A business delegation from the US Motion Picture Association delves into the opportunities of the Spanish audiovisual ecosystem

08/05/2022
  • The Queen presides over the event with which the work of the mission begins, which include conferences, institutional meetings, visits to locations and meetings with companies, technicians and Spanish talent
  • This activity is part of the Plan ‘Spain, Audiovisual Hub de Europa’, launched by the Government to consolidate this strategic sector in line with the Digital Spain agenda and the deployment of the Recovery Plan.
    • This activity is part of the Plan ‘Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe’, launched by the Government to consolidate this strategic sector in line with the Digital Spain agenda and the deployment of the Recovery Plan.

    A delegation of members of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) of the United States and other American platforms and audiovisual companies of the highest level have participated in an information day on the opportunities offered by the Spanish audiovisual ecosystem, which has presided over Queen Letizia. His Majesty has been accompanied by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, who has highlighted the good situation that Spain has to become a top audiovisual hub at European and world level, since Spain offers an important creative and innovative talent in all professions related to the audiovisual arts, as demonstrated by the international success of numerous television series and films created and developed in Spain.

    This technical day is part of a reverse training mission, organized by the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, ICEX-Invest in Spain and the Spain Film Commission, which aims to make known the audiovisual ecosystem of Spain, its strengths and opportunities.

    During today’s session, the regulatory updates regarding tax incentives or visa management, and the main projects of the Spanish Administration to boost the audiovisual industry have been presented. The Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, Roberto Sánchez, has highlighted the Plan Spain Audiovisual Europe's hub launched a year ago and the measures implemented to consolidate the sector and turn Spain into a pole of attraction for filming and investment.

    In that sense, the delegated councillor of ICEX Spain Exports and Investments, María Peña, has advanced the lines of the ‘Spain Audiovisual BureauThis is a centralized information point to attend all the queries related to the internationalization of this industry, both for attracting investments and filming to Spain, and to help Spanish companies and productions to develop their projects abroad.

    The program of the mission, which will run until May 14, is completed with visits to locations, meetings with companies and talent from the Spanish sector, as well as institutional meetings. In fact, the members of the mission participated on Sunday, May 8, in a welcome reception, where they had a first contact on the strengths of the Spanish audiovisual sector in the hands of the First Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta; as well as the president of theSpain Film Commissionfilm commissionsfrom all over Spain and will visit locations for future filming, and also to the Canary Islands, to visit possible scenarios for filming and get acquainted with the audiovisual business ecosystem of the Autonomous Community, as well as its special tax regime.

    Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe

    (Spain Audiovisual Hub), launched by the Government of Spain in March 2021 and the focus of the Digital Spain agenda.

    The aim of the plan is to make Spain the main audiovisual hub in Europe by boosting national audiovisual production in the digital age and attracting investment and economic activity. Among its goals, it highlights increasing by 30% the audiovisual production carried out in the country in 2025. The Plan considers all the activities and services of the audiovisual sector in their entirety and in all their formats: cinema, series, shorts, advertising, video games or animation, among others. A public investment of 1,603 million euros is planned for the period 2021-2025

    The measures are articulated in four axes based on three priorities: turning Spain into a pole of attraction of audiovisual production, reducing administrative and regulatory costs; improving the competitiveness of companies through the application of new technologies that allow them to compete in a digitized market, and generating talent by reducing the gender gap.

    Last March, the new portal of Spain Audio visual Hub​With information about the plan, aimed at both Spanish industry and foreign companies interested in producing in Spain. The Spanish Government has made the audiovisual sector one of its priority industries by taking into account the revolution it has experienced in recent years.