Euskal Irrati Telebista (EiTB) is the autonomous public broadcaster in the Basque country region of Spain. It was founded in 1982. One of the roles of the EiTB is to protect the Basque language and culture. The broadcaster runs 11 television and radio channels.
Media assets
Television: ETB 1 (HD), ETB 2 (HD), ETB 3, ETB 4, ETB Sat, Canal Vasco
Radio: Euskadi Irratia, Radio Euskadi, Radio Vitoria, EiTB Musika, Euskadi Gaztea
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)
Ownership and governance
EiTB is owned by the Government of the Basque region, being directly dependent on the Culture Ministry in the region. In July 2020, the Basque government approved the change of the corporate structure at EiTB transforming it into EiTB Media, a public limited company that brings together all the public media in the Basque country. According to the law on the creation of EiTB, the Director General of the station, who has the highest power in the station, is appointed by the Basque Parliament. The Board of Directors, the top governance structure at EiTB is also appointed by parliament upon recommendations from academic institutions and NGOs (identified by name in the law).
Source of funding and budget
EiTB is nearly fully funded by state subsidies (allocated by the Basque country government). In 2022, its budget reached €176m, the government allocation accounting for over 85% of that, according to the station’s latest annual report.
Editorial independence
EiTB has regularly come under critical scrutiny for its lack of editorial independence. The appointment of the EiTB’s director general, for example, has often been criticized as being a process used to ensure the editorial control of the broadcaster. In spite of these critiques though, the broadcaster is generally pursuing many sensitive topics and its journalists are not shy of criticizing the authorities. The Basque Parliament in several instances has also required the station to ensure unbiased editorial coverage.
EiTB has a newsroom statute, a document nailing down in detail all the rules, rights and directions that have to be complied with by the group’s journalists. This document establishes the group’s editorial independence.
The broadcaster has a News Council for each media outlet part of EiTB. These councils consist of journalists working for EiTB and their independence in monitoring the work of EiTB is guaranteed through the newsroom statute.
September 2023