Rtve fends off senate probe as ratings hit 14-year high

Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE is fighting a parliamentary investigation launched by the Partido Popular, accused of bending news coverage for political gain. The Senate request lands just as RTVE posts its best audience figures since 2012 and a €55.6 million net profit.

The trigger: article 4.2 of the new eu media freedom act

PP senators claim RTVE breached the 2024 regulation that bans governments from meddling in editorial decisions. The party cites reports on immigration and economic data it deems “skewed” against the opposition. RTVE’s legal team counters that the EU text protects outlets from state interference, not from scrutiny by elected lawmakers. “Invoking it here is a perversion,” a senior editor told staff on Thursday.

Management fired off a two-page rebuttal within hours. “Parliamentary fishing expeditions replace due-process safeguards with show trials,” the statement read, warning that the move “chills reporters already navigating polarised times”. The broadcaster’s internal watchdog, the Mixed Control Commission, exists precisely to avoid such partisan collisions, it added.

Private rivals smell blood

Mediaset and Atresmedia have piled on, accusing RTVE of using taxpayer money to snatch sports rights—starting with the 2026 World Cup—thereby “dumping” free content that paid channels cannot match. The complaint is old, but the timing is new: advertisers are locking budgets for 2027 and every ratings point counts.

La1 grabbed 12.3 % of the national share in February, up from 9.8 % a year ago. The spike costs regional channels 15 million cumulative viewers per month, according to Bar data. “We’re not stealing eyeballs; we’re just keeping the ones that used to flee,” laughed one RTVE executive during a tense budget call.

Balance-sheet rebuttal

While politicians argue about bias, the balance sheet tells its own story. Operating expenses dropped 7.6 % year-on-year; production costs fell 18.7 % after ditching expensive reality formats for in-house dramas and co-productions with Latin American partners. The result: €55.6 million in black ink, enough to wipe out prior debt and seed a 4K sports channel planned for 2028.

Employees fear the Senate circus could still strangle that momentum. A proposed amendment would force the board to appear quarterly before a committee with subpoena powers. “If we spend our days filing binders, who writes the scoops?” one investigative reporter vented on Slack.

RTVE’s unions have called a partial walkout for next week, branding the probe “a masked attack on labour independence”. They point to the coincidence: the PP motion arrived 48 hours after RTVE refused to cede prime-time slots for a party rally next month. “Cause and effect are hard to miss,” union head Marta Borreguero told Cadena SER.

For now, José Pablo López, the director-general appointed by a cross-party majority in 2025, enjoys board backing and, crucially, record ratings. Advertisers follow the crowd, not the Senate floor. If the numbers hold, the investigation risks becoming background noise—political theatre with no remote control over the nation’s biggest screen.