Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

CULTURE

The best TV and streaming alternatives to Netflix in Spain

Netflix, Spain's most popular entertainment platform, is set to introduce a new cheaper package with ads, but there are also a number of alternative streaming services with a lot on offer, if you don't want to go down that route.

Published: 11 October 2021 17:42 CEST
Updated: 15 October 2022 11:04 CEST
The best TV and streaming alternatives to Netflix in Spain
Founder and CEO of Netflix Reed Hastings speaks during a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 27, 2017. Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP

Netflix recently announced a new cheaper subscription package for just €5.49 a month, which will be available from November 10th 2022. The only catch is that your viewing will be interrupted by ads. 

The company said that advertising can “reach the right audience” and will ensure that the ads are displayed “are relevant to consumers”. 

The basic plan without adverts will be €7.99 for one device and up to €17.99 for up to four devices. 

As the creator of hugely successful Spanish shows such as La Casa de Papel (Money Heist), Las Chicas del Cable (Cable girls) or Élite, Netflix has attracted many loyal subscribers. But there are other options for those considering switching to a different platform.

These are the other main subscriptions platforms in the country and their prices:

Filmin – €7.99/month or €84/year

Filmin is Spain’s leading subscription platform for independent and arthouse films and TV shows.

Movistar+ Lite – €8/month

Movistar, the major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, launched its own VOD platform in 2015. It has established itself as one of the country’s most important VOD platforms.

Amazon Prime Video – €4.99/month or €49.90/year. 

Amazon Prime recently raised its rates on September 15th 2022, from €3.99/month to €4.99/month. They also have special discounted packages for students. 

Disney + – €7.99/month with ads, €10.99/month without or €109.99/year

Disney+ launched in Spain in March 2020 with a broad offering including Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic.

Manual widget for ML (class=”ml-manual-widget-container”)

Apple TV+ – €4.99/month

The platform currently offers a 3-month free trial after which it costs €4.99/month with shows like Mare of Easttown and The Morning Show.

HBO Max – €8.99/month or €69.99/year

The maker of “Game of Thrones” and the Harry Potter movies is launching HBO Max in Spain on October 26th, bringing together the entire Warner universe on one platform. The streaming service will replace HBO España which launched in Spain in 2016. Recent blockbusters like ‘Dune’ and ‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ will be available on the streaming platform after their run in cinemas.

Rakuten.tv – €6.99/month

Headquartered in Barcelona, this VOD streaming service includes content from Warner Bros, Disney and Sony Pictures as well as local distributors and independent labels. The monthly subscription offers access to its catalogue, but some of it is also available for free.

Starzplay – €4.99/month

Starzplay is a VOD platform run by American entertainment company Lionsgate, offering Hollywood films and TV shows and children’s programs. It arrived in Spain in 2019, and is also available via Canal+ subscriptions.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CULTURE

San Sebastián: What to know about Spain’s biggest film festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival, the most prestigious of its kind in Spain, kicks off on Friday September 20th. Here are 10 fascinating anecdotes and pieces of information that will help you understand its importance to Spanish culture.

Published: 19 September 2024 17:23 CEST
San Sebastián: What to know about Spain's biggest film festival

The Local counts down ten essential facts about the most important film festival in the Spanish-speaking world, as it gets underway in the Basque seaside city.

1. The San Sebastián International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de cine de San Sebastián in Spanish and Donostia Zinemaldia in Basque) was founded in 1953. Although it was originally intended to honour Spanish language films, it soon allowed international films to compete and since 1955 has attracted the great and the good of world cinema.

2. The film festival was started by a group of San Sebastián businessmen and Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, perhaps surprisingly, immediately gave it his blessing. He saw the festival as an opportunity to present Spain as a more open and friendly country on the international stage.

Spanish dictator Francisco Franco repressed the Basque culture and language, but he allowed the San Sebastían festival to become international. (Photo by AFP)

3. This year’s festival – the 72nd – will take place between Friday September 20th and Saturday September 29th at the Kursaal Congress Centre and Auditorium on San Sebastián’s seafront, designed by Spanish architect, Rafael Moneo. It’s an impressive building, especially when lit up at night!

4. It is one of only 15 category ‘A’ film festivals accredited by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) alongside such other illustrious film festivals as Venice, Cannes and Berlin.

5. Some of cinema’s most classic moments were brought to the screen for the very first time at San Sebastián. It hosted the international premiere of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, an event attended by the iconic film director himself, as well as the film’s star, James Stewart.

Alfred Hitchcock in 1972 in Cannes, one of Europe’s other big film festivals. (Photo by AFP)

6. Berlin has its Bear and Cannes its Palme, so what is the prize doled out at San Sebastián? Quite aptly for this seaside city, it is the Shell of course! The Golden Shell (Concha de Oro) is awarded to the best film of the festival, while the best actor and actress receive a Silver Shell.

US actor and director James Franco holds the “Concha de Oro” (Golden Shell) best film award for the film “The Disaster artist” in 2017. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP)

7. While San Sebastián is not one of the most headline-grabbing events on the film festival calendar, it has attracted quite a few cinematic icons in its time. Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Robert de Niro and Brad Pitt have all attended – among many others.

Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino during the presentation of “Inglorious Basterds” at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2009. (Photo by RAFA RIVAS / AFP)

8. The festival’s lifetime achievement award is the Donostia award, given every year to honour one more more actors for their work. In 2008, living legend Meryl Streep won alongside arguably the world’s most famous Spanish actor, Antonio Banderas. This year, Spain’s most iconic film director Pedro Almodóvar and Australian actress Cate Blanchett will receive the lifetime award.

9. In 1989 Bette Davis, one of the most classic stars from Hollywood’s golden age came to the festival to receive the lifetime achievement award. It would be her last ever public appearance, she died two weeks later. A documentary about Davis’ time in the Basque city was made in 2014, titled El Último Adiós (The Last Goodbye).

10. At this years edition, many big Hollywood names are expected, including Pamela Anderson, Javier Bardem, Monica Bellucci, Jamie Campbell Bower, Johnny Depp, Andrew Garfield, Isabelle Huppert , Noémie Merlant, Ángela Molina, Franco Nero, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sharpe and Tilda Swinton.

SHOW COMMENTS