Telefónica and original series on Movistar Play for Latin America

The operator wants to launch its channel in 14 countries during the next months, and this weekend presented its first original series projects.

Telefónica and original series on Movistar Play for Latin America
Movistar Play will feature exclusive series and live television channels. Image: Company's website

Telefónica has launched its Movistar Play channel in the region, to position itself as the main distributor of the service in Spanish. The operator wants to launch its channel in 14 countries during the next months, and this weekend presented its first original series projects. The announcement was made during the premiere of "Vida Perfecta", directed by Leticia Dolera, at the Cannes Series Festival.

Paula Figueroa will be the director of video and content at Telefónica Latinoamérica, according to the specialized media Variety. For their part, they named the Peruvian writer and producer, Joanna Lombardi, director of the fiction area.

The first series for Telefónica will be "Rudio Capital", produced by Fidelio Films under the production of Mauricio Leiva Cock, a Colombian writer who has participated in original Netflix series such as "Frontera Verde", "Tijuana" and "Wild District"; in addition to "Falco", compared by Amazon.

The series will tell the story of Simón Cuervo and Valentina León with Los Rotos, a group of misfit youths, lovers of music and rebellion, who will explore the mysteries of adolescence during the 1960s in Bogotá. It will be shot in June, and it is expected to be broadcast through Movistar Play by October of this year.

According to Variety, the second series of Telefónica-Movistar will be a comedy that will be in charge of Peruvians Daniel and Diego Vega. It will also start shooting in June. The story will be based on the Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoe and his fanatic and imitator Tonyo, who meet during a trip that the musician makes to Peru in 1986 as part of a tour.

As reported, the Spanish telecommunications company plans to produce five series throughout this year and next. Focusing on content for Peru, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, markets that are "emblematic of the culture in the region and where we have a critical mass of landlines and mobile customers," said Figueroa.

"The series will be a good balance of more local titles fully financed by Telefónica and produced with independent production companies, or co-productions with studios, large companies or OTT players that are considered more for the target market," said Paula Figueroa.

Lombardi added that "the people of Latin America need series that speak in their language, series of substance focused on nearby realities, not just premium series that come from abroad."

Telefónica's measure is the result of the high number of clients in the region; in 2018 alone they registered 193 million Movistar TV users, fixed and mobile broadband in Latin America. In 2018, the Movistar Play service recorded a 6% year-on-year growth in pay television customers, reaching some 4.1 million accounts.