Pubcaster RTVE’s cultural channel La 2 will program a movie every day of weekday primetime from January, with 80% of the broadcast titles being Spanish-language productions.

Announcement took place Thursday at San Sebastian Film Festival during a press conference jointly hosted by TVE and Spanish producers’assn. Fapae.

La 2’s move is linked to RTVE’s planned development of digital terrestrial television, given that digital switch-on is scheduled for April in Spain. “This will convert La 2 in a thematic movie channel in the maze that is coming with DTT”, said TVE director Javier Pons. “The new film slot will support European films, especially Spanish titles”, he added.

Gustavo Ferrada, TVE head of cinema, estimated the public broadcaster will finance by year end 80 projects, including 34 feature films, 38 documentaries and eight TV movies.

By September, TVE had already acquired TV rights on 29 feature films, including Alex de la Iglesia’s tragicomedy Balada Triste de Trompeta, a co-production between Spain’s Tornasol Films and France’s La Fabrique de Films.

Further TVE pre-buys are Black Thorn, the second directorial outing from Alejandro Amenabar co-scribe Mateo Gil, which will shoot first half 2010 produced by Aiete and Arcadia Motion Pictures, and Alejandro González Inarritu’s Javier Bardem-starrer Biutiful.

“Our commitment with the audiovisual industry in Spain is reflected by the force of the figures”, said RTVE prexy Luis Fernandez. “TVE offered 96% of total Spanish feature films and TVmovies broadcast nationwide during the first eight months of the year. The other channels just broadcast the remaining 4%", he argued.

The increase in the number of titles broadcast by TVE has been accompanied by an improvement in audience results, he said. This year, at least seven Spanish feature films aired in primetime on mass-audience channel La 1 passed two million viewers. Among them: Pedro Almodovar’s Volver (3.3 million) and Carlos Iglesias’ Un franco, 14 pesetas (3 million).

Fapae prexy Pedro Perez revealed that Spanish films market share for 2009 is currently 12.3%, down on 2008. “By year end it’s going to rise and will surpass the 13.3% of last year”, he predicted. Ace cards to achieve that goal include Alejandro Amenabar’s Agoraand Illion Animation toon pic Planet 51.

According to Fapae’s Annual Report, revenues from the international sales of Spanish movies dropped 29.3% in 2008 to euros 40.4 million ($57.7 million). TV exports in contrast, rose 4.4% in value to $52.3 million. Film represented 52% of audiovisual exports in 2008 while TV has grown to 48%. Fapae attributes the fall in film sales to recession. Principal TV biz growth drivers are documentaries and toons, Fapae added.

Emiliano de Pablos/John Hopewell