As part of swingeing spending cuts being implemented at the behest of the European Central Bank, the Spanish government is to slash state broadcaster RTVE’s budget this year by €200 million to €1.2 billion. RTVE’s board says the cuts will have a “devastating impact” on its programming, predicting that its audience figures for its two channels La 1 and La 2, will drop by 8 percent. La 1 frequently tops audience ratings thanks to hugely popular programs such as Cuéntame como pasó — a long-running drama telling the story of a family from the Franco era up to the present day— or fantasy saga Águila roja, and post-Civil War soap opera Amar en tiempos revueltos. But the channel says that the … [Read more...] about Even Spanish TV feels the pain
Spanish TV
Quality TV is the big casualty of Spain’s dubbing
That Fox Television’s recent announcement it would be screening medic drama series House in the original English —with subtitles— was considered a news story by the Spanish media might go some way towards explaining this country’s poor ranking in EU tables of member populations’ knowledge of languages other than their own. More saliently, it highlights this country’s dismal record when it comes to producing quality television programming. Spain ranks as the fourth-worst country in the EU when it comes to mastering foreign languages, according to a recent report by Eurostat. Those figures coincide with a report by the EU’s Dubbing and Subtitling Needs and Practices in the European … [Read more...] about Quality TV is the big casualty of Spain’s dubbing
Can Jorge Sanz save Spanish TV?
Isn’t Spanish television in extraordinarily rude health? With such a wealth of talent and so many brave, groundbreaking programs, perhaps we’re looking at a new Spanish Golden Age – A Golden Age of the small screen. Before you hoot with derision at the above, consider this: it’s not a complete lie. I admit, when flicking through the channels, I too shake my fist at the screen as yet another herd of botoxed, inbred celebrities hog the camera’s attentions; I sigh with resignation as another cameraman with the shakes films the home of a Spaniard who is quite dull in every respect except, apparently, for the fact he or she lives abroad; and my eyelids droop as TVE’s interminable news program … [Read more...] about Can Jorge Sanz save Spanish TV?