Mario Briongos
Fremantle announced an update to its structure in Spain. In detail, Mario Briongos was promoted to General Manager Entertainment, reporting directly to Jaime Ondarza, CEO Southern Europe, who will become interim CEO of Fremantle Spain. Fernando Jerez, General Manager of Fremantle’s Spanish documentaries label En Cero Coma; Manuel Tera, Director and Executive Producer of Fremantle’s Scripted business in Spain; and Manuel Urbano, Director of Finance and Operations, will also report directly into Ondarza.
In his new role as General Manager Entertainment, Briongos will oversee all business and operations for Fremantle in the unscripted area. The move comes after Nathalie Garcia decided to step down from her role as CEO of Fremantle’s business in the region to pursue new opportunities.
“After almost ten amazing years, I feel that it is time for me to move on. Leaving my Fremantle family, my beloved and admired team, and such a great company is not an easy decision to make. I want to thank Fremantle’s Executive Commitee members for their continued support, Andrea Scrosati for being a very inspiring and great boss for me, and of course my colleagues and team who I will miss dearly,” Nathalie Garcia commented.
“I would like to thank Nathalie for everything she has done over her incredible career with Fremantle. We all wish her well in her next adventure. She leaves the business in fantastic health, with long-standing productions on air with all major broadcasters and streamers, as well as new developments in the pipeline. Most importantly, she leaves a fantastic team of world-class talent and professionals at Fremantle Spain, including the newly promoted General Manager of Entertainment, Mario Briongos, and the great senior management team. He and the Spanish team have been fundamental in building the strong position of our company in the region, which remains a very important market for us where we are targeting ambitious future growth,” Ondarza said.
In Spain, Fremantle produces shows across all major broadcasters and platforms including Mediaset, Atresmedia, Movistar+, Disney+, Prime Video, and Netflix. For example, “Got Talent España” has recently begun its ninth season and is currently ranking as number one show in primetime. Locally developed for Netflix, “Amor Con Fianza” (Love Never Lies) launched a second season in November 2022, which charted in the daily top 10 in 15 countries, reaching more than 5 million global viewers. Moreover, “The Masked Singer” returned for a third season this year with an average audience of 1.6 million viewers, exceeding Antena 3’s primetime and slot averages across all key demos and consistently being the most watched show in primetime.