Admira, the media subsidiary of Spain's Telefonica last night confirmed the anticipated appointment of Pedro Antonio Martin Marin as its new president, and announced the division of the filial into two separate companies: Admira and Telefonica Contenidos (Telefonica Contents).

Martin Marin will preside over Admira, which will contain the company's free-to-air TV and radio interests in Spain and abroad, including Antena 3 TV, Onda Cero, Grupo Atco (Telefe y Radio Continental), Pearson and sports rights broker Torneos y Competencias.

Telefonica Contenidos, which will be temporarily overseen by Martin Marin predecessor Luis Abril, represents the company's commitment to "broadband development" and the search for link-ups as a multiplatform operator.

Among the interests housed in this new division will be Endemol Entertainment and Via Digital, which is pending approval of its merger with rival Canal Satelite Digital. Other content interests include Lolafilms, Media Park and Patagonik.

The restructuring of the filial into separate divisions has been anticipated for months, however there have also been widespread rumours that Telefonica was looking to sell off or find new heavyweight partners for interests such as Antena 3 or Lolafilms.

A former politician with crucial links to Spain's reigning Popular Party government, Martin Marin was most recently president of Hispasat, the satellite provider part-owned by Telefonica. He once held the post of general subdirector of Antena 3.