Buendía, the production company shared 50% between Telefónica and Atresmedia, has taken stock of its first full year in operation. Thus, Buendía Production recorded revenues of 27.3 million euros in 2021, while Buendía Estudios, the marketing subsidiary, reached a turnover of 6.46 million. In this way, the sum of the income of both companies is around 33 million.
In net terms, Buendía Production lost 505,000 euros, above the 316,000 euros of 2020, the year in which the company was incorporated, according to what appears in the financial report, sent to the commercial registry. In turn, Buendía Estudios registered red numbers of 418,000 euros, in this case below the 529,000 euros of 2020, the year in which the company had been incorporated.
In the report, Buendía Production highlights that, during 2021, it produced five fiction series for its partners. In addition, he produced three non-fiction programs for Telefónica and Atresmedia, for their platforms or for marketing to third parties. Similarly, the company provided production management services for more than 20 fiction and non-fiction productions to partners.
By areas, the company points out that production revenues amounted to 24.22 million euros, while management revenues stood at 3.10 million.
This development has sold accompanied by a growth in staff. Thus, the company closed 2021 with a total workforce of 190 people, compared to 108 at the end of the previous year.
Benefits
Looking to the near future, Buendía Production points out that it has a relevant project portfolio with its parent companies. The company indicates that the expectations regarding the evolution for 2022 and 2023 are of a high growth of the productive activity, gaining efficiency and achieving operating profits in 2022. The company launched production projects in 2021, which will become part of its accounts during this year.
Buendía Estudios, for its part, has carried out different operations since its constitution in 2020. Thus, the company formed a temporary joint venture (UTE) with WinWin Audiovisual to carry out a magazine with the Public Broadcasting and Television Society of Extremadura. It also created a joint venture with Prime Time Media to produce a program with the EITB Media channel, in addition to setting up a subsidiary in the Canary Islands. Thus, in addition to fiction and non-fiction productions for its partners, it has made others for third parties such as HBO Max, Prime video and regional television channels such as À Punt, Canal Extremadura or ETB2.
Along the same lines as Buendía Production, the company points out that the expectations regarding the evolution of the business in 2022 and 2023 are of a high growth of the productive activity, gaining in efficiency and achieving operating profits this same year.
In this sense, the company’s activities include the production of works of fiction, mainly series, for OTT operators, pay television platforms and owners of television channels.
Key position in the operator’s strategy
Strategy. The alliance established with Atresmedia, announced in the fall of 2019, was one of the strategic lines promoted by Telefónica to recover growth. Now, Buendía has come to occupy a key role for the operator and its audiovisual businesses. In fact, he works for different subsidiaries of the operator.
Reference. In its annual financial report, Telefónica Audiovisual Digital (TAD), the content and production division of the company chaired by José María Álvarez-Pallete, stated that Buendía had become the reference producer for Movistar+, the operator’s television platform , participating in the most significant series produced by the company.