Said Spain Film Commission's Juan Manuel Guimeráns: ‘If the U.S. introduces a federal tax credit, I expect production there to grow. I don’t think that’s necessarily negative for other territories. If production in the U.S. increases, labor and other costs may rise, which could still push some production elsewhere’
Spain’s audiovisual sector is continuing to expand, with production spend expected to reach €5.68 billion ($6.6 billion) in 2025, up 45% from 2022, according to a new study by U.K.-based consultancy Olsberg SPI, commissioned by the Spain Film Commission.
At a presentation held at the San Sebastian Festival, Kayleigh Hughes of Olsberg SPI said the study expands on the consultancy’s 2024 analysis of incentivized international production, taking a broader look at Spain’s audiovisual production sector from 2023-25.
The research uses Spanish Statistical Institute data to measure production expenditure across film, video and television, including spending on goods, services and personnel. However, it excludes exhibition, distribution, broadcasting and video games, while post-production will be included in the full report, she added.
The sector is expected to generate €4.98 billion in gross value added (GVA) for the Spanish economy in 2025. That includes €2.72 billion in direct activity, alongside indirect activity generated by suppliers and service providers and induced activity linked to employee spending.
Hughes said the figures underline the audiovisual sector’s growing economic footprint beyond production companies themselves, supporting a wider ecosystem of businesses and workers. The study also points to broader benefits including screen tourism, cultural visibility, technical innovation and sustainability.
Spain has also recorded strong growth in film and co-production volumes in recent years, according to European Audiovisual Observatory data, reinforcing its position as both a domestic production hub and an international filming destination.
A panel comprising Spain Film Commissioner Juan Manuel Guimeráns, Madrid Film Region Coordinator Xiomara Garcia, Olsberg SPI’s Marta Moretto and Jesus Cambra of the Pablo De Olavide University held forth on the current state of affairs.
Moretto said the figures in the Olsberg study reflect substantial public and private investment and underline the growing scale of Spain’s production ecosystem.
The sector’s economic impact extends well beyond production companies. Jesús Cambram of Pablo de Olavide University noted that almost half of the roughly €5 billion in value generated around the audiovisual industry is created outside the sector itself, demonstrating its wider “tractor effect.”
The employment multiplier is similarly significant: for every 10 jobs directly linked to audiovisual production, another 11 are generated outside the sector, Cambram asserted. Those jobs include electricians, carpenters, hair and makeup professionals, transport workers and hospitality staff.
“We’re not talking only about production,” Cambram said. “There are many more activities that benefit from the positive momentum of the audiovisual industry.” He argued that workforce training should reflect those needs, with skills shortages in areas such as electrical work and carpentry potentially affecting production while also creating opportunities across the wider economy.
Guimeráns, meanwhile, stressed that the sector’s impact extends to wages and working conditions beyond the audiovisual workforce. “Touching this sector is either doing good or doing harm to other sectors,” he said, urging policymakers to consider those knock-on effects when designing measures affecting production.
The territorial impact is particularly visible in Madrid, where the regional audiovisual industry generates around 30,000 jobs, according to Garcia of the Madrid Film Regional Office. She said productions increasingly depend on local infrastructure, suppliers and services, making municipalities important parts of the production ecosystem.
She cited a shoot at a protected 18th-century theater that required specialist carpenters and technicians while also benefiting local restaurants. In another example, “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” used an 8,000-square-meter production hub and hired a specialist vintage-car restoration company to prepare vehicles for the production.
Guimeráns said Spain is now among the leading audiovisual markets in the E.U. in absolute terms, but faces competition both internationally and between its own regions. “The producer moves very easily,” he said. “The territories and sectors that have better conditions attract more activity.”
He singled out the potential impact of new U.S. production incentives and warned that even policy announcements can influence production decisions. For Spain, he argued that any reform should improve incentives while preserving the mechanisms that are already working.
“We have to improve Spanish incentives — not only in percentage, but also in procedures, legal certainty and timing,” Guimeráns said. “Let’s do it, but let’s do it with a clear head.”
Spain’s growing production base, he added, is producing films, series and television formats that are increasingly traveling internationally. “What we have to do is push that forward,” he said.
“The study’s 2025 estimates show investment stabilizing after significant growth between 2022 and 2024,” Guimeráns later told Variety, adding that the slowdown reflects intensifying international competition.
“The jump from 2022 to 2023 coincided with Spain’s improved tax incentives,” he said. “Since then, other countries have been changing their incentives too — Italy, Portugal, France and the U.K. We’re all fishing in the same pond. It’s a big pond with room to grow, but we’re all fishing in it.”
But incentives are only one factor in production decisions. “Production doesn’t move from one territory to another for a single reason,” Guimeráns said. “Incentives are important, of course, but so are labor and production costs and how easy it is to shoot in a particular territory.”
He said historical data suggests incentives tend to expand the overall production market, even if activity shifts between territories. “If the U.S. introduces a federal tax credit, I expect production there to grow,” he told Variety. “I don’t think that’s necessarily negative for other territories. If production in the U.S. increases, labor and other costs may rise, which could push some production elsewhere.”
Among recent major productions in Spain, Guimeráns highlighted “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” calling it “a very powerful, very large production” with filming spread across the country.