Spain

[ES] CNMC reported about the fulfilment of the public service duties of RTVE

IRIS 2016-9:1/12

Sonia Monjas-González

CNMC

On 27 July 2016, Spain’s National Authority for Markets and Competition (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia - CNMC) published the first report on the fulfilment of the Spanish Public Corporation (Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española - CRTVE) public interest duties and funding, corresponding to 2014. The 2006 National Public Radio and Television Act imposes the duty on an independent authority to assess the effectiveness of the public service broadcaster in delivering the public service purposes set out in the Law. Nevertheless, the absence of such authority before the creation of CNMC (October 2013) resulted in the lack of effective supervision until now.

While CRTVE has broadly fulfilled the public obligations set out in the audiovisual Spanish framework, the report identifies the need to revise the financing mechanism entered into force in 2009, in order to guarantee CRTVE’s future budgetary stability.

Law 8/2009 amended the financing mechanism of CTRVE, introducing a prohibition on advertising, teleshopping, merchandising and pay-per-view services as sources of revenue. By way of compensation, CRTVE receives additional public funding generated from the revenues of a tax on free-to-air commercial broadcasters (3percent), pay-TV broadcasters (1.5 percent); electronic communications operators (0.9percent), and a share of 80percent of the already existing levy on radio spectrum use, up to a maximum amount of EUR 330 million.

The assessment also identifies several aspects of CRTVE which could be improved in the forthcoming years, and provides some recommendations:

- To promote a better balance, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of the various political forces in the news;

- To maintain national production goals, making an effort to reach most of the citizens in terms of social profitability and audience;

- To ensure accessibility quotas are met and to promote the representation of people with disabilities;

- Finally, to contribute to the preservation of historical audiovisual heritage.