DeAPlaneta: new horizons in production, the AVOD universe and artificial intelligence

Ignacio Segura de Lassaletta, CEO of DeAPlaneta Entertainment, addresses the identity pillars that outline the trajectory of a distributor that, with increasing determination, sets its sights on production, the opportunities of digital distribution and the progress of technology to revolutionize the operational flows that have traditionally accompanied the industry.

Whether it's distributing some of the most compelling releases of the billboard (Conclave, Heretic, Longlegs or the future Nuremberg by James Vanderbilt), participating in the Serial content production for platforms and free-to-air television (Dr. García's patients, Detective Touré), expanding its Catalog with strategic purchases, or fixing their gaze on new Technology concepts, DeAPlaneta It shows a notable concern to expand its frontiers in an increasingly transversal industry. Supported by a long history in the Spanish market and with the support of Grupo Planeta, the company led by Ignacio Segura de Lassaletta It is not afraid to tear down its initial conception to position itself in a global content market.

It does so, in any case, guided by some Conceptual pillars that direct all their steps. The Film distribution will seek to offer quality entertainment, without fear of diversifying genres or targets according to market opportunities, while production, on the other hand, will be guided by the maintenance and consolidation of Intellectual Properties capaces de convertirse en universales. Con las divisiones DeAPlaneta Fiction (encargada de la distribución cinematográfica y la producción de series de imagen real) y DeAPlaneta Kids & Family , DeAPlaneta Entertainment busca seguir ampliando su alcance llegando a todo tipo de mercados y grupos de edad sin perder de vista cómo el assisted dubbing, artificial intelligence, FAST channels or NFTs offer new opportunities to your daily operations.

Just a few weeks before DeAPlaneta celebrates with the industry its 25th Anniversary with a great event in which his legacy will be reviewed and new challenges will be presented, Ignacio Segura de Lassaletta conveys in first person the Conceptual and business lines which are redefining the company's identity to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Spanish and international markets.

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DeAPlaneta: foundational pillars for production and distribution

"In the production, whether from series of fiction, film or animation, we are clearly looking for products that are or can become Universal IPs. We always want that which can generate a second, third or fourth season, or even become a brand itself. This would be the case of Detective Touré, It's going to be What are you waiting for?? by Megan Maxwell or To death, which just premiered on Apple TV+. It also happens within animation, with Milo or with Magic Lilly, what was Kika Superwitch”.

"In the production, whether from series of fiction, film or animation, we are clearly looking for products that are or can become Universal IPs”.

"Within the distribution we are open to more things, since we seek to have a More diversified portfolio of genres and targets. There we always seek to offer quality entertainment: commercial, open, spacious, but of quality. Conclave It is a very clear example of the type of cinematographic audiovisual product that we like to distribute, but we have horror films aimed at a teenage audience, unpretentious action films or higher quality films such as Civil War, Longlegs or Heretic, the latter being gender".

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Securing IP in a world of large global platforms

"Historically, our big client has always been free-to-air television. We liked that it was this way because it allows us to keep the IP in perpetuity. We are not a studio as such, but we have a very strong internal development team and thousands of ideas thanks to the in-house novelists. Therefore The "produce for a streamer" model is not our core business. Our thing is to create IPs. It has made us miss some opportunities, given that streamers have been and still are very active. For us they are also important customers but almost always combined with linear TV."

The model of "Producing for a streamer" is not our business. Our thing is to create NPT”.

"Nowadays it is easier: there is a Mixed model because of the economic contingencies of these actors and because sometimes it is good to have other windows, since it increases the impact of your broadcast. This is something that was seen in the children's team. Six years ago, YouTube was the devil: there couldn't be a minute of a children's series. Today it is the opposite. If something is succeeding on YouTube, I want it. And in fiction the same thing is happening: sometimes it is good that is launched on free-to-air television and then on other channels”.

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Exploiting IP: A New Landscape in a New Cultural Context

"When it comes to exploiting IPs, there are several areas that must always be reflected as far as possible and that were not before. One is all presence FAST and AVOD, and I also include there the Social Media. It must be a must evident from the beginning to keep it alive and put emphasis on elements that you may not have time to underline in the narrative of a broadcast. We dedicate a lot of effort, time and energy to having a presence on many platforms with their different languages and constantly. In addition, it can even serve as a bridge between seasons or different installments of a film you produce."

"We dedicate a lot of time effort, time and energy in having a presence in many Platforms with his Different languages and Consistently”.

"On the other hand, it is increasingly important to create Immersive and gamified experiences of fiction, film and animation series. In cinema, as sometimes we are not the owner, we cannot do it as much. But in the series we are doing it more and more and it will accompany us in all of them. There is a third point, which is very difficult to achieve, which is that it reaches a Derivative product. In a children's game it is more common, but in fiction it is frankly more difficult. Of course, if you can do it, the results are extraordinary."

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Production: the great goal for DeAPlaneta

"Without a doubt, we want to be more important and relevant in this area. It is a field that we started six years ago with a favorable starting point: 2,500 novels that are edited at home and that we know in advance. We are beginning to understand which ones have more audiovisual capacity and which ones do not: a novel can be a great bestseller but not having any audiovisual grace, and vice versa."

"We want to double our production. Today we are producing some Two series a year, but we want to be producing five”.

"So far, we have adapted novels from the house, but also external ones, because we have several projects, for example, with Javier Castillo. Our ultimate goal will be to ensure that A good novel with visual capacity becomes an attractive series. We have a very good internal team, which is led by Íñigo García Garmendia, who knows how to give the touch. What can be extended and what cannot? What is missing from the pages of this book? Which screenwriter can adapt each tone?

"We have a bigger and bigger team focused not only on the Recruitment and development of good ideas, but to his National and international marketing and financing. With this, we want to double our production. At the moment we are producing about two series a year, but we want to be producing five. I think we are going to achieve it. We have many original ideas and Partners international organizations that count on us."

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DeAPlaneta and FAST environments

"We have been in the FAST environment for six years and we have learned a lot. In conclusion, we have always preferred to ally ourselves with agents who have important communities, either Samsung, Pluto, Roku or Tubi in the United States, although due to an indirect relationship with Antena 3 we have taken initiatives within Atresplayer in the field of children".

"We have to explore how to create Audience or Community in the FAST. And a separate mention is the how Create more money, an area in which there is a lot of improve”.

"The more content you have and the more global the scope of the catalog you acquire, as when we acquired the BRB catalog in 2023, the easier it will be for you to enter the world of global distribution AVOD-FAST. In addition, it allows you to enter the markets where it is relevant today, such as United States and the United Kingdom”.

"In any case, we have to explore how to create Audience or Community. And a separate mention is the how Create more money, an area in which there is a lot to improve. There is an excess of intermediaries that means that the content owner actually receives perhaps 10% of the money that the advertiser has invested to reach your audience. Without a doubt, that has to be optimized."

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The applications of AI in DeAPlaneta: synopsis, dubbing and generation

"The possibilities of the inteligencia artificial they are immediate. We are using it, above all, in three areas. The first is the whole part of Synopsis and Script Analysis, for which we have several tools that work very well. On the other hand, we use AI for Animation dubbing, a simpler application area because there is not as much lip synchrony. We use it to transfer the dubbing into 40 languages very immediately and cheaply."

"We use the IA for the Animation dubbing, a simpler application area because there are not as many lip synchrony. We use it to move the dubbing to 40 languages in a very Immediate and cheap”.

"I think that for the actors it is an opportunity, but they still don't understand it that way. As an actor, you do the Spanish dubbing, but you will never do Russian, Hindi, English, Greek or Turkish. These tools allow you to reuse that voice and pay the professional every time it is used. In reality, it is a Additional income that this professional would never have had, because an actor from another language would have been hired. I understand the initial caution, but it is something that will end up being done."

"Then, on the other hand, we are a little further behind in the creation of real image and animation, but it's an area we're very interested in and working on with a lot of people. We have a specialized internal DeAPlaneta group that talks to different suppliers and analyzes tools to see how we can apply them. (…) They are going to be used more and more in pre-production, in storyboards and a posteriori, to analyze the performance of a series. The Human Labor for all of these elements, but it's a fantastic starting point."

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NFTs: A Path That Continues

"We are still in the NFT, but it is true that the market is at a 10% of what it was a few years ago. There was a lot of smoke, but today there are still 20 or 25 active collections that generate joy for investors. Which? Those who have not remained in verbiage, but have fulfilled their Road map and they have created the associated video game they promised or some songs."

"We are still in the NFT, but it is true that the market is at a 10% than I was a few years ago”.

"We continue to bet on WonderPals, a private label in which we are actively investing, and we also observe the success of projects such as Claynosaurz, which have proven to work very well in the Web3 universe. We continue to see this space as a promising source of new intellectual properties (IPs) and believe in the potential of NFTs. As with cryptocurrencies, there are projects with real utility that continue to grow, while others are merely speculative and can prove harmful. In the case of NFTs, what is really interesting is that they are IPs with value and projection, as we have seen in consolidated brands within the ecosystem."

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Distribution: today, the backbone of DeAPlaneta

"The national film distribution It is still our big business, and we also put a lot of interest and energy into it. In addition, we can finally say that, at least we, have overcome the entire COVID element. It is true that the box office is still a little lower than in 2019, but we are back at our usual turnovers and being the first independent distributor in Spain, which is where we should be. We've had movies like Civil War, Longlegs or Conclave and in many of them we have exceeded the Two million of Box Office, something that has been difficult for many years."

"The Cinema Exhibition It's ours Natural environment and We do not foresee in any way Not being there Premiering all our films in theaters”.

"It seemed that the market was going to become polarized; that we were going to have two or three titles at most that were going to eat up 70% of the weekly box office and that the rest was going to be a pittance. This has been the case for two or three years, but fortunately this has changed. First, because habits have stabilized Again: people have gone to the cinema again and people are interested in going to a cinema, leaving the house, meeting friends and commenting on the film. On the other hand, it has Become the good product. There was a time, which coincided with the streaming war, when they didn't even reach you: the platforms bought it before they were produced and this made you stay with product B".

"We have a very good 2025 and 2026, and we are already putting together a 2027 with very interesting things. I am very optimistic in this sense: DeAPlaneta we are going to be where we want to be in the world of Cinematic and television window distribution. (…) For us, cinema is very important. Cinema exhibition is ours Natural environment and we do not foresee in any way not being Premiering all our films in theaters”.

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