That HBO continues filming in Andalusia or that one of the next great Netflix blockbusters takes place in Madrid or the Canary Islands. The Government has set itself the country's plan to try to turn Spain into a great set for movies or television series. That is why in the 2023 budget bill, the Treasury improves direct investments to 250 million to promote the audiovisual hub and facilitate relations with the great majors in the United States, such as Universal, Amazon Prime, Disney, Warner, Paramount, Netflix, Star or NBC. And also for the national audiovisual
In the public accounts in parliamentary processing, several items are grouped from which these large companies will benefit if they finally bet on Spain. They are not final grants, but are part of a broad plan to promote large audiovisual projects.
Among the items, the cinematography program of the Ministry of Culture stands out. It has 70 million extra investment in 2023, reaching 167 million. Its purpose: the promotion of the seventh art "and the audiovisual arts as a cultural and economic engine." Another endowment: 52 million to transform the cultural and creative sector that Culture also manages. The investment effort is remarkable, since spending on these concepts barely reached 100 million until now.
The project to attract foreign production companies pilots around the "Spain audiovisual hub plan for Europe" and is led by the first vice-presidency. Economy seeks to improve the attractiveness of Spain as a platform for business and work in the audiovisual field and allocates 27 million from the Recovery Plan.
To these figures we must add tax incentives worth 1,300 million and a legal reform to prioritize the management of visas that the Government has already announced. In addition, the ICEX activated a single window, "Spain audiovisual bureau", which is serving to answer queries from the majors.
With the 2023 budgets, the Government is completing the preferential treatment for these companies. A relationship that was reflected in a lunch that Pedro Sánchez organized in La Moncloa in May and was attended by four dozen directors of American production companies. Sánchez himself was at the presidential table along with his chief of staff, Óscar López, and Joe Biden's ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso. Red carpet in an appointment that was also attended by James Costos, the former ambassador of Barack Obama, or the actor Freddie Highmore, known for his role in the series The Good Doctor.
