Barcelona-based Grup Mediapro has promoted Laura Fernández Espeso to the post of general manager with oversight over not just The Mediapro Studio, where she currently serves as CEO, but the whole of the Group. The appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2025.
As Grup Mediapro’s No. 2, reporting to Mediapro co-founder Tatxo Benet, Group Media President and CEO, Fernández Espeso will oversee a company now streamlined in five business units, two new, focused on the Group’s principle revenue drivers.
Fernández Espeso replaces Juan Ruíz de Gauna who has had a stellar career occupying senior management positions from an early age at key companies re-shaping Spain’s modern media landscape as ongoing deregulation kicked in, at Antena 3 TV, Prisa’s Sogetel, Sogepaq and Idea, then Via Digital, Telefonica and from 2002 at Mediapro and its commercial broadcaster La Sexta.
Apart from Fernandez Espeso, other long-serving Mediapro execs have been promoted at the giant multimedia communications group.
As Grup Mediapro’s No. 2, reporting to Mediapro co-founder Tatxo Benet, Group Media President and CEO, Fernández Espeso will oversee a company now streamlined in five business units, two new, focused on the Group’s principle revenue drivers.
Fernández Espeso replaces Juan Ruíz de Gauna who has had a stellar career occupying senior management positions from an early age at key companies re-shaping Spain’s modern media landscape as ongoing deregulation kicked in, at Antena 3 TV, Prisa’s Sogetel, Sogepaq and Idea, then Via Digital, Telefonica and from 2002 at Mediapro and its commercial broadcaster La Sexta.
Apart from Fernandez Espeso, other long-serving Mediapro execs have been promoted at the giant multimedia communications group.
- 1/30/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Mediapro Group has refinanced its debts, handing majority shareholder Southwind Group more control of the Barcelona-based production and live broadcasting services giant and easing financial pressures.
The agreement, which Mediapro says “definitively resolves uncertainties caused by the effect of the [Covid-19] pandemic” hands the company an immediate €620M (530M) capital increase.
Most of this will be used to bring Mediapro’s €900M debt down to below €400M in net debt, or €500M in gross debt. This takes the debt load below three times Ebitda. The remaining cash will be used as working capital.
Shareholders of Southwind, the owner of Mediapro’s Chinese conglomerate parent Orient Hontai Capital, fully subscribed to the refinancing. This means Southwind’s overall shareholding grows from 53 to 80. UK-based ad giant Wpp now owns 10, with Mediapro founders Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet taking the other 10.
Mediapro — whose Mediapro Studios has become one of the biggest players in European...
The agreement, which Mediapro says “definitively resolves uncertainties caused by the effect of the [Covid-19] pandemic” hands the company an immediate €620M (530M) capital increase.
Most of this will be used to bring Mediapro’s €900M debt down to below €400M in net debt, or €500M in gross debt. This takes the debt load below three times Ebitda. The remaining cash will be used as working capital.
Shareholders of Southwind, the owner of Mediapro’s Chinese conglomerate parent Orient Hontai Capital, fully subscribed to the refinancing. This means Southwind’s overall shareholding grows from 53 to 80. UK-based ad giant Wpp now owns 10, with Mediapro founders Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet taking the other 10.
Mediapro — whose Mediapro Studios has become one of the biggest players in European...
- 6/9/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Raising the glass ceiling in Spain, Laura Fernández Espeso has been promoted to the position of chief executive at The Mediapro Studio, where she will direct the management and strategy of Tms productions and production houses in and outside Spain.
Co-head of TV of The Mediapro Studio since its launch in March 2019, Fernandez Espeso was appointed corporate director in October 2019. Her new promotion makes her the highest-ranking female TV executive at a major player on Spain’s vibrant and ever more globalized TV and movie scene.
Part of the Mediapro Group since it absorbed Globomedia, Spain’s top prime-time producer — where Fernandez Espeso worked as head of international development — she can expect to accelerate The Mediapro Studio’s drive into international production, both with global streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, with which Tms produced Emmy-winning soccer doc series “Six Dreams” and now “Fernando Alonso 2” as well as with big U.
Co-head of TV of The Mediapro Studio since its launch in March 2019, Fernandez Espeso was appointed corporate director in October 2019. Her new promotion makes her the highest-ranking female TV executive at a major player on Spain’s vibrant and ever more globalized TV and movie scene.
Part of the Mediapro Group since it absorbed Globomedia, Spain’s top prime-time producer — where Fernandez Espeso worked as head of international development — she can expect to accelerate The Mediapro Studio’s drive into international production, both with global streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, with which Tms produced Emmy-winning soccer doc series “Six Dreams” and now “Fernando Alonso 2” as well as with big U.
- 12/16/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Furthering its expansion in North America, Spain’s Mediapro has purchased Canadian services company Tri-Lite TV.
Put through by Mediapro Canada, the deal comes days after Mediapro confirmed the acquisition of 10-year rights to the Canadian Premiere League, a new soccer competition to launch April 27 across the country.
Mediapro has also announced global revenues for 2018 of €2.0 billion ($2.2 billion), up 19% on 2017, and its strategic objectives for 2019. These take in cross-the-board continuing growth, “both organic and inorganic,” the latter by acquisition of companies – of all its divisions, it said in a recent statement.
Tri-Lite TV will give Mediapro Canada a production center with a 5,400 square-foot soundstage, three HD mobile units and the capacity to produce a broad range of sporting events, entertainment programs and newscasts in Canada, Mediapro said. Tri Lite TV president Chris Priess has joined Mediapro Canada as its general manager of broadcast services.
Mediapro Canada also brings to the table five mobile units – one,...
Put through by Mediapro Canada, the deal comes days after Mediapro confirmed the acquisition of 10-year rights to the Canadian Premiere League, a new soccer competition to launch April 27 across the country.
Mediapro has also announced global revenues for 2018 of €2.0 billion ($2.2 billion), up 19% on 2017, and its strategic objectives for 2019. These take in cross-the-board continuing growth, “both organic and inorganic,” the latter by acquisition of companies – of all its divisions, it said in a recent statement.
Tri-Lite TV will give Mediapro Canada a production center with a 5,400 square-foot soundstage, three HD mobile units and the capacity to produce a broad range of sporting events, entertainment programs and newscasts in Canada, Mediapro said. Tri Lite TV president Chris Priess has joined Mediapro Canada as its general manager of broadcast services.
Mediapro Canada also brings to the table five mobile units – one,...
- 4/24/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Never has Spanish TV drama production been so vibrant.
Over the past 12 months, “La Casa de Papel” (“Money Heist”) and “Elite” became global sensations via Netflix, building on the success of previous series that demonstrated a never-seen-before appetite for Spanish originals.
Netflix is opening the doors of its first European production hub in Madrid in early April and preparing five new Spanish Originals; Movistar + aims to produce 15 series a year; HBO and Amazon are increasing production.
Meanwhile, top free-to-air TV broadcasters Mediaset España and Atresmedia are re-inventing themselves as studios, producing content for third-party operators, and taking advantage of their production expertise.
The boom is opening up more ambitious and flexible business production models, such as co-production.
“Many of our projects, from inception, have co-production partners,” says Telefonica’s Movistar + president, Sergio Oslé. “It keeps us international from the get-go and helps us distribute, and also reach some scale and share know-how.
Over the past 12 months, “La Casa de Papel” (“Money Heist”) and “Elite” became global sensations via Netflix, building on the success of previous series that demonstrated a never-seen-before appetite for Spanish originals.
Netflix is opening the doors of its first European production hub in Madrid in early April and preparing five new Spanish Originals; Movistar + aims to produce 15 series a year; HBO and Amazon are increasing production.
Meanwhile, top free-to-air TV broadcasters Mediaset España and Atresmedia are re-inventing themselves as studios, producing content for third-party operators, and taking advantage of their production expertise.
The boom is opening up more ambitious and flexible business production models, such as co-production.
“Many of our projects, from inception, have co-production partners,” says Telefonica’s Movistar + president, Sergio Oslé. “It keeps us international from the get-go and helps us distribute, and also reach some scale and share know-how.
- 4/9/2019
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
In one of this week’s Intl. TV Newswires, Dr, a classic European drama series producer, announces its plans for 2019 and competing with major international streamers; the U.K. government implements its plan to promote growth in kids TV; Banijay and Clearwood team up, unveiling a new series from “A Very English Scandal” author John Preston; and All3Media joins with MIPCancun on a new format pitching competition for Latin American content creators.
Dr’S Ambitious Local Content Plan, New Series
Danish public broadcaster Dr has announced an evolved drama strategy, and a host of accompanying programs. The objective of the plan is to load up on high-end local content as a means of competing with the global streamers moving in on the territory.
It’s been just over a year since Christian Rank took over as drama director at the company, and he will spearhead the task of developing and implementing the strategy.
Dr’S Ambitious Local Content Plan, New Series
Danish public broadcaster Dr has announced an evolved drama strategy, and a host of accompanying programs. The objective of the plan is to load up on high-end local content as a means of competing with the global streamers moving in on the territory.
It’s been just over a year since Christian Rank took over as drama director at the company, and he will spearhead the task of developing and implementing the strategy.
- 4/2/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The aim is to ramp up global collaboration on high-end TV drama series.
Spanish film and TV group Mediapro is launching a new division, The Mediapro Studio, with plans to invest €200m ($171m) in the development and production of scripted and non-scripted film and TV projects through offices in Europe, Latin America and the Us.
Headquartered in Madrid, with 10 planned creative bases around the world, the new division already has 34 series in the works in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, the UK, Finland, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, the Us and the Middle East, according to a statement from the Barcelona-based company.
Spanish film and TV group Mediapro is launching a new division, The Mediapro Studio, with plans to invest €200m ($171m) in the development and production of scripted and non-scripted film and TV projects through offices in Europe, Latin America and the Us.
Headquartered in Madrid, with 10 planned creative bases around the world, the new division already has 34 series in the works in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, the UK, Finland, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, the Us and the Middle East, according to a statement from the Barcelona-based company.
- 3/19/2019
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
The Mediapro Group – the Barcelona-based multinational – is unveiling The Mediapro Studio, with 34 scripted series already in production worldwide.
The new production company will be based in Fuencarral, northern Madrid, just a few miles from Netflix’s soon-to-open European production hub. It will be overseen by Javier Méndez as chief content officer and by Laura Fernández Espeso and Javier Pons as its joint heads of TV. Mediapro co-founder Jaume Roures and partner Tatxo Benet will serve as its presidents.
The productions going through The Mediapro Studio span titles with HBO, Canal Plus and Sky Italia (“The New Pope”), Disney (“Cazadores de Milagros”), DirecTV Latin America (“Todo por el juego”), Viacom Intl. Studios (“Noobees”), Turner Latin America (“Las Bravas” ), Vice (“Border Republic”) and Amazon Prime Video, which has acquired “Caronte,” produced for Mediaset España.
Other production partners include Mexico’s Televisa, Italy’s Palomar (“270 Days”), Sweden’s Dramacorp (“The Head”), Finland...
The new production company will be based in Fuencarral, northern Madrid, just a few miles from Netflix’s soon-to-open European production hub. It will be overseen by Javier Méndez as chief content officer and by Laura Fernández Espeso and Javier Pons as its joint heads of TV. Mediapro co-founder Jaume Roures and partner Tatxo Benet will serve as its presidents.
The productions going through The Mediapro Studio span titles with HBO, Canal Plus and Sky Italia (“The New Pope”), Disney (“Cazadores de Milagros”), DirecTV Latin America (“Todo por el juego”), Viacom Intl. Studios (“Noobees”), Turner Latin America (“Las Bravas” ), Vice (“Border Republic”) and Amazon Prime Video, which has acquired “Caronte,” produced for Mediaset España.
Other production partners include Mexico’s Televisa, Italy’s Palomar (“270 Days”), Sweden’s Dramacorp (“The Head”), Finland...
- 3/19/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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