Viacom International Studios will open a production center in Madrid

The Madrid center, along with the one that will also open in Manchester, are part of the multinational's strategy to create exclusive content in Spanish and English.

Coinciding with the inauguration of the audiovisual complex of Netflix in Madrid, Viacom International Studios (VIS) has announced its intention to launch a new production center in the capital of Spain. The Madrid center, along with the one that will also open in Manchester, are part of the multinational's strategy to create exclusive content in Spanish and English.

David Lynn, CEO of Viacom International Media Networks, commented that “broadcasters and streamers are in a global ‘arms race’ for the best content, which represents a significant growth opportunity for Viacom with our international capabilities and built-in creative expertise.”

Laura April, senior vice president of VIMN Iberia, will oversee the Madrid operations center and planned expansion into Western and Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Abril will oversee the development, production and distribution of content in the region, for Viacom's own brand networks and pay television operators, broadcasters and other SVOD services and platforms.

Abril will work closely with the VIS Americas office inaugurated last year. Directed by Federico Cuervo, VIS Americas has produced more than 900 hours of scripted, comedy, reality and live children's content in six production centers throughout Latin America. The VIS teams in Argentina and Spain have already collaborated in the development of the Spanish remake of the Hitchcock classic To Catch a Thief, produced between Barcelona and Buenos Aires.

VIS in the United Kingdom

Jill Offman, international brand director for Comedy Central and Paramount Network, as well as MTV in the U.K. and northern and eastern Europe, will oversee Viacom's London operations center, which is being rebranded as Viacom International Studios U.K.

The new Manchester center will work with VIS U.K. targeting UK-based third-party broadcasters and distributors, in addition to content already produced locally for Channel 5 and Viacom's pay-TV channels.