Spain – Latin America: challenges for an emerging audiovisual sector

Daniel Hernández Bocanegra, general director of Sequoia Latin America, analyzes the good moment of the audiovisual industry in the Latam market, the importance of the synergies between Spanish and Latin American production, and the steps that both will have to take to overcome the great challenges of the future.

Approximately 600 million people live in Latin America. According to BB Media, around 74 million people have an active subscription to streaming platforms. streaming and 66 million homes have access to pay television. The figures make Latin America a relevant audience for Ibero-American audiovisual products and services companies, in particular to Spanish women like Sequoia Group, that seek to consolidate a global strategy.

Sequoia Latin America It began operations in 2018. The group's first subsidiary was established in Chile offering outsourcing and content production services to large television networks. That same year was established, in Colombia, he headquarter of the region and, from there, continued its accelerated expansion plan in Mexico and Peru.

In recent times, the region has become even more interesting thanks to the growth of the audiovisual sector in countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Chile. These territories have been recognized for their television products, which have had a great impact on the international market. Colombia, for example, has a Guinness Record for the soap opera with the most adaptations in the world, while Mexico takes the title of one of the countries that has produced the most this type of formats in history.

In the case of Colombia, it went from brand new two movies a year in the 90s, to 57 national films in 2022, adding a total 37.7 million viewers in theaters.

From the experience with television, Latin America has opted for the film industry and more recently for series and digital content. In the case of Colombia, they went from releasing two films a year in the 90s, to 57 national films in 2022, adding a total of 37.7 million viewers in theaters according to Proimágenes Colombia. Its increasing production capacity is due to the calls that award non-refundable prizes; to the training and professionalization of the different areas; to the geographical attributes of the country and the tax incentives for foreign productions and co-productions

The large platforms, for their part, have established themselves in these territories and have opted for local content with global projection. Highly recognized series have opened the doors to premium content for streaming and have allowed international producers and exhibitors to see the benefits of Latin America as an emerging audiovisual market with great potential.

The results of Secuoya Latin America

At the moment, Sequoia Latin America has become a important division of the group and in a transverse axle thanks to its ability to creation, production and distribution of audiovisual and digital content, as well as including in its portfolio all the services provided by the group in Spain.

In Chile, Grupo Secuoya provides all technical production services for Canal 13 and content production prime time for this network and others that lead Chilean television. He expertise from Secuoya in entertainment content has traveled to Latin America and has allowed new productions to be added to the list every year. The creation of television series and other fictional content is also being carried out in the country.

Maybe the biggest challenge For any Spanish company with plans to disembark in Latin America, it is the understanding of the particularities of each country

Colombia, For its part, it closed a co-development agreement for a premium series for the platform with one of the largest players of the region: Snail Television. It is the beginning of a relationship in which the creation and continuous production of local content with international projection is foreseen. This is one of the many agreements that are in process with other Colombian and regional chains and producers. It also carries out editing and reporting services for national and international channels.

In Mexico, we will continue to provide production and broadcast services to the Latin American League of League Of Legends to Riot Games, one of the leading E-Sports companies in the world. It is estimated that in the coming years the production of fiction and non-fiction content for networks and platforms will also take place.

The challenges between Latin America and Spain

The same language is spoken: Spanish and that is the main advantage. Both parties are committed to positioning Spanish in the global audiovisual industry and go hand in hand on the path to making it possible; however, the cultures and work models of each region are different.

Maybe the biggest challenge For any Spanish company with plans to disembark in Latin America, it is the understanding of the particularities of each country. In Secuoya We have encountered a wide cultural diversity, as well as regulatory, fiscal and social frameworks that need to be adapted within the framework of the organization.

On the other hand, the Latin market presents a varied demand for content. The highly successful genres and formats are different in each country. Secuoya, as a transnational producer, includes various talents y adaptive processes that allow to replace the specific local needs and carry out the creation, production and distribution chain.

The Spanish experience in models such as Madrid Content City, a hub that combines industry and university, is emerging as a great knowledge transfer opportunity for the training and professionalization of talent.

Added to the list three important factors that determine the interaction of the audiovisual market between Spain and Latin America: incentives, training and infrastructure. Latin American countries have advanced in creation of incentive frameworks that seek to attract international productions to their territories through financial benefits such as cash rebates, investment certificates and subsidies. Filming of the stature of Hollywood has been carried out in recent years in countries such as Colombia thanks to these fiscal stimuli. However, this growth raises new needs y challenges in training and infrastructure. In this sense, the Spanish experience in models such as the one promoted by Grupo Secuoya with Madrid Content City, a hub that combines industry and university, is emerging as a great knowledge transfer opportunity for the training and professionalization of talent and for the adaptation of infrastructure for production and post-production.

This bet allows for better use of the incentives from Latin American countries and growth of the sector.

What's coming for Secuoya Latin America and Secuoya Spain

Sequoia Latin America will continue, hand in hand with its parent company in Spain, with its expansion plan to new countries in the region and the Caribbean with a broad portfolio of services ranging from production outsourcing, installation of audiovisual technology, audiovisual marketing and content creation, production and distribution.