The reform of regional public television in the new audiovisual legal framework (Law 7/2010, General Law on Audiovisual Communication)

Abstract

The news coverage of regional television channels has placed public broadcasters in the eye of the storm. The Government -Ministry of the Presidency has raised the possibility of opening the debate on their future, particularly in those Autonomous Communities that do not have their own language. Moreover, UTECA, the association of national commercial television channels, insists on presenting the privatisation of regional television stations and their renunciation of advertising as an option - as the best option. As if that were not enough, there is yet another front: that of the labour and even legal-labour conflicts in some of these television channels, which are a prelude to the economic adjustments that they will inevitably have to face. UTECA's claims are a response to its own business strategies in the digital environment, but this does not mean that it is irrational in its approach to the regional public broadcasters. On the contrary: if there is one thing UTECA must be recognised for, it is the utmost realism in its observations: can anyone deny that the digitalisation of television - and the corresponding multiplication of channels - has led to a drop in audiences in all television channels? That, because of this audience distribution, advertising has also become fragmented? That the new digital environment requires a change of strategy and possibly a change of television model - public or commercial?