Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZEvolución de las series juveniles transmedia en España: el caso de PlayZ de RTVE doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | 307 January-June of 2026ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978How to cite this article: Valenzuela-Monreal, S.; Lozano Delmar, J. and Araque-Padilla, R. A. (2026). Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: e Case of RTVE’s PlayZ. Doxa Comunicación, 42, pp. 307-338.https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n42a2752Sara Valenzuela-Monreal. She is a research assistant in the Department of Communication and Education at the Universidad Loyola Andalucía, where she has taught Audiovisual Language and Script in the degrees of Audiovisual Communication and Performing and Cinematographic Arts. She is the beneciary of a University Teacher Training Contract (FPU). She is a doctoral student in the Inclusive and Sustainable Development Program of the same university. She is part of the Marketing for Society and LIGAINCOM research groups. Research League in Communication and Culture. Gender (S), Narrative, Ideology and Visual Studies (SEJ694). Moreover, she has a master’s degree in lm and television at the Carlos III University of Madrid and a degree in Communication (with a major in Communication Media) from the Loyola Andalusia University. In her research, she tries to connect areas related to inclusive and sustainable development with communication, especially in relation to audiovisual narrative and teen series.Loyola University Andalusia, Spain [email protected]ORCID:0000-0003-0282-8699Javier Lozano Delmar. Holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Seville and is an Associate Professor at Loyola Andalucía University. He teaches courses such as Audiovisual Narrative and Aesthetics and Communication Technology in the Faculty of Communication and Arts. His research activity focuses on the eld of audiovisual narrative, with a particular emphasis on the study of television series, active audiences, fandom, transmedia storytelling in lm and television, and media literacy. He has participated in several European projects focusing on disinformation and education. Javier is a member of the research group Liga de Investigación en Comunicación y Cultura: Género(s), Narrativa, Ideología y Estudios Visuales, where he contributes to societal outreach activities and colloquia on television series.Loyola University Andalusia, Spain [email protected]ORCID:0000-0002-0974-1118is content is published under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. International License CC BY-NC 4.0

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]


308 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónRafael A. Araque-Padilla. He is a Professor of Marketing at the Universidad Loyola Andalucía and holds a PhD from the University of Córdoba and a master’s degree in marketing and commercial management from ESIC. He is part of the Marketing for Society research group at Loyola Andalucía University and has been the coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Inclusive and Sustainable Development at this university for seven years. His research focuses on areas such as macromarketing, social marketing, critical marketing or responsible and transformative consumption. His research covers topics such as food marketing systems and their impact on the quality of life in the diets of children, impoverished countries or the environment; social marketing at the Education for Development service; and the inclusion of vulnerable consumers through marketing systems and their catalytic agents, working with refugees, marginalized neighbourhoods or impoverished countries. He has published his work in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Aairs, International Review on Public and Nonprot Marketing, International Journal of Nonprot and Voluntary Sector Marketing, Safety Science, Nutrients, Health Communication, Environmental Management, and Applied Soft Computing. Additionally, he participates in development cooperation projects nanced by various public institutions.Loyola University Andalusia, Spain [email protected]ORCID:0000-0002-3729-9240Recibido: 26/07/2024 - Aceptado: 24/10/2024 - En edición: 29/11/2024 - Publicado: 01/01/2026Resumen:En los últimos años se está produciendo un cambio en las formas de consu-mo de las series debido, especialmente, a una audiencia joven que dedica gran parte de su tiempo al uso de las redes sociales y al visionado de con-tenidos audiovisuales, pero que no se siente representada en los productos tradicionales. En este contexto, la televisión pública española (RTVE) ha manifestado un fuerte compromiso con los más jóvenes, así como su interés por buscar en las narrativas digitales la solución para atraer a este segmen-to. Este artículo nace con el objetivo de estudiar la estrategia transmedia de las series de PlayZ –canal digital de contenido joven de RTVE– para ana-lizar si la televisión pública está respondiendo a la adaptación en formato y contenido que demanda esta audiencia. Entre los principales resultados del estudio cabe destacar la idoneidad de los medios y formatos empleados por la plataforma, así como de la integración de inuencers en el equipo artístico. Sin embargo, PlayZ, no ha apostado por acciones que fomenten el contenido generado por el usuario. Además, se puede apreciar una evo-lución en la plataforma, donde se ha priorizado su vocación de servicio público en sus series y su estrategia transmedia.Palabras clave: Series de televisión; transmedia; jóvenes; televisión pública; narrativas digitales.Received: 26/07/2024 - Accepted: 24/10/2024 - Early access: 29/11/2024 - Published: 01/01/2026Abstract:In recent years, the ways in which series are consumed have changed, mainly because young audiences dedicate a large part of their time to the use of social networks and to the viewing of audiovisual content but do not feel represented in traditional products. In this context, Spanish public television (RTVE) has shown a strong commitment to young people and an interest in seeking solutions to attract this segment in digital narratives. is article aims to examine the transmedia strategy of the PlayZ series –RTVE’s digital channel of young content– to determine whether public television responds to adaptations in the format and content that this audience demands. e main results of the study include the suitability of the media and formats used by the platform, as well as the integration of inuencers in the artistic team. However, PlayZ has not opted for actions that promote user-generated content. Additionally, the platform has evolved, as its vocation of public service has been prioritized in its series and its transmedia strategy.Keywords: TV series; young people; transmedia narratives; public television; digital narratives.

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]


doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 309 1. Introduction1.1. Digital audiovisual entertainment and young peopleOne of the great beneciaries of the change in consumer behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic was OTT (over-the-top) services (PwC, 2023). In fact, in Spain, the consumption of audiovisual content is one of the ways in which Spaniards most often engage with digital technologies (Fundación Telefónica, 2023). Relatedly, the consumption of digital content through platforms has risen to the detriment of traditional linear television consumption. In fact, traditional television consumption has decreased among all age groups, especially among young people (11% compared with 2022) and adults aged 25 to 44 years (12% compared with 2022) (Barlovento Comunicación, 2023). At the same time, 73.4% of internet users in Spain use connected televisions to consume online content (Fundación Telefónica, 2023).is is especially interesting for young Spaniards, for whom watching television or series on platforms is the second most popular leisure activity (INJUVE, 2021). In fact, 56.4% of young people between 15 and 19 years old are subscribed to an audiovisual content platform, a percentage that corresponded to 52% in 2019 (Ministry of Culture, 2019; 2022), and 89.6% view online multimedia content, a gure higher than those of the other age groups (Fundación Telefónica, 2023). Digital leisure platforms “have become identitary references for youth” (INJUVE, 2021: 165).In this context, networks and platforms are trying to adapt to young audiences (Azurmendi, 2018); these eorts include teen series, which have experienced a boom in Spain in recent years (Gil-Quintana and Gil -Tevar, 2020). ese series are characterized by the fact that they tell the story of an adolescent or a group of adolescents during their high school years and have a strong dramatic cut that, in recent years, is being hybridized to other genres (Masanet and Fedele, 2019). Another relevant feature of teen series is their transmedia nature (Schanke, 2019), which allows “the development of characters in an alternative way” and the immersion of the public in the story, using transmedia as a “connector between the stories and their dissemination on the young audiences […] e way of telling stories changes and is conditioned to the present” (Mateos-Pérez, 2021: 154).Relatedly, several authors have been rethinking the concept of “television” to very dierent screens and formats (Bengtsson et al., 2018; Schanke, 2019). Time, space and broadcasters no longer make up the television experience (Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2019), reaching a “liquid television” (Quintas-Froufe and González-Neira, 2016). Mateos-Pérez (2021), in his studies on SKAM Spain (Movistar +, 2018-2020) and Merlí (TV3, 2015-2018), concluded that transmedia stories help “to develop characters in an alternative way and allow the public a more immersive deep in history […] In these new proposals, the transmedia form is used as a connector between the stories and their diusion on young audiences […] e way of telling stories changes and is conditioned to the present”(p.154). Furthermore, Lacalle et al. (2024) highlighted as an example of interactivity in Spain the teen series UPA Next (Atresmedia, 2022-), in which users could access the social proles of the protagonists, as well as a virtual Academy in the metaverse and the website of the dance school where the series takes place. In this sense, the rst series created by Instagram Spain –Close Friends Forever (Instagram, 2024)– stands out, as it stars the content creator Iker Unzu (Meta, 2024). However, this work examines these transmedia teen series in the context of public television, as we will discuss in detail later.
310 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicación1.2. Series and transmediaAs Scolari (2019) noted, the introduction, development and expansion of the concept of transmedia (Kinder, 1991; Jenkins, 2006; Scolari, 2013), from the early 1990s to the present, has had its own life cycle. e concept of transmedia narratives was used to label and name the convergence of media (Jenkins, 2006), and it quickly became a “magic word” with a great impact in the academic and professional sphere (Scolari, 2019: 71). Jenkins (2003), in his well-known MIT Technology Review article, “christened” the term as follows:In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling, each medium does what it does best so that a story might be introduced in a lm, expanded through television, novels, and comics, and its world might be explored and experienced through game play. Each franchise entry needs to be self-contained enough to enable autonomous consumption (Jenkins, 2003).Later, the author reected on participation (Jenkins, 2006) and expanded his concept by indicating that transmedia should be a “unied and coordinated entertainment experience” (Jenkins, 2009) referring, among other issues, to the multiplicity of stories thanks to fans. e following clarication can be obtained from a current edition of a narrative dictionary:ere are various interpretations of both the origin and the meaning of the term transmedia […] e main characteristic of transmedia in the eld of communication is dissemination through various media […] e transmedia practice emphasizes the activity of users and their involvement in the narratives through the media (Vílches, 2021: 730-731).In a study of the historical journey of the term, Establés and Grijalba de la Calle indicated that transmediality is currently related mainly to “the breakdown of linearity, with the segmentation of audiences and interaction” (2022: 18).A clear example of this is the case of the Norwegian teen series SKAM (NRK, 2015-2017) (Bengtsson et al., 2018; Schanke, 2019). is ction was distributed (in a complementary way) on its website, on Instagram, and on the country’s public television, NRK, and became a global phenomenon (Schanke, 2019). Additionally, in SKAM, Instagram messages, SMS conversations and YouTube clips were also considered parts of the series that included fragments of the story that could be consumed only in those formats (Bengtsson et al., 2018). Bengtsson et al. (2018) employed dierent focus groups in Norway to evaluate the success of a series that was able to reward the audience when adolescents invested time and eort in sharing, discussing and decoding the texts of dierent platforms (Schanke, 2019). e participants highlighted the sensation of reality that was appreciated by being able to see the series in real time, as well as the exibility and ability to control the viewing oered by digital platforms and the short duration of the content, fostering discussion in the community and the community. motivation to update platforms (Bengtsson et al., 2018).In Spain, numerous studies have analysed transmedia series (Costa and Piñero, 2012; Cascajosa, 2016; Hidalgo-Marí and Segarra-Saavedra, 2020; Villén and Ruiz del Olmo, 2020), the relationship between transmedia and the viewer, as well as the active participation of the audience (Torregrosa-Carmona and Rodríguez-Gómez, 2017; Miranda and Figuero, 2016; Rubio Jordán, 2021), and even the proposal of methodologies and models to analyse the transmedia strategy of television series (Guerrero-Pico, 2014; Formoso, 2015). To analyse the relationship between transmedia and viewer engagement, we have worked with methods based on questionnaires or focus groups for series followers (Torregrosa-Carmona and Rodríguez-Gómez, 2017) or in the analysis of user-generated content (UGC), which allows us to explain the role of the fan in a transmedia
doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 311 series (Miranda and Figuero, 2016). Other investigations have focused on analysing or categorizing the dierent strategies used to expand the universe of the series (Tur-Viñes and Rodríguez Ferrándiz, 2014; Formoso, 2015; García-Vega and de la Fuente, 2022).In Spain, the protagonists of teen series increasingly have proles on social networks that provide the content of any adolescent of this age (García-Muñoz and Fedele, 2011) and that promote debates and the participatory culture of this segment of the population (Gil-Quintana and Gil-Tévar, 2020). ese proles have become a new space for investigating the audiovisual representations of youth (Villén and Ruiz del Olmo, 2020). In fact, “86% of internet users from 12 to 74 years old use social networks” (IAB, 2024:75). However, the users who spend the most time online are young people from 12 to 34 years old (IAB, 2023). WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are the most commonly used social networks in Spain, and Telegram, TikTok , LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest are the social networks have continued to grow in 2023 vs. 2022, with TikTok being the one that has grown the most rapidly (IAB, 2023). Additionally, YouTube is no longer the platform in which the highest volume of views is consumed, since TikTok has surpassed it, with a growth of 250% between 2020 and 2021 (IAB, 2022); moreover, 82.4% of young Spaniards are also content creators, especially on Instagram (68.2%) and TikTok (35.5%) (Centro Reina Sofía and FAD, 2022).Undoubtedly, these trends highlight signicant changes in the audiovisual consumption of young people. is, added to the increase in the use of social networks and the perception of this segment of the population that television series adapted to their habits are not created, has contributed to the fact that Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), as a public service channel, has proposed the creation of content adapted for and aimed at young audiences.1.3. Transmedia and public television: RTVE and its commitment to young people through PlayZIn recent years, national public television has opted to develop transmedia strategies for its television series, which have been analysed by several authors (Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster, 2018). In fact, Águila Roja (RTVE, 2009-2016) was one of the rst Spanish series for which the story was expanded to multiple platforms, and the subject has already been addressed from an academic perspective (Costa and Piñero, 2012; Guerrero-Pico, 2014). On the other hand, the historical ction El Ministerio del Tiempo has been examined in various studies (Rodríguez-Mateos and Hernández-Pérez, 2015; Cascajosa, 2016; Miranda and Figuero, 2016; Scolari and Establés, 2017; Torregrosa-Carmona and Rodríguez -Gómez, 2017; Miranda-Galbe et al., 2021). e series can be classied as a success if it is measured as a product “oriented to the new model of social television” (Cascajosa, 2016: 63). To examine the relationships of users with their social networks, especially with Twitter, Rodríguez-Mateos and Hernández-Pérez (2015) analysed their transmedia through the data of the tweets that included the most popular hashtags during the broadcasts of the episodes. e work of Azurmendi (2018) is also relevant because they took the series (along with other transmedia products of European public TV in France, Germany and the United Kingdom) as an example of the work that public televisions are doing to reconnect with their young audiences through the transmedia. According to this author, transmedia narratives are best received by audiences through entertainment (Azurmendi, 2018). Another case that merits study is the EiTB series Go! Azen (EiTB, 2009-), with works that, through case methodology and interviews, analyse the impact of its mobile app (Larrondo-Ureta et al., 2020) and others that, from an educommunicative perspective, dene it as a
312 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónpedagogical resource for the young population due to the visibility of their values and diversity in their plots (Junguitu-Angulo and Osuna-Acedo, 2023).Like this work, many of these investigations have the common denominator of young people and their consumption. e work on Go! Azen concluded that one of the main challenges in the eld of the media in its role as a public service is that of “adapting the mentality about television in relation to young people and about the associated processes of audience measurement, consumption and investment in programs and products”. (Larrondo-Ureta et al., 2020: 2020:1452).If we focus on RTVE, Law 17/2006, in Article 25, states that the Corporation must pay special attention to children and youth (BOE, 2006, Art. 25). However, in 2023, Mediaset, Atresmedia and YouTube ranked above RTVE in “aggregate audiovisual share”, which allows us to compare traditional television channels with platforms (Barlovento, 2023). us, while YouTube had an aggregate audiovisual share of 11.7% and 37.8% among young people aged 18 to 24, that of RTVE was 11.2% (Barlovento, 2023). In fact, young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are the segment of the population that perceives the least variety in RTVE’s content and those that consume the least of its channels, with 30.8% of regular viewers compared with 73.5% of viewers common in people aged 65 or over (CMNC, 2023). is has been a challenge for RTVE, which has been forced to learn about and adapt to the consumption behaviours of young people, which dier greatly from those of the rest of its audience (Segarra-Saavedra, 2018). us, one of the main objectives of Spanish public television is to generate native digital content focused on young audiences through the PlayZ platform (RTVE Commission, 2020).In addition to RTVE’s interest in attracting young audiences and the rise of transmedia, a third factor should be mentioned; specically, public television was digitized in the early years of the 21st century as a bid to extend their content through online strategies (Medina and Ojer, 2010). is was one of the reasons for Law 17/2006, of June 5, on state-owned radio and television, which was “inevitable in a context of technological development” (BOE, 2006, Preamble). In 2008, when RTVE began to innovate in its digital media in a competitive way, drawing inspiration from other public television networks such as the BBC (Medina and Ojer, 2010). In this context, the RTVE Lab was born in 2011 as a media laboratory, that is, a project with the function of researching, experimenting with and developing technological innovations with the aim of being up-to-date with new ways of telling stories at the rhythm of the dierent media (Subires, 2019).PlayZ was originally developed as a free platform and then was expanded through social networks, focused on an audience of people between 13 and 24 years old; an individual in this age group watches little conventional television but is a “great consumer of audiovisual content outside of traditional distribution channels” (González Saavedra, 2020: 8). However, the audience of PlayZ is not clearly stated, and some content is consumed by people over 35 years old (Casado et al., 2023). In fact, knowledge of the PlayZ platform is 25.6%, and although young people know about it more than adults aged 30 to 35 years old do, this segment of the population consumes it more (Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al., 2023a). Similarly, Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al. (2023a) reported that 24.4% of young people feel little reected in the contents of PlayZ, while 20.6% somewhat and 21.6% highly reected (the remaining 33% N/A).PlayZ provides a combination of programs developed by inuencers, webdocs, teen series with the language, format and themes typically consumed by the youngest audience and the incorporation of inuencers in distributions (Segarra-Saavedra, 2018); thus, an exchange of the public between social networks and the platform is established (Rodríguez-Martelo and
doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 313 Maroto, 2022). e appearance of inuencers in the content of PlayZ generates interest and a feeling of belonging among young people, causing this audience to feel attracted to the platform and want to interact through their social networks (Maroto and Rodríguez-Martelo, 2019). In fact, after friends, family and acquaintances, inuencers have the social proles that social network users follow the most: 53% follow someone, a gure that increases to 78% in young people between 12 and 17 years old (IAB, 2022).e series created by PlayZ tend to be carried out by young people, who frequently use their mobile phones, and address themes typical of this age (Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al., 2023a). Additionally, PlayZ series are broadcast on the platform but follow a liquid distribution strategy, as the episodes can also be viewed in full on YouTube (García et al., 2021). However, although Playz’s strategy is aimed at creating original youth content, on YouTube, it increasingly has less weight than original ction does, and a greater balance with nonction is being established (García et al., 2021).In short, the line that separates screens and content seems to be more blurred than ever (Hidalgo-Marí and Segarra-Saavedra, 2020), so characters have to explore the limits between reality and ction. A series is increasingly eeting in our conversations and, even in our memory (Neira, 2020), and the need to keep an engaged and participative audience can nd a solution in a transmedia strategy that generates characters with whom the viewer can be identied and that they are part of a story that extends beyond traditional television (Villén and Ruiz del Olmo, 2020).is study explores the transmedia strategies used in PlayZ’s teen ction series to determine whether public television responds to adaptations in the format and content demanded by the youngest. From this, we derive the general objective of the research GO (General Objective): to study how public television responds to changes in the consumption of young people through its ction series.Some studies have focused on isolated PlayZ series (Hidalgo-Marí and Segarra-Saavedra, 2020; Vázquez-Herrero, et al., 2019); others have focused on the platform’s strategy beyond its ctional content (Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al., 2023a; García et al., 2021). However, few studies have investigated X-rays of ctional channel production since its inception (Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al., 2023b). us, with the idea of continuing to expand the study of this platform, the following specic objectives are proposed:SO1: Identify the characteristic features of the transmedia strategy of PlayZ’s teen series.SO2: Detect and analyse the trends in the evolution of the transmedia content of the selected PlayZ teen series.2. MethodologyTo meet these objectives, we utilized a qualitative methodology, which was based on an analysis of the structure of transmedia narratives, following the proposal of García and Heredero (2015). e common thread of this proposal is the narrative universe of a series to identify the dierent elements that compose it (in the dierent media) and the relationship that is created between them. In this model, dierent phases are established to analyse the structure of transmedia narratives. First, the macrohistory (narrative base of transmedia) and its extensions must be identied and analysed, understood as the rest of the pieces that are part of the universe of ction (Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster, 2018). Afterwards, the entire transmedia universe is
314 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónmapped, and a chronological line is dened with the ctional contents that follow the temporal space of the narrative diegesis of the series.García and Heredero (2015) propose the following elements to consider in the mapping of a transmedia universe: (1) identication of the extension; (2) the medium in which it is disseminated; (3) the target audiences and role of those audiences, detailed in Annex 1 according to the classication of Hernández and Grandío (2011) and Guerrero-Pico (2014); (4) the parts into which each extension is divided; (5) the narrative elements that participate in the extension (intervening characters, space and time); (6) the function of extension in history; and (7) the ocial content/user-generated content (UGC).e model proposed by García and Heredero (2015) was modied in the following ways: –In this analysis, in addition to the diegetic contents, the nonctional contents of the series were incorporated, as has been done in other transmedia analyses, such as La Peste (Hernández, 2019). –is means that although the chronology of the ctional elements is analysed, a temporal graph is not included since the nondiegetic elements cannot be incorporated. –In addition to the medium, the format in which the expansion is carried out was included in the analysis, as already suggested by other studies on transmedia (Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster, 2018; Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al., 2023b) –In the classication of audience roles (Annex 1), playful role/player was added (Guerrero-Pico, 2014). –e interactions in transmedia social proles are also indicated in the model. Hidalgo-Marí and Segarra-Saavedra (2020)examined audiences and interactions in social proles by analysing the date, type of publication, content, number of views generated, number of reactions, number of comments and number of times the content is shared. Moreover, the interactions received in each of the social proles of the strategy are analysed on the basis of the following data: number of followers, number of publications and average number of likes. –To analyse the functions of the extension of macrohistory (point 6 of the mapping), we worked on the classication of Ivars-Ni-colás and Zaragoza-Fuster (2018) from the touchpoints of Askwith (2007), which has already been used in other analyses of ction transmedia (Pardo-Larrosa and Martínez-Cano, 2020; Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al., 2023b). is classication is sum-marized in Annex 2.e nal analysis template that will be followed in the study is presented below (Table 1).
doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 315 Table 1. Template used for the analysis of the transmedia seriesReferences EXTENSION IDENTIFICATIONExtension of the transmedia universe that is being analysed.García y Heredero (2015) MEDIUM/SUPPORT and FORMATDetermination of support or medium in which said content is developed (social network, platform, support, oine action) and the format in which it is carried out.García and Heredero (2015); Ivars-Nicolás y Zaragoza-Fuster (2018); Eguzkitza-Mestraitua et al. (2023b) INTERACTIONS RECEIVEDIn the extensions in social proles: - Number of followers. - Number of publications. - Average “likes” on Instagram.Hidalgo-Marí y Segarra-Saavedra (2020) TARGET AUDIENCE AND ROLE – Observer role. – Diusing role. – Discursive role. – Creative role. – Playful role.Developed in Annex 1. PARTS INTO WHICH THE EXTENSION IS DIVIDEDWays in which the extension is divided (episodes, number of social media proles).García y Heredero (2015) NARRATIVE ASPECTS – Characters – Space – Time.García y Heredero (2015) ROLE OF EXTENSION IN HISTORY – Expanded access. – Adapted content. – Expanded content. – Brand products. – Related activities. – Social interaction. – Interactivity.Developed in Annex 2. OFFICIAL CONTENT/UGCDetermination of whether the analysed content is developed by the chain/platform or if it is UGC.García y Heredero (2015)Source: own elaboration based on the contributions of Guerrero-Pico (2014), García and Heredero (2015), Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster (2018) and Villén and Ruiz del Olmo (2020)
316 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónIn the gures presented in the results, the categories of the variables “user role”, “role in history” and “ocial content/UGC” are detailed in the following legend:Figure 1. Legends prepared for the maps of the transmedia strategiesSource: own elaboration on the basis of the contributions of Guerrero-Pico (2014), García and Heredero (2015) and Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster (2018)To select the sample, we examined the production of the PlayZ ction series (categorized by the platform as “series de PlayZ”), considering that other works have already focused monographically on series in isolation, with great attention to the rst series, Si fueras tú. For this reason, we decided to choose a sample that covered the PlayZ teen series released from the platform’s birth (2017) to the year of the last release (2022), choosing one for each year of broadcast. Because we wanted to analyse the progression in transmedia content aimed at young people, we established the following inclusion criteria: (1) they were teen series; (2) they were original PlayZ series; and (3) they had a transmedia strategy.e following series were selected (their plots are detailed in Annex 3): –Si fueras tú (2017). –Bajo la red (2018-2019). – Boca Norte (2019). – Riders (2021). –Ser o no ser (2022-).

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]


doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 317 3. Resultse main results obtained for each of the series analysed are presented below. 3.1. Si fueras tú (2017)e macrohistory of Si fueras tú consists of 8 episodes. is series is characterized by the fact that the public’s decisions aected this macrostory: after the broadcast of each episode, the audience could vote on which of two options Alba (the protagonist) would choose.To carry out this transmedia strategy, ve social networks, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp, as well as the series’ own website, which functioned as a starting point for viewer participation, were used (Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2019; Hidalgo-Marí and Segarra-Saavedra, 2020). Five days before the premiere, this platform published a video tutorial for following the transmedia strategy.us, every week, a new chapter was streamed on Facebook and on the PlayZ platform. After this, Alba published a video on Facebook asking how to act when faced with a problem, and users voted through the use of emoticons. e response rate on the prole was high, through votes, comments and shares, within a short time frame, especially since users only had 24 hours to vote (Hidalgo-Marí and Segarra-Saavedra, 2020). In the second chapter, voting was also allowed through Instagram, which caused participation on Facebook to fall below 15% (Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2019).Image 1. Publications of the Instagram and Facebook proles of Si fueras túSource: @sifuerastuplayz/Facebook prole “Si fueras tú-Playz”

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]


318 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónese social proles incorporated expansive content from the narrative universe, such as police les related to the case of disappearance being investigated in the series. On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, content outside the diegesis, such as trailers or live virtual encounters, was also incorporated to promote the series, which is especially relevant because of the impact on the social networks of protagonists (Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2019). In some of these video encounters, actors from other PlayZ series or RTVE productions joined and talked about Si fueras tú and other content related to the chain. An example of this is the video meeting of Óscar Casas (one of the protagonists of the series, which currently has 3.2 million followers on Instagram) and Mario Casas (an actor already recognized in 2018, currently with more than 7 million followers).Contests were also held, such as promoting public participation in the lming of the series. e promotion strategy of this contest was through the characters themselves, who uploaded videos to the Instagram prole warning that Nerea (the organizer of a Halloween party) had allowed them to invite more people and that the link to join could be found in the account bio.Furthermore, Alba’s character has her own Instagram prole (@albaruizalonso), which contains expansive information about the series, such as photographs she has received related to the disappearance or messages from her friend Marta. Alba’s account began to publish images almost a month before the start of the series, prior to the macrohistory, although it was updated simultaneously.e proles of the series and the protagonist were ocially created by RTVE, so users could intervene by adding likes and comments but could not participate creatively in the generation of story expansions. Actions related to interactivity have had the greatest social impact on these proles, specically, Alba’s live performances after each episode and the votes to decide what happened in the series (Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2019).Additionally, a WhatsApp chat in which one could interact with Alba was created. However, communication in this social network (in which 8,900 followers participated) was unidirectional and did not achieve the level of conversation that was intended (Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2019; Hidalgo-Marí and Segarra-Saavedra, 2020).

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]


doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 319 Image 2. Publications of the Instagram prole of Si fueras túSource: @sifuerastuplayz/@albaruizalonsoFinally, after the premiere of all the chapters, Si fueras tú was released in lm format, as would happen with most of the PlayZ series. All these contents (series and lm) were also published on the PlayZ YouTube channel, as were the video encounters with the actors. Notably, in some of these video encounters, followers were asked to send their comments or theories (UGC) so that they were commented upon by the actors (Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2019).Image 3. Screenshot of a video meeting in which UGC is promotedSource: YouTube prole @playz
320 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónFigure 2. Summary map of the transmedia of Si fueras túSource: own elaboration based on the contributions of Guerrero-Pico (2014), García and Heredero (2015), Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster (2018) and Villén and Ruiz del Olmo (2020)3.2. Bajo la red (2018-2019)RTVE (2019) presented the Bajo la Red series as a “transmedia series” and, before its broadcast, published a video tutorial on how to follow the series on dierent platforms. is macrohistory (the series) involves transmedia expansions disseminated through Instagram. Attractive inuencers were incorporated into this segment of the population to interpret some of the protagonists (among them, Angy Fernández with 361,000 followers on Instagram and Manuel Huedo with 396,000).Instagram proles were created for each of the ve main characters (currently not available, an example from the tutorial is included in Image 4), in which they began to spread stories and publications before the rst chapter of the series was broadcast. In these networks, it was possible to observe whether the objectives of the boys were being fullled with the help of the Achiever. is meant that, in the chronological line of the narrative universe, the macrohistory and the expansion were broadcast simultaneously (although they started days before on Instagram); thus, after the broadcast of the rst chapter of the series, we could see the continuation of the characters on Instagram.

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]


doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 321 Image 4. Publications of the Instagram prole of Bajo La RedSource: @bajolaredplayz and PlayZ YouTube ProleIn addition to the narrative content, Bajo la Red has an Instagram prole (@bajolaredplayz), which was also replicated on Twitter and Facebook. ese social networks (in the case of Instagram through posts and stories) promoted the series, published images of the shoot and reported on its transmedia strategy. Users’ reactions were shared on Twitter, promoting a discursive role.Image 5. Reactions at the end of season 1 of Bajo la RedSource: Twittere creation of a fan account (@fcbajolared) that operated between August and October 2018 and shared the content created by the ocial prole (not UGC), should be noted. is prole invited a WhatsApp group to talk about the series; however, it is currently in disuse and includes only one user.
322 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónOn the other hand, an event was organized for fans in Madrid to which the actors attended, a concert was held by the group that interprets the title song, and episode four of the rst season of the series was seen exclusively. Conducting the contests on social networks (through comments and mentions, again promoting a discursive role) gave people the opportunity to meet the protagonists of the series in said event.e soundtrack of Bajo la Red can be found on Spotify, in the albums “Bajo la Red (Original Music from the RTVE Series)” and “Bajo la Red (2nd Season) (Original Music from the RTVE Series)”. e YouTube prole included the video clip of the original song of the series, as well as reactions of the actors to the viewing of the chapters, content adapted as compilations of scenes and the lms originating from the episodes of the rst and second seasons.With the premiere of its second season, an additional episode was broadcast as a spin-o entitled “Gabriel’s Awakening”. A new character –Julia– was introduced in the rst episode as an actress of the inuencer Marina Yers (RTVE, 2018). In this episode, the motivations of one of the main characters of season 2 (Gabriel) were explained, allowing the viewer to improve their understanding of the end of the series.Figure 3. Summary map of Bajo la red transmediaSource: own elaboration based on the contributions of Guerrero-Pico (2014), García and Heredero (2015), Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster (2018) and Villén and Ruiz del Olmo (2020)
doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 323 3.3. Boca Norte (2019)Extensions of this macrohistory (the series) have been identied through four media: Instagram, Spotify, Facebook and Twitter; however, great eorts to deepen the ctional content were made on the rst two platforms.PlayZ decided to create the Instagram proles of the eight protagonists (Annex 4). e platform once again employed actors known to this audience, such as David Solans, previously in the successful teen series Merlí (TV3, 2015-2018), or Guillermo Campra, an actor from Águila Roja and Bajo la Red. In these proles, stories and publications that were related to the series were uploaded, allowing some interaction with the user (discursive role). However, no new stories that are part of the narrative were generated. e photographs of the characters are the publications that obtain the highest average number of likes, especially in the case of Dani (David Solans).Image 6. Publications of the characters of Boca NorteSource: PlayZe social proles of the series were also created on Instagram, Facebook (Boca Norte-PlayZ) and Twitter (@bocanorte_playz). e Instagram account was especially used (through posts and stories) to publish images of lming, making of and promotional photographs of events, such as the premiere of the series, in which people popular with this audience were invited as former contestants of the reality Operation Triumph.Finally, the series featured dierent nationally recognized trap artists to create songs that appear in ction. However, these songs are not presented in their entirety in Boca Norte, so the Spotify album expands the information provided in the series. Trap is one of the most consumed genres among young audiences, so we see that all the contents of Boca Norte are focused on
324 | nº 42, pp. 307-338 | January-June of 2026Evolution of Spanish Transmedia Teen Series: The Case of RTVE’s PlayZISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónthe same audience. However, in this part of the transmedia, the user has a merely diusing role: he can only listen to the music oered on the platform and share it.Figure 4. Summary map of Boca Norte transmediaSource: own elaboration based on the contributions of Guerrero-Pico (2014), García and Heredero (2015), Ivars-Nicolás and Zaragoza-Fuster (2018) and Villén and Ruiz del Olmo (2020)3.4. Riders (2021)e macrohistory of Riders is the teen series of the PlayZ platform. is ction was part of a transmedia project that “aims to bring you closer to the situation of the riders and that you live it for a day” (RTVE, 2021) through the episodes of the series, gamication and an interactive documentary (available at RTVE Lab). ese contents full an informative, nonnarrative task; that is, they are not part of the ctional universe of the series but rather delve into a reality that tries to reect this strategy.In the game Rider for a day, users can learn about the experience of a home delivery person by controlling an application similar to that of these workers. In the game itself, data that explain the situation of this sector are provided, so while users play (playful role), they learn more about the situation of the riders.

[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]


doxa.comunicación | nº 42, pp. 307-338 January-June of 2026Sara Valenzuela-Monreal; Javier Lozano Delmar and Rafael A. Araque-PadillaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 325 Image 7. Frame of the documentary and image of the video game