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Netflix bets big on Spain with largest studios in EU

Online video streaming giant Netflix on Tuesday opened new film studios in Spain, doubling its production capacity in the country that has become a hub of audiovisual creation in Europe.

Netflix bets big on Spain with largest studios in EU
Audiovisual producers are increasingly choosing Spain for the filming of series. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)

The new facilities include five film sets and around 30 editing suites in La Ciudad de la Tele (TV City), a vast production complex in the town of Tres Cantos, north of Madrid.

Netflix has now doubled its production capacity in Spain with 10 sets in total including spaces for production, make-up, hairstyling e and a changing room, the US company said in a statement.

The entertainment platform inaugurated its first studios outside the United States on the same site in 2019, shortly after Spanish series “La Casa de Papel” became its first global hit in a language other than English.

The Tres Cantos hub has since become Netflix’s main production site in the European Union, with more than 30 films and series shot there in 2022 including “Welcome to Eden” and “Elite”.

READ ALSO: Can Spain really become Europe’s Hollywood?

Netflix also has studios in New York, New Mexico, Toronto, Paris, London, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney.

Spanish Culture Minister Miquel Iceta welcomed the news, saying he wanted to encourage major platforms and producers to set up in the country.

Audiovisual producers are increasingly choosing Spain for the filming of series, with the southern European nation’s landscapes resembling the American West and attracting Hollywood from the 1960s.

The Spanish government aims to increase audiovisual production in the country by 30 percent by 2025.

READ ALSO: The best alternatives to Netflix in Spain

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FOOTBALL

Where to watch the Qatar World Cup on TV in Spain

Which Spanish TV channels will show the 2022 Qatar World Cup games and what else should football fans in Spain know?

Where to watch the Qatar World Cup on TV in Spain

The Qatar 2022 World Cup will take place from Sunday November 20th until Sunday December 18th.

Thirty-two countries will take part in the tournament – including Spain – and there will be a total of 64 matches played.

Matches will be played at either 11am, 2pm, 5pm or 8pm Madrid time.

So, if you’re going to be in Spain during the World Cup, where can you watch the games?

A total of 20 matches will be aired on Televisión Española, Spain’s public broadcaster, which will show the matches on channel 1 (La 1).

This includes all the matches that Spain’s national side – known as La Roja or La Selección – plays in Group E. Spain is paired against Costa Rica on Wednesday November 23rd, Germany on Sunday November 27th and Japan on Thursday December 1st.

Televisión Española (known as well as RTVE) also has the rights to broadcast the inauguration match, one match out of the eight groups, four matches from the last 16 round, two of the quarterfinals, both semifinals and crucially the World Cup final. 

This is overall good news for football fans in Spain as over the past few years terrestrial TV channels have shown fewer football matches as pay-per-view and other subscription giants have bought the exclusive rights to La Liga and the Champion League, making it harder to watch football at home or at your local bar. 

But how about if you want to be able to watch all 64 World Cup matches, perhaps because you want to make sure you don’t miss your country’s national team playing, or simply because you love football?

Well, to have access to all the games from Spain you will have to subscribe to either the football packages of Movistar Plus + or Gold Mundial by Mediapro, also available on Movistar Plus’s TV channels. 

Movistar Plus+, which is Spain’s most popular TV and internet provider, has a package which is €30 a month for La Liga which includes all the World Cup matches, or a €43-a-month deal for matches from different international leagues, and of course the World Cup.

If that doesn’t convince you, Mediapro has launched a 24-hour channel called Gol Mundial which will show all the matches and other World Cup content, accessible with a one-off payment of €19.99.

All three channels offer the possibility of watching the matches online on laptops, mobiles or tablets, either by visiting their website or downloading the app (you’ll have to log in for paid options). 

The following tweet offers a breakdown of on which channel each World Cup game will be broadcast on TV in Spain.

And if you’d rather not pay and prefer to watch the World Cup somewhere public in the company of Spaniards or your countrymen, you shouldn’t have too many problems finding a place. 

Spain has the highest rate of bars per capita in the world, and although it can cost Spanish bar owners between €250 and €500 a month to have the right to show games, there are still plenty of sports bars that broadcast football matches.

We hope you enjoy the World Cup, may the best team win and don’t forget to cheer ¡Vamos España! (Come on Spain!).

READ ALSO: Why does the Spanish national anthem have no words?

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