With one day left until the end of February, whose audience data will be known this Friday, La 1 is about to lose double digits for the first time since July 2023. For now, José Pablo López has dragged the main RTVE channel to third place behind Telecinco and a astronomical distance from Antena 3. And this month had audience loads as strong as the delivery of the Goya (2,359,000 spectators and a screen share of 23.5%), the final of the Benidorm Festival (1,977,000 and 16.6% share), or the first Copa del Rey semi-final (1,741,000 spectators and 12.1% share for Real Sociedad-Mallorca). All these joseplablazos have not served to prevent TVE's La 1 from losing second position in February after six months above the main Mediaset channel.
The goings-on of the director of General Content, José Pablo López, who has adopted strategies typical of private television, have been of little use. He has not achieved the desired audience increase on La 1, a triumph with which he tries to justify the shadows of his management. This questionable way of piloting RTVE is especially evident in the program purchasing policy, not to mention its suspicious information gaps. TVE 1 hid the outcome of the Galician elections, did not focus on the tragic fire in Valencia and allowed itself the luxury of relegating Ábalos' appearance to Channel 24 Hours. Furthermore, José Pablo López counterprogrammed the prime time premiere of Dreams of freedom on Antena 3 with The promise with the hope of maintaining second position compared to Telecinco, which regains its position despite not rising too much compared to the previous month.
Prime time has precisely been key to the wear and tear of the public, which sinks on average, with one day left, to 9.6%, which represents its worst result since April 2023. And it is above all because , among other issues, of wear and tear in the main strip in which it drops to 10%. Telecinco and TVE's La 1, aiming to reach double digits, are still far from Antena 3, which reaches 13% on average and is close to 14% in prime time thanks to The Anthill, The Challenge and Spanish series like Between lands.
At least, the public clings to the fact that the Telediarios (which are not under the jurisdiction of José Pablo López) remain in second position, in struggle with the renewed Telecinco News, where they compete for second place at 9 p.m. Marta Carazo and Carlos Franganillo. La 1's weekend news programs have seen their audience reduced and have sometimes lost second place, due to the drag of D Heartthe gossip space of Jordi González and Anne Igartiburu, with very disappointing data that has sometimes been below 6%.
Tensions over the renewal of its Board of Directors and the union elections
The parliamentary weakness of the Government threatens to freeze the renewal of five councilors and even to keep the interim president at the head of RTVE Elena Sánchez Caballero, that he cannot decide who makes up his teams, starting with José Pablo López, with whom he does not exactly get along well. Let us remember that the interim president had to personally veto the attempt by her general director to sign Belén Esteban, a discrepancy that represented a “monumental row” at RTVE, as confirmed by different sources. The relationship between the number one of the Corporation and its number two is not going through its best moments. But if Elena Sánchez does not get along with José Pablo López, she does not enjoy the trust of La Moncloa either.
Another issue that will put public tension are the union elections that will be held in March. RTVE sources consulted by Informal They point out that the “anomalous growth of the workforce” of the house, which now has 2,376 hired after gaining 393 in just 2 months, will make possible the victory in the aforementioned elections of the centers most aligned with the PSOE, UGT and the Independent Union. Internally, the agenda has also been set by resignation of the members of the RTVE Interactive Media News Council that spoiled the coverage he made Ines Hernand in the preview of the Goya. The reporter called the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, an “icon”, and this situation angered the aforementioned body. “It seems to us that the flattering tone towards a president of the Government, whatever the sign, has no place on public radio and television, which is everyone's.” “As much as we want to give a casual, alternative tone and designed for a youth audience, we believe that any content that carries the RTVE brand must comply with the quality and neutrality standards included in the RTVE style book and within the framework of the Information Statute, specifically its articles 8 and 9, which the Corporation's professionals are well aware of and to which they owe,” the Council said. The three members of the body, Alejandro Vega, Santiago Riesco and Óscar Canencia, have indicated that they do not know how to act after announcing their goodbye: “The situation is unprecedented and therefore we will contact RTVE's legal services to find out how to proceed in “in this case, announcing as soon as possible the call for elections for its renewal. The Council will remain in office until the replacement takes place. In such circumstances, we want to ask that we join forces and not leave it empty.”
Exam Thursday
This Thursday the president of RTVE, Elena Sánchez Caballero, submits to questions from the different political parties. The PP has announced that it will be interested in topics such as “why the farmers and ranchers who protest in the streets are from extreme right”, which, according to Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has been used as an adjective in the news programs of the public channel. Eduardo Carazo, PP deputy for Cantabria, will ask the president if he believes that RTVE “offers rigorous, neutral and impartial information”, while Macarena Montesinos, general secretary of the Popular Party in the Congress of Deputies, will be interested in whether “he has considered the opportunity to resign from his position due to the lack of support from the Government.” In the 'popular' ranks they will ask the journalist if she “considers that the information coverage of the electoral campaign in Galicia has been at the level of a neutral and independent public communication service.” The senator Jose Angel Alonso For her part, she will be interested in the role of Inés Hernand, who last summer asked for a vote for the left in a special on LGTBIQ+ Pride and a few days ago, as we pointed out, called President Pedro Sánchez an “icon” on the carpet of the Goya.
