Television de Galicia (Spain) Structure and Politics

Television of Galicia (Spain):

Television of Galicia - TVG
Regional public television in the digital
age: The case of the TVG, the public
Galician broadcasting corporation.

Object of Study:
The Television of Galicia (TVG)
and its transformation,
necessary in the light of two
present-day phenomena:
digitalisation of television and
convergence of
telecommunications (television,
telephony and Internet).

Object of Study:
The Galician government —Xunta
de Galicia— must consider
adopting new media policies and
implementing new strategies for
the TVG to keep up to date in the
new multi-channel, multi-service
world of communications.

To analyse and provide an alternative to
the role currently played by the TVG so
that it can successfully meet the challenge
posed by the convergence era: In the light
of the decline of the traditional television
model, the reason d'être of a public
television system should consist in making
maximum use of digital technology.
Goals:

To develop a new model of media
corporation, delivering not only
broadcasting but also a variety of value-
adding services (line and mobile
telephony, data services, etc.).
Goals:

To analyse how the new model of
television, would affect the policy pursued
by the TVG, a regional public service
broadcaster with a general-content
programming strategy directed at
promoting Galician linguistic and cultural
heritage.
Goals:

Current Galician television policies involve
justifying the existence of a regional public
television system on the basis of its
financial viability. Consequently, we should
explore new funding possibilities, for
example, through TVG's share, minimal so
far, in Vía Digital, one of Spain's Pay-TV
satellite operators.
Goals:

1. In the early nineties a model prevailed
in Europe in which television corporations
offered viewers one channel, perhaps two,
three at best . Today, the advent of the
digital era has given rise to a new multi-
channel, multi-service television model.
Hypotheses:

European public service broadcasters
must face the new situation and rethink
both their general mission and specific
goals.
Hypotheses:

But also, public televisions must be ready
to respond to the unstoppable and ever-
increasing change in the very concept of
public service: “free?”, “universal?” and
“state granted?”.
Hypotheses:

2. While all Public TVs in Europe must
face the same problems, the seriousness
of the situation increases when it comes to
regional public service broadcasters in
Spain. For one thing: diversity of linguistic,
social and political identities has to be
taken into consideration while adjusting to
the new concept of public service
television.
Hypotheses:

Regional Spanish Public TVs must
develop new programming policies and
consider the possibility of launching a full
range of services beside those in the
traditional public service broadcasting
offer. Additionally, they must decide
whether those new services —Internet,
data transmission, pay-TV services etc.—
should be approached as alternative
sources of funding.
Hypotheses:

3. As a result of what has been said, all
European public service broadcasters in
general —and regional public service
broadcasters more particularly— must
develop a new television model as a
response to the digital revolution.
Hypotheses:

This new model will have to be adapted to
particular circumstances —funding
models, inner structure, social context
etc.— by regional Public TVs. The TVG
will have to conciliate its founding
philosophy (delivering a public service to
the community) with the financial
requirements of the contemporary digital
era.
Hypotheses:

The TVG is a regional-state-owned public
company. It was created by the Galician
Parliament in 1984. Specific goals of its
founding philosophy include the operation
of a radio and television network
broadcasting in Galician language, aiming
at promoting linguistic normalisation and
social-geographical cohesion of the
nation.
Background:

The General Manager of the TVG is
directly appointed by the Galician
Parliament.
Background:

A twelve-member Board of Directors, also
designated by parliamentary appointment,
acts as proportional representation of the
different political groups in Parliament.
Background:

Background:
The Galician Broadcasting Corporation
consists of two different companies:
Televisión de Galicia (TVG) and Radio
Galega (RG). Both can be picked up in
the whole Galician territory as well as in
the Western areas of Castille and the
North of Portugal .

Background:
Potential audience > 3 million people
GALICIA CASTILLE
PORTUGAL

Radio Galega and Televisión de Galicia
started broadcasts in 1985 (February and
July, respectively). For the very first time,
both a radio and television stations used
Galician language in all their broadcasts.
Before 1985 the presence of Galician
language in television was limited to two
daily 30-minute news programmes in TVE,
the Spanish public television channel.
Background:

The TVG filled this gap with a 24-hour TV
service featuring general-content
programmes, news and entertainment
exclusively in Galician.
Background:

The TVG was founded as a state
institution to supported by the Galician
budget. In 1985 (from July to December)
1,256 million pesetas (6,9 million sterling
pounds), were invested in the TVG, 93%
of which came directly from the Galician
budget while the remaining 7% was
calculated to be covered by advertising
incomes.
Background:

It did not take long to realise that the TVG
was incurring financial deficit. In 1994 its
cumulative deficit amounted to 9,000
million pesetas (50 million sterling
pounds). This state of affairs arose bitter
criticism, creating a pessimistic
atmosphere —the very existence of a
public service television system was
questioned by the governing party itself.
Background:

The arrival of Spanish commercial
broadcasters in 1990 and their penetration
in the Galician scene had also serious
consequences for the TVG: advertising
incomes were reduced, and so were
audience shares. The TVG was exposed
to competition with two TVE channels
(TVE-1 and TVE-2), two commercial
channels (Antena 3 and Tele 5) and
Canal +, a codified pay-TV operator.
Background:

Right-wing political lobbies questioned the
raison d'être of a public service
broadcaster with the argument that private
companies acted as guarantor for the right
of citizens to be informed and entertained,
and proposed that TVG should be
privatised.
Background:

The left-wing and nationalistic sectors of
the Galician Parliament strongly opposed
this motion and claimed that only a public
service broadcaster would regard the
promotion of Galician language and
culture as a major goal.
Background:

In 1994 the TVG implemented a budget
restriction policy which has in the
meantime deactivated the financial
argument for privatisation (0 deficit is
expected for the year 2003)
The budget of the TVG for the year 2000
being 17,521 million pesetas (64 million
sterling pounds) (79% government
funding, 19% advertising incomes and 2%
sales of productions and services).
Background:

From the social standpoint, a major
landmark was the launch of regular
satellite broadcasts: the TVG broke new
ground in becoming the first regional
Public TV in Spain to deliver satellite
services regularly (December 31st 1996).
With a history of intensive emigration and
a large community outside Galicia,
satellite transmission was a must for the
TVG.
Background:

From a technical angle, a significant step
was taken in 1995 when the TVG started
transmitting in NICAM-dual-stereo for the
whole territory, offering viewers the
possibility of choosing between the
original or a dubbed (galician) version of
programmes in foreign languages. 1995
also saw the launch of teletext services.
Background:

The TVG's web server (www.crtvg.es)
must also be highlighted as a significant
service to the community. From July 1995
a web site in Galician, Spanish and
English welcomes Internet users. With this
site, the TVG became one of the first
Spanish public media corporations to start
its own website.
Background:

Radio Galega (TVG’s radio station) was
the third radio station in Spain and one of
the first stations in Europe to broadcast
live via Internet (August 20th. 1996).
Background:

Real-time Internet broadcasting can be
followed through TVG's website since
May, 1997. TVG was the first TV channel
in Europe and the seventh in the world to
broadcast live via Internet. TVG’s web site
is the most visited site in Galicia, with
more than 35 million visits since 1995.
http://www.crtvg.es
Background:

The creation (January 1997) of Vía Digital,
a Spanish multi-channel digital pay-TV
platform, was seen as a turning point for
the participation of TVG in commercial
companies, with a view to adjust to a
highly dynamic multi-channel model . All
regional Public TVs —except Basque
Public TV— participated in the foundation
of Vía Digital.
Background:

Vía Digital is a commercial company
owned by Telefónica, the biggest
telecommunication company in the
country. Telefónica, the monopolistic state-
owned telephone company, was privatised
several years ago. However, it has
remained, somehow, under public —or
rather governmental— supervision.
Background:

This explains why public service
broadcasters in regions with a Popular
Party (right wing) government, such as
Galicia, had a participation in the Vía
Digital project. As a result, the Popular
Party acquired actual control over great
part of the Spanish pay-TV scenario,
through controlling Via Digital
Background:

At the present moment, TVG is a quasi
multichannel operator. It comprises the
following channels and services:
Present situation:

TVG and RG: Hertz wave television and
radio broadcasts for the whole Galician
territory and bordering areas in Spain and
Portugal.
Channels and services
GALICIA
CASTILLE
PORTUGAL

GaliciaTV-América: satellite TV using
American cable networks to take their signal
to American households (satellite-to-cable
pay-TV.)

TVG-Vía Digital: satellite pay-TV and radio
services. Broadcasts reach the whole
Spanish territory (including islands) and
bordering areas.

Galicia-TV Europe: digital satellite TV for
Europe, through Eutelsat (non-codified
signal).

TVG’s website. Free real-time radio and
television broadcasts via Internet.

TVG's practical application of this quasi-
multi-channel concept of television must
be analysed in the context of the budget
deficit reduction policy implemented from
1995 onwards. In 1995, for the first time
since the foundation of the TVG, financial
profit was obtained : incomes (public
funding, advertising incomes and sales)
exceeded expenses in 200 million
pesetas. (0,8 million sterling pounds)
Present situation:

Today's expectation is that the debt that
the TVG has had since its first financial
year will be cancelled in 2003. Public
funding, advertising incomes and sale
profits will be then invested in
strengthening the TVG and effectively
executing the renovation of the television
model.
Present situation:

The 1990s have seen the deregularisation
of European broadcasting markets —TVG
has not avoided the trend, as the following
facts show:
Present situation:

In 1995 the TVG embarked on a migration
towards digital that resulted in the
digitalisation of the whole network and the
creation of a state-owned information
highway, which was originally part of the
TVG corporation and later became
RETEGAL, an independent company.
Present situation:

In 1999 the whole network infrastructures
were privatised and alienated from TVG.
The Galician government became the
principal shareholder (52%) of the new
telecommunications company: RETEGAL.
Present situation:

RETEGAL is now a telecommunications
company, providing universal signal
transmission services not only to TVG, but
also to communication companies of any
kind. Telephone and Internet are also
among its technological capabilities.
Present situation:

RETEGAL gives the Galician government
the green light to manage its own
telecommunication network in a
completely innovative and unconstrained
way, free from budget and legislative
limitations.
Present situation:

To achieve this goal TVG must maintain or
even grow more advertising revenue in a
situation of fierce competition. Current
programming policies focus heavily on
securing the highest possible viewing
rates. So programmes are designed to get
higher audience, which leads to higher
advertising incomes, which lead to deficit
reduction.
Present situation:

The "higher audience = higher profit =
lower deficit" equation is a vital
consideration for the party in power, not
only to reduce the TVG’s deficit, but also
because the higher viewing shares, the
higher “political” penetration in Galician
households.
Present situation:

The TVG has been used by successive
Galician governments to broadcast pro-
regime television. The Thatcher model for
the control of the media applies as it is to
a public service broadcasting system that
is the legacy of Franco's times concept of
television (state-controlled TV for the
celebration of the regime).
Present situation:

Regional Spanish Public TVs have had
difficulty getting rid of such a stigma,
which must be left behind once for all.
TVG is not an exception. In a world that is
rapidly evolving towards of convergence
and digitalisation, it is essential to analyse
the new scenario and present proposals
and guidelines for a new television model.
Present situation:

Methodology:
An analysis will be made of the reports,
studies and projects carried out by other
European Public TVs, focusing attention
on broadcasters that, the same as the
TVG, serve linguistically distinct
communities in multi-national states, such
as the Welsh community in the UK or the
French Brittany community in France.

Different experiences and moves towards
a new model of public utility television in
regional contexts will be examined. The
TVG's plans for the future will be analysed
in relation to those already put into
practice by other regional Public TVs. Our
goal is assessing to what extent, existing
experiences in other European regions
could be applied to the Galician case.
Methodology:

The ultimate goal of the thesis is providing
a prospective representation of the
transformations that the public service
broadcaster must undergo in the light of
phenomena such: 1.- digitalisation, 2.-
convergence of traditional broadcasting
and Internet, and 3.- additional sources of
funding (e.g.: pay-TV subscriptions.)
Methodology:

Finally, conclusions will be applied to the
specific case of the TVG, which —as a
state-owned corporation— will demand
rational adjustment and adaptation to
extremely specific and distinct
circumstances and legal constraints, with
a view to effective short-term
implementation.
Methodology:

Must a new model of regional public utility
television include participation in projects
involving providing pay-TV services and
other chargeable communication
services?
Final questions:

To what extent can a regional Public TV,
with an objective consisting of promoting
linguistic and cultural heritage, become a
commercial company targeting high
purchasing power minorities (pay-TV)?
Can such a commercial philosophy be
reconciled with the traditional concept of
public service (free, universal and state
granted)?
Final questions:

Can TVG take part in multi-regional, multi-
national projects such as multi-channel
pay-TV companies, satellite pay-TV
enterprises, etc.? Should it be a minority
or majority shareholder?
Should the Galician Parliament liberalise
the current TVG model so that it can
acquires multi-national management
capability?
Final questions:

Television de Galicia (Spain) Structure and Politics

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