The
Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (Spanish Radio and Television Corporation) or
Corporación Radiotelevisión Española (
RTVE or
CRTVE) is the state-owned public corporation that assumed the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service from
Ente Público Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE Public Body) in 2007. RTVE is the largest audiovisual group in
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
broadcasting in the
Spanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. It is financed by both public subsidies.
History
The history of RTVE begins in 1937 with the first broadcasts by
Radio Nacional de España is Spain's national public radio service. Since 1973 it has formed, together with , a part of , the corporation responsible for managing national public-service broadcasting in Spain.-Origins of RNE:...
(RNE—Spanish National Radio) from the city of
SalamancaSalamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
. In these early years, RNE served as a
propagandaPropaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
tool for the Nationalist forces during the
Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
; it would later be used by
Francisco FrancoFrancisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
to inform the Spanish public.
Television was officially introduced in Spain in October 1956, and in October 1973 the two broadcasting networks, RNE and
Televisión EspañolaTelevisión Española is the national state-owned public-service television broadcaster in Spain. TVE's activities were previously financed by a combination of advertising revenue and subsidies from the national government, but since it's been supported by subsidies only.TVE belongs to the RTVE...
(TVE—Spanish Television) were consolidated into the
Servicio Público Centralizado RadioTelevisión Española (RTVE Centralised Public Service).
Further consolidations followed in 1977, at which time RTVE became an autonomous organization. In 1979 TVE, RNE were joined by RCE an old radio service which, unlike RNE, could broadcast commercials. In 1980, RTVE was configured, by statute, as a legal public entity with its own jurisdiction. According to RTVE's annual report (2003): "This law arose from the
Spanish Constitution-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
and the political pluralism which the constitution asserts as a fundamental value of the rule of law; and in this spirit granted RTVE the right to function as a democratic organization." The former cinema newsreels service
NO-DONo-Do is the colloquial name for Noticiarios y Documentales, , state-controlled series of cinema newsreels produced in Spain from 1943 to 1981 and closely associated with the 1939–1975 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco...
was merged into RTVE to be dismantled in 1981. Since then, the NO-DO archives are property of RTVE and its conservation is on their hands and Filmoteca Nacional's. In 1989, RCE was dismantled and its radio service was merged into RNE.
Creation of Corporación RTVE
RTVE throughout its history has undergone numerous
restructuringRestructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs...
s and reorganisations, and has
assumed numerous identitiesRebranding is the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design, or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated position in the mind of stakeholders and competitors....
. In accordance with the
Ley de la Radio y la Televisión Estatal (
Ley 17/2006; Law of State Radio and Television) of 5 June 2006, and in the face of an enormous deficit, the RTVE Public Body and the companies TVE, S.A. and RNE, S.A were dissolved, and on 1 January 2007 the RTVE Corporation came into existence.
This change in the law put
Corporación RTVE in control of Spain's public radio and television service.
Corporación RTVE is described as a
sociedad mercantil estatal (state mercantile society) with special autonomy and independence from the government and the general state administration, and it performs its functions through TVE and RNE. A
Consejo de Administración (Administrative Council), consisting of 12 members elected by Parliament, exists to administer and govern the organization, carrying out its executive functions through the corporation's President. The current
Consejo and the President (the
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Luis Fernández Fernández) were elected on 19 December 2006.
As part of the 2007 restructuring, a controversial plan was put into action to reduce the workforce by 4,855 through attrition and
retirement incentivesVoluntary redundancy is a financial incentive offered by an organisation to its employees with the purpose of attracting volunteers to leave the organisation, due to downsizing or restructuring situations. The purpose is to circumvent union employee regulation laws.-Reasons:A Voluntary Redundancy...
, in spite of the fact that RTVE is the European public broadcasting service with the smallest workforce.
Role as a public broadcaster
In the exercise of its
public servicePublic services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
function, among the obligations of the RTVE Corporation are:
- Promote dissemination and awareness of constitutional principles and civic values.
- Guarantee the objectivity and truthfulness of the information provided, while ensuring that a broad range of views is presented.
- Facilitate democratic debate and the free expression of opinion.
- Promote the territorial cohesion and linguistic and cultural diversity of Spain.
- Offer access to different genres of programming and to the institutional, social, cultural, and sporting events that are of interest to all sectors of the audience, paying attention to those topics that are of special interest to the public.
- To serve the widest audience, ensuring maximum continuity and geographical and social coverage, with a commitment to quality, diversity, innovation, and high ethical standards.
Legal status and structure
The legal status of the Corporation is that of a wholly state-owned
public limited companyA public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
, although RTVE is independent of direct control by the government and the central state administration.
RTVE exercises its functions through two subsidiary companies:
- Televisión Española
Televisión Española is the national state-owned public-service television broadcaster in Spain. TVE's activities were previously financed by a combination of advertising revenue and subsidies from the national government, but since it's been supported by subsidies only.TVE belongs to the RTVE...
, which produces
- La 1
- La 2
- 24h
Canal 24 Horas is TVE's 24-hour news channel. Having launched on Monday, September 15, 1997, it is Spain's first news and information channel....
- TVE Internacional
TVE Internacional is an internationally-broadcast Spanish language channel run by Spain's national broadcaster, TVE. Programming includes a mix of news, discussion-based programmes and drama and documentaries from TVE's La 1 and La 2 Spanish networks. It was launched in 1989...
- Teledeporte
Teledeporte is a Spanish sports channel owned by TVE, launched in 1994 through Hispasat. It was the second sports channel to launch in Spain, after Eurosport and before Sportmanía or Canal+ Deporte. It broadcast the main Spanish and international sports events...
- Canal Parlamento
Canal Parlamento is a Spanish TV channel dedicated to broadcast live coverage of Spanish Courts from Congreso de los Diputados in Madrid, Spain....
- Clan
Clan TVE is a children's TV channel from the Spanish public service broadcaster TVE. Until 1 January 2007 it had time-shared with TVE 50 Años which has since closed. The service now broadcasts 24 hours a day. The channel is available free on digital terrestrial television and on Digital+...
- TVE HD
TVE HD is a high-definition channel run by the Spanish public broadcaster Televisión Española. The channel broadcast the 2008 Olympic Games in high-definition. It was available via pay-TV platforms Digital+ and Imagenio, but not on digital terrestrial and free to air as originally planned the...
and
- Radio Nacional de España
is Spain's national public radio service. Since 1973 it has formed, together with , a part of , the corporation responsible for managing national public-service broadcasting in Spain.-Origins of RNE:...
, which produces
- Radio Nacional - the main national station broadcasting a wide variety of programmes
- Radio Clásica
Radio Clásica is a Spanish radio station, owned and operated by Radio Nacional de España, formerly known as Radio 2. Broadcast Classical music 24 hours a day.-External links:*...
- concerts and classical music
- Radio 3 - pop, rock, new age, hip-hop, world music, folk, etc.
- Ràdio 4 - programmes in Catalan
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
- Radio 5 Todo Noticias - 24-hour news
- Radio Exterior de España
Radio Exterior de España is a Spanish international radio station operated by Radio Nacional de España. The station is primarily intended for Spaniards living abroad. It broadcasts 24-hours a day on short-wave radio, satellite and the Internet. Transmissions are in Spanish, French, Arabic, Ladino,...
- international broadcastingInternational broadcasting is broadcasting that is deliberately aimed at a foreign, rather than a domestic, audience. It usually is broadcast by means of longwave, mediumwave, or shortwave radio, but in recent years has also used direct satellite broadcasting and the Internet as means of reaching...
service
RTVE is also responsible for the
Instituto Oficial de Radio y Televisión (IORTV, Official Institute of Radio and TV) and the
Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE (RTVE Symphony Orchestra and Choir). RTVE (as RNE) was admitted to full active membership of the
European Broadcasting UnionThe European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
in 1955. TVE joined the Eurovision Network in 1960. The corporation has contributed to the production of more than 300 films, many of which have received awards at international film festivals around the world.
Director Generals of Radiodifusión y Televisión
- José María Revuelta Prieto (1957–1962).
- Roque Pro Alonso (1962–1964).
- Jesús Aparicio-Bernal Sánchez (1964–1969).
- Adolfo Suárez (1969–1973).
- Rafael Orbe Cano (1973–1974).
- Juan José Rosón Pérez (1974).
- Jesús Sancho Rof (1974–1975).
- Gabriel Peña Aranda (1975–1976).
- Rafael Anson Oliart (1976–1977).
Director General of Organismo Autónomo RTVE
- Fernando Arias-Salgado Montalvo (1977–1981).
Director Generals of Ente Público RTVE
- Fernando Castedo Álvarez (1981).
- Carlos Robles Piquer (1981–1982).
- Eugenio Nasarre Goicoechea (1982).
- José María Calviño Iglesias (1982–1986).
- Pilar Miró Romero
Pilar Miró was a Spanish screenwriter and film director.She directed TVE from 1986 to 1989, and in the 90's, the weddings of the daughters of King Juan Carlos I. In 1992, her film Beltenebros won the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution at the 42nd Berlin International Film...
(1986–1989).
- Luis Solana Madariaga (1989–1990).
- Jordi García Candau (1990–1996).
- Mónica Ridruejo Ostrowska (1996–1997).
- Fernando López-Amor (1997–1998).
- Pío Cabanillas Alonso (1998–2000).
- Javier González Ferrari (2000–2002).
- José Antonio Sánchez Domínguez (2002–2004).
- Carmen Caffarel Serra (2004–2007).
President of Corporación RTVE
- Luis Fernández Fernández (2007–2009).
- Alberto Oliart Saussol (2009-2011).
- Manuel Esteve (2011)
External links
Official website of the
Spanish Public Broadcaster RTVE.es (in Spanish)