Starzplay changes its name: the series about Nacho Vidal and King Juan Carlos I are now from Lionsgate +

The changes in the

war do not stop.

The company Starz announced this Wednesday that its international on-demand content service will no longer be called StarzPlay in 35 countries in which it operates.

It immediately becomes Lionsgate+, from the name of its parent company.

From now on, series in Spanish such as the Chilean

, promoted by the prestigious filmmaker Lucía Puenzo;

the

Spanish

, with Maggie Civantos at the head of a unit that fights to solve express kidnappings that is already preparing its second season;

and the Mexican sci-fi miniseries

become titles in the Lionsgate+ catalogue.

So will her original series in English, such as

– with Elle Fanning playing Catherine the Great.

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The keys that will define the streaming war, according to one of its leaders

Launching original fiction in Spanish internationally is one of the objectives of the platform, regardless of its name change.

For this reason,

, which until now was known as the second Starzplay premiere in Spain after

also becomes a product of Lionsgate +.

Bambú Producciones' ambitious series about the porn star Nacho Vidal and the Spain of the eighties and nineties will premiere shortly.

“When we began this adventure of producing series in Spanish, we approached Bambú asking for one of those series that define a brand and that could put Lionsgate+ on the map of the complicated universe of on-demand television.

Every time we talked about it, we used three words to define what we were looking for: risky, incisive and provocative, ”says Jeff Cooke, vice president of Programming for International Digital Networks of the platform, in mid-July from Los Angeles in a video call .

Teresa Fernández-Valdés, from Bambú Producciones replied: “I think I have the perfect series for you.

It is one about Nacho Vidal”.

“It is clear that it is not a story for all audiences, because it has certain controversial aspects, but it still appeals to a wide audience.

We didn't want to argue just because, but his life and this script contain a very interesting story.

It is a portrait of a Spain and a very determined industry.

Everyone watches porn, but few admit to being curious about it and this is a way of opening a new window on that world”, defends the American.

Jeff Cooke, Vice President of International Digital Network Programming at Lionsgate+.

That definition of risky, incisive and provocative content is not very far from the description of fiction that, at the beginning of the golden age of series, was offered by Showtime and HBO.

Remember

,

,

or

.

How is Lionsgate+ going to differentiate itself from those past benchmarks?

Mainly, by reformulating a concept similar to those classics to a new generation, Cooke argues.

“We do not seek to be a general platform, but to focus on a very specific audience;

in a young adult profile (those in their twenties or thirties), with a special interest in stories that force you to pay attention, that are not background noise or programs to turn off the brain.

We want to challenge that new generation with things they haven't seen before and offering a twist.

The story of Nacho Vidal may seem like a story for men, but it is mainly made by women.

We seek a more diverse point of view than before.”

The adaptation of the

Spotify Studios

, about the life of King Juan Carlos I, is another of Lionsgate+'s upcoming original projects for Spain.

Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, responsible for two classics like

and

, will be placed in front of him.

It is an international and multilingual fiction series inspired by the

homonymous Spanish that reviews the life of the monarch emeritus.

“It is in development and it is a subject that leaves me, as an American, very intrigued.

I am fascinated with his whole life story, from his childhood.

I am aware that for the Spanish viewer it is something that has a completely different meaning.

The challenge for Howard, Alex and the Spanish screenwriters is how to make this story something global”, says the executive of the international platform.

Hybrid model in a complex context

Although it has its own website and its own application for iOS and Android, Lionsgate+ can be found in Spain within the catalog of other platforms such as Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video, in addition to services such as Rakuten and Orange TV.

In all cases, for a fee that will continue to be 4.99 euros per month.

This type of alliance allows your service to be accessible throughout the world.

“We live in a market that is very fluid and constantly changing, in which nothing is black or white.

In our case, we feel comfortable placing ourselves in a middle level between competitors and allies of those other services”, says Cooke.

Its great commitment to growth contrasts with the slowdown that other consolidated players in the

.

HBO Max, which plans to change its name again in the summer of 2023 to reflect its new merger with Discovery +, adapts to the company's new internal and external circumstances, taking into account the current economic context.

Last July, it announced that it is destroying almost all of its original European production except for the Spanish one and has eliminated dozens of titles from its catalog to save on taxes.

Netflix has laid off hundreds of employees in the United States since losing just over a million subscribers, out of more than 100 worldwide.

And SkyShowtime, the Paramount and Universal service, has already landed in Europe, in the Nordic countries, and will soon do so in the Netherlands and Portugal (October) and in places like Spain and Eastern Europe (early 2023).

'Express', Lionsgate+'s original Spanish series, is already filming its second season.Julio Vergne (Express © 2021 JulioVergne THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO)

“We're in a subscription-based business, so there are going to be ups and downs and you have to be prepared for the lows, just as you are prepared for the highs.

In the end, we believe that what is done in this industry will continue to interest people, regardless of how much competition there is,” Cooke reflects.

Lionsgate+'s ambitions, despite the complicated

landscape , are high.

He counts on the more than 20 million subscribers that Starzplay has attracted worldwide (including brands like Starzplay Arabia and Lionsgate Play in South and Southeast Asia, which will not change their name) and sets his sights on growth that will lead to have about 50 or 60 million subscribers by 2025, they point out from the company.

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