BBC Studios and Brutal Media announced a few weeks ago an agreement by which the Catalan production company becomes part of the British company’s global entertainment network. Brutal Media was born in 2009 and since then it has produced programs such as El foraster, series such as Les de l’hoquei or documentaries such as The Wanninkhof-Carabantes case. At the head of the company is Raimon Masllorens, executive president and co-founder together with Nèlida Sánchez.
How will this agreement affect the daily life of the production company?
Brutal Media has sold ownership of its shares to BBC Studios, which is the commercial arm of the BBC and which handles the group’s production and distribution. Our production company will continue to be a Catalan company, with its headquarters in Barcelona and offices also in Madrid. We will continue to have the editorial freedom to carry out the projects that we believe we have to do. What this agreement allows us is to have access to the BBC Studios catalogue, both in entertainment and fiction, products for which we now have the distribution rights in Spain. The agreement also means we can take our products around the world through the BBC’s distribution platform.
Will everything that is done in Spain coming from the BBC then pass through your hands?
We have a first option but, in some cases, we can also sell the distribution rights as was done until now. We will analyze case by case. And with respect to programs already on air such as Dancing with the Stars or Bake Off, now in the hands of other production companies, if they renew we will have to see what we do. In addition to entertainment formats, we also have the possibility of making adaptations of the series in the BBC Studios catalogue.
Why do you think the British group looked at Brutal Media?
We are a small company that has always had a very clear vocation of commitment to quality and things well done. That’s what has mattered most to us. We also have some products that have traveled very well around the world, such as This is art, This is opera or the Netflix series Welcome to Eden. Products that have image quality but also content and principles. And that is something that, as we have been told, the BBC values ??very much. They do not want to associate with companies just because of their turnover but because they are companies that produce with quality, that do not have conflicts and are a fairly white brand.
From Brutal Media, the content best known to viewers must be The Stranger, right?
We feel tremendously proud of The Stranger because it is a program that has even improved on the original Danish version, a fact recognized by the creators themselves. Furthermore, it is a program that has been on TV3 for 10 years and was still the leader last year, with an average share of 25%. A bestiality. However, The Stranger is not the only thing we have done. Each product adds up.
Which ones would I highlight the most?
We are very proud of the film La vampira de Barcelona and in cinema for television Aixo és una song.
What projects of your own are you immersed in now?
We are in post-production of the series Asalto al Banco Central for Netflix, which we believe will work very well. We are also negotiating with Amazon Prime Video to film the second season of The Academy.
And can you tell us about some of the projects that are being outlined as a result of the agreement with BBC Studios?
We are in production of a contest about which I still can’t say anything. And then, in fiction, we are preparing two projects that I am very excited about: the adaptation of the Happy Valley series and a female version of The Office. From the first we already have the director and now we have to sell it to some platform or chain.
How would you define the current panorama of the audiovisual industry in Catalonia?
Audiovisual production in the world is at a great moment. Streaming platforms have been essential and have revolutionized the market. But all these platforms are in Madrid and I think that in Barcelona we have lost an opportunity in recent years to be co-leader in this market. There is a will, but we have not just lifted our heads. For example, Asalto al Banco Central, the action takes place in Barcelona, ??I had to record it entirely in Madrid because we had the necessary infrastructure there to carry out the filming.
The Federation of Audiovisual Production Companies (PROA) says that the sector is in an unsustainable situation in Catalonia, largely due to the grievances it receives from the CCMA. Match?
I believe that the CCMA is an indispensable part of helping to reverse the lack of Catalan leadership in the Spanish audiovisual sector. For me it would be important that the Catalan private and public sectors could make a joint plan with this objective on the horizon.
