Telefonica, RTVE forge alliance

SITGES -- Two of Spain's biggest TV companies, telco Telefonica and pubcaster RTVE, have forged a co-production and sponsorship alliance. First productions up are "Entre dos aguas" and "Yo de mayor quiero ser espanol." Produced by Javier Limon, shot by Telefonica, in association with RTVE and Barcelona producer Ovideo, "Aguas" explores the interface between music on the Atlantic seaboard and the Mediterranean. "Yo de mayor," a further docuseries, has Guillermo Fesser and Juan Luis Cano, both star Spanish radio presenters, interviewing Spaniards who have made it abroad. Both shows broadcast late night on La 2, RTVE's second historic channel, which the pubcaster is positioning as a culture service. "Aguas" bows Friday; "Yo de mayor" already airs. A third link-up, "La nube," an interactive magazine on social networks and Internet news sites, will bow this fall on La 2. The RTVE alliance adds to Telefonica's building presence in Spanish film and TV: The giant telco, with Euros60.7 billion ($80.1 billion) revenues in 2010, operates an Internet TV channel, Terra TV, an IPTV channel, Imagenio, bowed 2005 and currently has 785,000 subscribers, and an over-the-top service, Videoclub Movistar. Telefonica also intervenes occasionally in movie productions, the latest being the Studiocanal-sold 3D toon feature "Tad, the Lost Explorer," produced by Telecinco Cinema, El Toro Prods., Ikiru Films and Lightbox Ent. Telefonica contributes co-production equity. Telefonica's film-TV incursions remain, however, to date, isolated initiatives driven by different divisions. Announced early September, Telefonica Digital, a new umbrella initiative at Telefonica, looks set to group and power up its content production. Just how, however -- and it's one of the biggest questions hanging over Spanish production -- still remains to be seen. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com