment and careful institutional balance. The full, detailed report is scheduled to be officially presented on September 22.
(Reporting contributed by John Hopewell.)
