Filmin, the audiovisual platform that was born in Barcelona in 2007, is for sale. As published ExpansionNazca Capital, the venture capital management company that has controlled this service specialized in independent cinema since 2020, has hired the services of Arcano bank to coordinate the process. The same newspaper reported that among the buyers who had already submitted their offers were Telefónica (Movistar+) and Amazon. elDiario.es has contacted both companies, but they did not want to comment on the matter. The valuation at which its founders (Juan Carlos Tous, José Antonio de Luna and Jaume Ripoll) aspire would amount to between 40 and 50 million euros.
Sources familiar with the operation confirmed to elDiario.es that the Nazca fund “has assigned Arcano to advise on the evaluation of different strategic options in relation to Filmin” among which are “a potential divestment.” Nazca acquired 84% of the capital of the audiovisual platform in 2020, through the firm Filmin Newco Sl, which would have fulfilled the usual investment cycle for this type of funds. The remaining 16% of the shareholding is distributed between its founders and other investors.
From Filmin, they assure elDiario.es that this is an issue that “does not affect” the service they continue to provide and for which they cannot give any further explanations.
Filmin achieved profitability in 2017, when it obtained a profit of 26,000 euros with a turnover of 2.5 million euros. Since then, it has maintained an ascending career with black numbers in all years despite tough competition from other audiovisual platforms.
Elena Neira, professor of Communication Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), explains that the sale of Filmin is included among the latest movements within this market, which “seem to indicate that the platforms are moving towards greater concentration”. “After a period in which projects did not stop hatching, it seems that the majority of operators are clear that it is a difficult market for smaller agents, hence purchase or consolidation movements are taking place,” adds the expert.
When assessing the ecosystem of streaming services present nationwide, he states that Filmin is “without a doubt, a very important asset. “It is a very specialized niche platform that, within its segment, has no competition.” Now, knowing how your acquisition is going to affect you is considered to be the “big unknown”: “In the end what is for sale are your brand values, so I assume that the buyer will want, as far as possible, to preserve all its signs of identity.”
What is for sale from Filmin are its brand values, so I assume that the buyer will want, as far as possible, to preserve all its hallmarks.
Elena Neira
— professor of Communication Studies at the Oberta University of Catalonia
Its sale shows for her that aggregation is currently “the big trend”, which could lead to large companies like Movistar+ or Netflix absorbing not only Filmin, but also the rest of the platforms: “They are very frequent operations.” The professor shares that they could occur with increasing speed, since “the market, in the face of operations like these, tends to consolidate quickly.”
In fact, this very week, Disney has purchased 70% of Fubo, a digital multichannel video distributor present in the United States, Canada and Spain, focused on top-level sports competitions (from the Premier League to the NBA), along with news, movies and series. Elena Neira recognizes that these operations have “undeniable” advantages, such as the “possibility of accessing broad masses of the public and reducing the risk of cancellation.” Although it is not without drawbacks, such as “the weakening of the brand, the reduction of margins and the transfer of data.”
The future of the Filmin brand value, in the spotlight
“In a market saturated with platforms that try to guess what you want to see, our goal is to discover the cinema that moves us, hand-selecting the films that changed us yesterday and those that challenge us today,” is the way in which we Filmin describe their reason for being. “We exist because cinema changed our lives,” they insist. The project was born more than fifteen years ago, in a context in which download systems such as eMule and Series Yonkis worked as the main pirate alternative to watch series and movies.
Within this –illegal– universe, its founders opted to create a streaming platform focused on auteur cinema and European productions, far from commercial productions. It would offer content on demand in streaming and legally, under subscription. Then they had the support of the main independent film distributors in the country, such as Alta Films, El Deseo, Avalon, Vértigo, Wanda Visión and Cameo. “People took us for real crazy people,” they acknowledged in an interview in The Confidential on its tenth anniversary. But they got it right.
Nearly two decades later, Filmin has more than 15,000 titles in its catalog, which they renew every week, and which they distribute around channels that address different themes. ‘Feature films that turn 25 years old in 2025’ (Gladiator, Dance in the Dark)‘Are you missing a street?’ (This is England, Blood on the lips)‘Film classrooms’ (A brilliant reason, Radical) and ‘Couple troubles’ (You will return, Before dawn) They are some of those who currently distribute their titles.
In line with the rest of the platforms (Netflix, Apple TV+, SkyShowtime) Filmin raised its rates in March of last year, reasoning its decision on “the constant increase” in its costs. The increase was two euros in its annual rate, so that its current price is 9.99 euros per month. The annual fee, which must be made in a single payment, remained at 84 euros. Until that moment, the platform had not changed the amount of its subscriptions in more than fifteen years. “The changes will help us continue to improve the quality of our service and continue offering an exceptional selection of movies and series,” they argued.
Regarding its benefits, Expansion It noted that Filmin had a turnover of 22.6 million euros in 2023, increasing its income by 13.6% compared to 2022, quadrupling its net profit to 1.5 million; thanks to consolidating its strategy focused on increasing the number of subscribers. His record is held in 2021, the year in which he earned more than 2.5 million euros. All of this after the venture capital funds Nazca and Seaya Ventures took control of its capital in 2020.
Agreements with major studios
Its strategy involved launching a user retention campaign, consolidating agreements with international distributors and production companies and increasing the offer with content from companies such as Warner Bros. and Disney. In 2017, it partnered with Vodafone, integrating its entire film catalog into the payment operator, so that customers of this service can also access its film catalog.
Filmin partnered with Warner Bros. in September 2023, adding 75 films to its catalog, coinciding with the Hollywood studio’s centenary. These included classics like The Bazaar of Surprises, Evasion or Victory, Wild Bunch, Singing in the Rain and Seven brides for seven brothers.
These titles joined those belonging to Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Studio Canal and Paramount Pictures. It partnered with Disney last year, adding another 60 great classics produced by Touchstone, Fox and Disney itself to its offering. Among them, Chariots of Fire, Eve Naked, Two Men and a Destiny, The Fly, Ed Wood and The color of money. In 2022 they opened their own production label, Filmin Originals, with which they have released series such as Selftape, Self defense and Doctor Portuondo.
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