TVE’s football highlights programmes during TV Public Service monopoly: main features and innovative contributions

Abstract

The following text reviews an unknown phenomenon in Spanish Television History which influenced the development of sports content: football highlights programmes. These contents were born in the United Kingdom in the 60s and its main representative was Match of the Day (BBC One, 1964). In Spain, and despite the poor development of national television, TVE focused in a singular point of view, with a strong presence of entertainment in football highlights programmes, becoming a European reference. From Su equipo fuera de casa (TVE, 1957) to Estudio Estadio (TVE, 1972), national television experimented with content hybridization, mixing information and Entertainment, and encouraging public controversy. This article presents a deeply review of an unknown issue through a wide analysis of Spanish football highlights programmes and comparing them with other European examples.