Spain

Abstract

Television in Spain has been experiencing many changes since General Franco’s death in 1975, when the authoritarian regime transformed into democratic government. While in the period of ‘Frankism’ (1939–75) the medium was fully controlled and used as a propaganda tool by the regime, Spanish TV has witnessed a spectacular expansion in the years that followed with the emergence of new commercial operators and the launch of digital services. Today, the free-to-view TV market can be characterised as ‘mature’ as it enjoys high household penetration rates and is the principal market by revenue. In 2004 revenue from unencrypted TV channels totalled six billion Euros, up from 5.7 billion in 2003 (nearly 55 per cent of total TV revenues) (CMT, 2004). The public sector is powerful, both in raising financial resources through advertising and subsidies/debt authorisations, and in obtaining of relatively high viewing shares. Television Espanola (TVE) includes two national channels, TVE1 and La2 (formerly TVE2), as well as seven regional channels run by the autonomous governments.