Oscar López, Spain’s Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Administration, said that Spain plans to continue to fulfill its commitment to the country’s audiovisual industry. Speaking on Sunday at a session at the San Sebastian Music Festival titled “New Playbooks for the Audiovisual Industry”, Lopez said his ministry would continue to support its audiovisual industry through the Crece Foundation in Spain.
This looks likely to include further strategic investments through SETT, the ministry’s sovereign venture capital fund.
“When a public policy works, it should be sustained without a deadline. This is a golden age for our audiovisual industry,” he said, pointing to a series of record-breaking figures.
Just hours before Lopez spoke, Spain’s Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “La Bola Negra” won the 2026 TIFF People’s Choice Award, a coveted audience award at Toronto’s annual film festival. Among them, according to typeis largely seen as an indicator of legs on the road to the Oscar stage.
Among Netflix’s most popular non-English hits of all time are four Spanish-language series and three movies in the top 10, more than from any other country in the world.
“We have the talent, the ideas and the location. What’s missing is the political will and a massive infusion of capital,” Lopez continued. He pointed to the Spanish Audiovisual Center plan as a key driver of the sector’s development, describing it as an “unprecedented institutional commitment commensurate with the scale of the challenge” that makes it possible to “engineer an economic transformation of unprecedented scale”.
“€1.6 billion later, here we are, reaping the benefits and expanding our horizons,” he said.
Statistics show dramatic growth in Spain
Spain is currently the EU’s largest production market, and the country’s audiovisual production will grow by 31% by 2025. Spanish productions also account for nine of the 11 most-watched TV series in Europe, according to figures cited by the minister.
Employment in the industry has doubled since 2020, from 30,900 to more than 64,000 in 2025.
López noted that “the industry will soon benefit from the 450 million euros of investment raised by SETT (Spanish Society for Technological Transformation) in companies such as Lazona, Good Films and Aurora Media.”
SETT, the Spanish Ministry of Digital Transformation’s venture capital fund, was highly praised
In the first of three panels, Good Film Studios founder Miriam Segal praised Spain’s studios, talent and international potential. Having worked in the US, UK and Europe, she said she had “no idea of the incredible” industry infrastructure or the government’s “extraordinary enthusiasm and commitment” to the industry. For the first time as an independent producer, she had access to this kind of support, allowing her to offer pay or gig deals to actors. Ánima Kitchen’s José Carlos Garcia thanked SETT for its support of the company’s vision, growth, talent acquisition and plans to produce three high-end animated films within five years, adding that SETT will help expand Ánima’s animation leadership.
European Group: Roadmap for the future
The group brings together Spanish, Greek and Danish perspectives on how Europe can maintain cultural diversity while competing globally. They agreed that there is no single audiovisual model in Europe, with Carla Redondo of Spain’s Digital Transformation describing this diversity as “one of Europe’s real strengths”. Spain emphasized incentives, investment, talent and infrastructure, while Greece emphasized using international products to build local capacity and training. Esben Snoer Iversen The Danish Ministry of Culture emphasizes regional cooperation and flexible funding as the media landscape evolves. Speakers also called for greater administrative coordination and support for emerging creative industries. As Ekkomed’s Leonidas Christopoulos says, “It’s all about the story”: strong content ultimately increases international competitiveness.
Linear TV isn’t dead yet
The third panel explored how broadcasters and platforms are adapting to the rapidly changing audiovisual environment. Mediaset’s Fernando Hernaiz said “television is not dead” but has evolved into a broader “ecosystem” encompassing linear channels, streaming, production and distribution. “We have the ability to adapt,” he said, noting that television is now “technical, creative, scripted and commercial.” Audience dispersion and measurement remain key challenges, while panellists including RTVE’s Alfonso Morales, Atresmedia’s Miguel Lange and Movistar Plus’ Clara Ruperez called for regulation to keep pace with platforms and social media. Investment, promotion and strong storytelling are considered crucial to taking Spanish content international.
A sneak peek at the Olsberg-SP data
Juan Manuel Guimerans of the Spanish Film Commission and Leon Forde of Olsberg SPI briefly presented Olsberg’s study of the country’s audiovisual industry based on official data, which estimates direct production expenditure at €20 billion between 2020 and 2025, generating a total value of nearly €18 billion and supporting approximately 6,400 jobs. Direct investment increased by 45%, and total value added increased by 38%. More than half of the industry’s jobs are in related industries and supply chains, including construction, hospitality and transport. Ford emphasized that data is critical for effective decision-making, but remains fragmented throughout the complex industry. They describe audiovisuals as an “ecosystem” in which “all [species] “Indispensable” and requires continued investment and balance. A more detailed report will be submitted on September 22.
John Hopewell contributed to this article.