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Panel at the South International Series Festival on the Future of Series: Traditional TV and Platforms Merge to Innovate
Liz Unamo| 19 de septiembre de 2025
The panel featured Diego del Pozo from Atresmedia, Ana Bustamante from Mediaset, Pío Vernis from 3CAT, and was moderated by José Antonio López Sánchez
At the third edition of the South International Series Festival, the panel Where is the Series Business Headed? brought together three key figures from the sector: Ana Bustamante, General Director of Mediterráneo Mediaset; Diego del Pozo, Head of Fiction at Atresmedia; and Pío Vernis, Director of Audiovisual Business at 3CAT. The experts discussed technology, innovation, and the symbiotic relationship that today defines the future of television and streaming platforms.
Diego del Pozo of Atresmedia highlighted how technological innovation is redefining the viewer experience. The company has implemented a new design on its Atresplayer platform, optimizing the interface to make it more intuitive, personal, and accessible. “We improved the search engine and profile creation with the intention of making it a much more personal experience,” he said. He also emphasized the addition of new thematic channels, such as Atresplayer Clásico, which broadcasts iconic series, or channels dedicated to specific programs, such as Física o Química and Aquí No Hay Quien Viva, showing that innovation is not limited to technology. Del Pozo pointed to the recent series La Encrucijada as an example, which combines the quality of a primetime production with the loyalty-building capacity of a daily series, exploring new narrative formulas.
Ana Bustamante of Mediaset stressed the need for traditional television to adapt to the arrival of platforms, which she considered more allies than rivals. “It’s not that there’s a platform audience and a broadcast TV audience. I believe we are the same people who sometimes watch on broadcast and sometimes on a platform,” she explained. With 30 years of history, Mediaset has managed to anticipate this wave, establishing collaborations with platforms through its Mediterráneo Mediaset division. Bustamante emphasized that technology at Mediaset has been key to evolving and, above all, to preserving the value of advertising, the company’s main source of revenue. “All these second screens and all this interactive advertising we target to viewers, but in the end, the story has to reach the one who ends up paying for the advertising,” she concluded.
Pío Vernis of 3CAT presented the perspective of a public broadcaster that has managed to merge its service vocation with a commercial strategy. With the launch of its 3Cat platform, the corporation seeks to align itself and compete with other major players in the sector. “There is no public service without an audience,” Vernis underlined, stressing the importance of leading the ratings. Technology has allowed 3CAT to create a more accessible platform and to segment advertising and content more precisely. “The platform is infinite,” he said, “it can hold many more things and it opens us up to audiences that traditional television is losing, which is the younger audience.” Vernis concluded that technology also enables collaboration with third-party platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, generating exclusive content for social networks and adapting to new consumption habits.
The panel concluded that the future of the series business lies in constant innovation, adaptability, and a fluid, collaborative relationship between television and platforms. Technology is the catalyst that enables improvements in user experience, audience segmentation, and the expansion of content to new formats and audiences.
