Radiotelevision del Principado de Asturias (RTPA)

Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias (RTPA) is the public broadcaster of the Principality of Asturias, broadcasting both television and radio programs.

Media assets

Television: TPA7, TPA8, TPA9 HD

Radio: RPA

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)

Ownership and governance

RTPA was established as a public limited company in 2014, and according to Law No. 8, the Principality of Asturias owns its entire capital stock.

The Board of Directors, the highest governing body in RTPA, comprises nine members, including the Director, who are elected by the General Assembly of the Principality of Asturias, the region’s parliament. Following the 2023 regional elections, this board was renewed to reflect the new parliamentary composition.

The broadcaster has been under the leadership of Director General Francisco González Orejas since March 2019. He was appointed to the position on an interim basis by the Board of Directors, a status that has continued due to the lack of the qualified parliamentary majority required to name a permanent director. While his leadership at RTPA has provided stability, a notable development occurred in early 2024 when he was elected president of the Federation of Autonomous Radio and Television Organizations (FORTA), reflecting his prominent role among Spain’s regional public broadcasters.

Source of funding and budget

RTPA is funded through a combination of state financing and commercially generated revenues. The public subsidy, however, constitutes the vast majority of its income. In 2020, the regional government allocated €20m to RTPA. According to the broadcaster’s annual report, in 2022, RTPA received a state subsidy of €22.7m. The following year, the corporation received a state subsidy worth €24.6m, according to a government document.

In 2024, the subsidy allocated by the regional government to Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias (RTPA) rose to approximately €25.8 million, continuing the upward trajectory of recent years. This increase was further consolidated in 2025, when the broadcaster’s overall budget reached €31.7 million, with more than €27 million provided directly by the regional authorities—almost €2 million more than the previous year. These developments highlight a stabilised financial framework for RTPA, offering greater predictability and aligning resources with strategic goals such as digital transformation and the strengthening of locally produced content.

Editorial independence

There is no evidence of systematic editorial control by the government at RTPA. The broadcaster’s editorial independence is established through the law that created the company, which also established systems for independent assessment and oversight.

These include the News Council (Consejo de Informativos), an internal group made up of RTPA professionals responsible for ensuring the editorial independence of the broadcaster’s journalists, and the Communication Council, a body of 11 members appointed by the parliament in Asturias. Its role is to inform RTPA’s management about public complaints and provide recommendations for improving RTPA’s programming.

August 2025