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| Formerly | Movistar+ (2015–2022) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pay television |
| Predecessor |
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| Founded | 8 July 2015 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters |
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Spain
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Key people | Cristina Burzako[1] |
| Products | Satellite television IPTV |
| Parent | Telefónica, S.A. |
| Website | Official website  |
Movistar Plus+ (formerly Movistar+) is the trade name of the subscription platform for digital television owned by Telefónica, which operates in Spain. The service is distributed via optical fiber and ADSL as well as with satellites such as Astra. The platform, which was officially launched on July 8, 2015, stems from the merger of Canal+, previously responsible for the satellite TV operations, and Telefónica's Movistar TV. It is the largest subscription television provider in Spain with 3.7 million customers and 45% of market share.[2]
Since 2013, various news regarding the possible purchase of Canal+'s Spanish assets by Telefónica were published. According to media reports, there were also many companies that expressed interest in buing the Pay-TV platform, as Al Jazeera, Vivendi, which owned Canal+ France, and Liberty Global mogul Rupert Murdoch. This was critical for PRISA, owners of Canal+ Spain, as they had been looking for ways to resolve the debt the company had been accumulating since 2008, as a result of the 2007–2008 financial crisis,[3] with rumors of an acquisition by Telefónica beginning to take place as early as this year.[4]
On May 6, 2014, Telefónica submitted a binding to gain 56% PRISA had in Canal+ Spain, in exchange for paying about 725 million euros. PRISA ended up accepting the offer the following month.[5]
On June 18, 2014, Telefónica submitted a binding offer to acquire Mediaset Spain's 22% ownership of Canal+ Spain for 295 million euros. The offer was later accepted on July 4, 2014, allowing Telefónica to obtain full control of the company.[6]
On April 22, 2015, the CNMC gave its approval to the sale of Canal+ to Telefónica. After this, Canal+ began the process of merger with Movistar TV until July 7, 2015, which resulted in the creation of Movistar+ the following day.
In June 2019, an over-the-top video streaming service was launched under the brand Movistar+ Lite. It features select content but not LaLiga football matches or cinema and series exclusives. The streaming offer saw a complete overhaul on August 1, 2023, now offering a larger amount of content and the majority of the linear TV channels available on the satellite and IPTV offers, making the service more similar to Sky's Now.
Over the course of 2023, Movistar Plus+ renew its deals with all major Hollywood Studios to continue offer their content on the Spanish TV platform. All television channels in Spain from Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global and Comcast will continue to be broadcast on Movistar Plus+. This also saw the incorporation of the studios' content directly on Movistar Plus+'s video on demand services, with said content coming directly from Sony's AXN Now, Warner Discovery's HBO Max and Paramount and Comcast's SkyShowtime, while Disney's content is available through the offer of subscriptions to Disney+ at a discounted price.[7][8][9][10]
In January 2024, after earlier exceptional involvements in film production with While at War (2019) and Prison 77 (2022), Movistar Plus+ announced a strategy to develop as a co-producer of films on a sustained basis, presenting a slate of 5 initial titles set to begin production in 2024 and to be directed by Icíar Bollaín (I'm Nevenka), Rodrigo Sorogoyen (El ser querido), Alberto Rodríguez, Oliver Laxe, and Ana Rujas (El desencanto).[11]
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