Spain: RTVE financial model under fire
August 4, 2016
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish Competition Authority CNMC has urged the government to review the financial model of public broadcaster RTVE in order to guarantee its stability.
In a report, the watchdog body concluded that the financial model approved back in 2009 to regulate RTVE is not efficient enough and has given rise to financial insecurity. Under that model, RTVE was banned from advertising, relyingonlt on state subsidies and taxes on broadcasters and telco companies to finance its activities.
With the CNMC request, the debate about the return of advertising to RTVE is again on the table with private TV companies crying out against it.
The CNMC argues that state subsidies are increasingly declining from €579 million to €252 million in 2014. Financial contributions from broadcasters and telco operators are also insufficient, according to the CNMC, reaching only 32.5 per cent of the potential money RTVE should get from the operators.