JC Acosta from The Mediapro Studio: “We Need Strong Executive Representation to Ensure Globally Appealing Content”

During the panel, “The Studio of the Future” at NATPE Global 2025, one of the key takeaways was the collaborative environment that has emerged due to changes in the content production industry.

Javier Pons, EVP of Telemundo Studios at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, noted that they anticipated industry adjustments, which have resulted in a new collaborative landscape. “Tax incentives help. And we need to be creative with budgets,” said Pons during the discussion, where he was joined by JC Acosta, Head of The Mediapro Studio for the U.S. and Canada; Lawrence Szabo, EVP of Content Distribution for the U.S. at BBC Studios; and Allison Wallach, Head of Unscripted Programming at FOX Entertainment Studios. Marie Leguizamo, Managing Director of Banijay Mexico and U.S. Hispanic at Banijay Americas, moderated the session.

Pons added that diversifying the business is crucial.

Wallach from FOX Entertainment explained that the studio treats its shows as IPs and franchises. She also highlighted that the unscripted genre is constantly evolving and that the company focuses on building communities around its programs.

Acosta from The Mediapro Studio emphasized the significance of acquiring the Uruguayan production company Cimarrón. He also pointed out the importance of soft money and the need for increased investment in content production.

THE IMPORTANCE OF REPRESENTATION

Szabo from BBC stressed the need to take risks, create production hubs at scale, and leverage social media. “We are using social platforms and long-form content to benefit the studio. We’re about to begin pre-production on A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which we’re co-producing with Netflix and ZDF. What we’ve found is that if we maintain authenticity for fan communities on these platforms, we can drive young audiences to long-form content. It’s very exciting,” he said.

When asked about how to ensure representation in content that appeals to global audiences, Pons explained: “We seek locally produced content with global reach. Around 80% of the people we hire to produce, create, and execute our projects are local.”

To highlight diversity and inclusion, Szabo mentioned that BBC is producing a series titled Reunion, set to debut on BBC One in the third quarter of the year, where half of the crew and cast are from the deaf community. “There’s a significant effort to understand our audience, develop programming that resonates, take risks—that’s the role of public television, not just the BBC, in content development,” he stated.

For Acosta, whose studio launched in the U.S. and Canada eight months ago, representation must extend beyond talent and creators—it must also include executives. “We need strong executive representation to ensure that our content has global appeal. As we expand in the U.S. and Canada, it’s important to emphasize that while we are doubling down on the U.S. market, we must also focus on the U.S. Hispanic audience. We are 60 million people, making up 19% of the population, with above-average consumption of cinema and streaming.

Our commitment began with the partnership we announced six weeks ago with Cholawood and Kate del Castillo. They presented us with an incredible slate of projects offering a fantastic female-driven perspective on the Mexican-American experience in today’s society. Having this alliance and this voice within the studio is essential as we strive to balance creativity and business metrics, ensuring that we create content that is representative, sustainable, and relevant to our audiences,” Acosta concluded.