Netflix is doubling down on investing in Spain to keep producing Spanish originals, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday during a visit to Madrid to celebrate the streaming giant’s 10-year anniversary in the country.
Visiting Netflix’s hub in Tres Cantos, just outside Madrid, along with Pedro Sanchez, the president of Spain, the top executive said that Netflix would invest €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in the country by 2029.
Touting such Spanish hits as Elite and Society of the Snow, Sarandos shared that local originals generated more than 5 billion hours of global viewing on Netflix in 2024. Emphasizing the global streaming giant’s deep commitment to Spain, the co-CEO also said: “Dali masks, red jumpsuits, Bella Ciao – all of them have become instantly recognizable parts of the global culture.”
Indeed, Netflix’s Spanish hit originals have included the likes of Money Heist, its Berlin spin-off series, White Lines, and The Snow Girl.
Sarandos touted how the streamer has filmed in over 200 cities across Spain, helped support more than 20,000 jobs,
The Tres Cantos campus, located about 30 minutes by car north of Madrid, is Netflix’s biggest studio complex in Europe, with 10 soundstages.
“Netflix is proudly commissioning programming in international markets with a focus on local audiences while being happy if they also end up traveling the world and becoming global hits,” Larry Tanz, vp, content, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Netflix, told the Media & Telecoms 2025 & Beyond Conference in London, organized by Deloitte and Enders Analysis, last week.
“I understand that there might be people who have an interest in saying we’re commissioning for international audiences, but they all know it’s just not true,” Tanz said. “We are absolutely focused on the local audience first and foremost, and that’s our whole investment approach,” including in other markets.
Sarandos’ trip to Spain and investment promise came just a few months after a similar trip to Mexico, during which the exec vowed that the global streamer would invest $1 billion in the country over four years.
