Disney+ Spain Executive on “Respecting Windows” and Star’s Hulu Rebrand

Respect for the theatrical window, co-productions and the upcoming rebrand of the Disney+‘s Star tile to Hulu in international markets were in focus during a keynote session featuring Sofía Fábregas, vp of original production at Disney+ Spain, on Tuesday, the opening day of the fifth annual Iberseries & Platino Industria.

Fábregas took the stage five years after the launch of the Walt Disney streaming service in Spain, lauding a recent content deal with Spanish media company Atresmediathat the partners dubbed “a landmark agreement” and “the first major alliance in Spain between the leading broadcaster and one of the main global streaming services.”

Cooperations are one key strategy for the future of the streamer in Spain, Fábregas signaled, calling co-productions a new emerging model and mentioning two upcoming co-productions that have yet to be announced.

She also touted upcoming original comedy seriesLa Suerte, whose English title is Fate, on Oct. 8. The show, starringRicardo GómezandÓscar Jaenada, explores the friendship between a shy young man preparing for the application tests for public office while working as a part-time taxi driver and a master bullfighter.

The Disney+ executive also highlighted continuing improvements and updates to the streaming service based on what makes sense for its users and corporate parent Disney. She mentioned that the Star tile on Disney+ in Spain will shortly be rebranded with the Hulu moniker, as it will in other international markets, but audiences will keep all the content they love, and the Disney+ content strategy won’t change. “Everything that was Star becomes Hulu, and Hulu is now one of our five brands,” she said. For producers worried that their shows could lose their presence or visibility on the streamer, “that’s not the reality,” the exec noted.

Fábregas also highlighted that Disney+ Spain, as its parent, is committed to “respecting windows,” including the theatrical window. “It’s not incompatible” with the streaming business, she emphasized, mentioning the goal of releasing three to four local titles a year in the theatrical window before they hit the streamer.

At last year’sIberseries & Platino Industria conference and market in Madrid, Fábregas previewed the launch of a very different type of streaming content that it was about to debut back then, namelyRegreso a Las Sabinas(Return to Las Sabinas), its first-ever daily series, of 70 episodes, from Spain.

Also featured on day one of this year’s event, in addition to Disney, have been studio Gaumont, independent production powerhouse Banijay, and more.