Corporacion Extremena de Medios Audiovisuales (CEXMA)

The Extremadura Audiovisual Media Corporation (CEXMA) is the public broadcaster in the Extremadura region. It operates a television channel and a radio station from Mérida.

Media assets

Television: Canal Extremadura TV

Radio: Canal Extremadura Radio

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)

Ownership and governance

CEXMA was established as a public corporation by Law No. 3 of 2008, and it is wholly owned by the regional government of Extremadura.

The highest governing body at CEXMA is the Board of Directors, which consists of nine members appointed by the Extremadura regional parliament. The Director General is also appointed by the parliament, following a proposal from the regional government. This system has been repeatedly debated in local political circles, as it gives the ruling majority considerable influence over appointments.

Dámaso Castellote Caballero is the current Director General of CEXMA, having been officially appointed and serving in this position through 2024. He replaced Carmen Santos, who was removed from her post by the Consejo de Gobierno de la Junta de Extremadura. Although appointed in 2023 with a mandate focused on modernizing infrastructure and advancing digital projects, Santos’s tenure was cut short.

On February 20, 2024, the new Board of Directors of the public broadcaster CEXMA (Canal Extremadura) was formally convened. Ana Fernández‑Salguero Elena was confirmed as its president, appointed on a proposal from the Partido Popular, while María de la Cruz Vázquez Vázquez, proposed by the PSOE, assumed the vice presidency.

Source of funding and budget

CEXMA is almost entirely funded by subsidies from the regional government of Extremadura. According to the company’s annual report, in 2022 the budget stood at €27.6 million, with public funding accounting for nearly all of it. The regional budget law for 2024 allocated €28.9 million, signalling an increase to support both digital transformation and the renewal of broadcasting equipment.

Editorial independence

There is no statute explicitly safeguarding the CEXMA’s editorial independence. CEXMA has an Advisory Council composed of 17 members appointed by the government of Extremadura. These members are nominated by government institutions, trade unions, private enterprises, consumer associations, academic institutions, and other organizations. The Advisory Council’s role is to provide feedback on programming and strategic priorities to the Board of Directors at least twice a year. While this mechanism is intended to promote pluralism, critics note that its influence remains limited compared to the decisive role of the parliament in governance matters.

In 2025, no public reports have emerged of direct political pressure on CEXMA; nevertheless, persistent concerns remain about its lack of independent editorial oversight and limited financial transparency, issues that continue to draw criticism from observers and civil society. In the absence of concrete evidence of government control, we have therefore maintained CEXMA’s classification as ISFM (indicating editorial independence) in our typology.

August 2025