"El Cid"
French producer and distributor, Newen takes a majority stake in the iZen group, one of the key independent players in Spanish drama and factual entertainment founded in 2000 by Jose Velasco, who remains as partner and director of iZen Group alongside Sara Fernández-Velasco.
The Spanish group has worked successfully with both platforms and Spanish national and regional channels with more than 1400 hours produced and incorporates several companies including Zebra Producciones, Euro producciones TV, Boca a Boca, Proima, Newco and Hill Valley.
Romain Bessi, managing director of Newen: “The arrival of iZen in the Newen group marks a major step in our development. These new talents will strengthen the group's creativity. It is a pleasure to work with Jose, Sara and their teams, whom we know well from previous collaborations. Newen is present in all genres and in many more territories to come. With this acquisition, we are now one of the major European players in production and distribution."
Jose Velasco, president and founder of iZen: “Our alliance with Newen and our integration into one of the main European industrial players represents a great opportunity for the future and growth of iZen in the Spanish and European audiovisual sector. We are delighted to be part of the great Newen family. Sara and Immediately connected with Bibiane and Romain's creative and commercial vision. Throughout the years, Vocento has been an excellent and loyal partner, and I am sure we will find new forms of collaboration in the future."
In 2020, iZen produced the most ambitious Spanish drama on an international scale, "El Cid", which was successfully launched on Amazon Prime Video, with a second season to be released on the platform in 2021. iZen has also initiated many developments, such as "Memento Mori", adapted from the bestseller by César Pérez Gellida, which will be distributed by Newen Connect. The group has also created and adapted numerous formats of unscripted content, including Insiders, the first reality show created in Spain for Netflix.