Tell us a little about yourself. What does your job at Telefónica involve?
I am the Sports Director at Movistar Plus+. My job mainly involves organising everything necessary to ensure that the most relevant sports content reaches Movistar+ customers. This includes, with the help of a wonderful team, deciding what content is necessary for the platform, managing the purchase of the rights to that content, and deciding how, when and in what way it will be produced and broadcast.
After more than a decade in the sports industry, particularly in rights and organisation, how would you sum up your professional development so far?
The truth is that I have been very fortunate both in terms of my personal development and in being able to work for leading companies in their sector. For example, being at IMG, a leading company in sports marketing, sports rights and talent management, helps you grow, evolve, learn and gain a lot of experience in day-to-day management. Similarly, being able to manage a major competition such as the Davis Cup also helps you understand the management of a major event in a global and 360º way.
How do you balance traditional content (live matches) with new audiovisual offerings to differentiate the platform’s offering?
Traditional sport and live broadcasts are and will continue to be key to audiovisual consumption. I don’t think you can understand sport without live broadcasts. That said, consumption varies and has varied, and immediacy, as well as access to any content at any time and from anywhere, means that we have to adapt and make content more accessible and packaged in different ways so that we can all find what we are looking for.
From your experience, what trends do you see dominating the OTT sports market in the coming years?
A bit along the lines of what I mentioned in my previous answer. We must adapt not only to the content that each of the key sports communities demand (football, basketball, motor racing, tennis, golf), but also to the way in which it is packaged and consumed by the customer. For Movistar+, this means continuing to be that benchmark and infinite stadium where not being there means constantly missing out on something.
Leading an area such as sports requires strong internal and external coordination: how do you align teams to achieve consistent results?
That’s right. We are a large group where all the editorial, production, rights and content teams must interact, not only with other areas of the company (commercial, communication, legal, financial, etc.) but also with all our partners, content providers, leagues, federations and sporting events.
Information, support and coordination are key words and elements for achieving those consistent results.
On a more personal note: what excites you about this sector and what motivates you on a daily basis in your role?
I always give the same answer because it’s true. No two days, events or live broadcasts are the same; they are all different. We interact with countless people and organisations that make each of our days very different. As I said before, learning every day from such a large group motivates me even more, if that’s possible.
Which people working at Telefónica would you nominate for this interview who you consider to be excellent at their job?
I am going to nominate a business person at Movistar Plus+, Agustín Navarro, commercial director, and a person who takes care of us all, Álvaro Ruiz, head of styling at Movistar Plus+.
