Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA) is a radio and television broadcasting provider in southern Spain. It was established in 1988-1989 when Canal Sur Radio and Canal Sur Televisión began broadcasting. RTVA now operates four television and four radio stations.
Media assets
Television: Canal Sur (HD), Canal Sur 2, Andalucía TV, Canal Sur Andalucía
Radio: Canal Sur Radio, Radio Andalucía Información, Canal Fiesta Radio, Flamenco Radio
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
RTVA (Radio y Televisión de Andalucía) was established by Law No. 18 of 2007 as a public corporate agency owned by the Regional Government of Andalucia. The Andalucia government fully subscribes the company’s capital stock.
The head of RTVA is the General Director, elected by the Parliament of Andalusia. The main governing body of RTVA is the Board of Directors, which consists of nine members appointed by the parliament. According to experts, the Board of Directors at RTVA should be appointed based on professional qualifications rather than political considerations to limit the political pressures on the broadcaster.
Source of funding and budget
RTVA is funded through a combination of state funding (a government subsidy) and commercial revenues, mainly from ad sales.
In 2020, RTVA’s budget was €161m, with the state allocation representing 88% of the total, as reported in the company’s annual report. In 2022, the company’s total budget was €163.7m, with the state government subsidy contributing around €149m, as indicated in the company’s annual report. In 2023, the broadcaster had a budget of €156.7m, and the following year, according to media reports, it increased to €167.9m.
Editorial independence
In October 2020, the trade union at Canal Sur stated that a then-implemented Professional Statute of RTVA would allow the broadcaster’s management to censor content.
Over the past three years, there has been a noticeable increase in instances of censorship and the removal of critical journalists at Canal Sur.
Two documents, the law that created RTVA and an internal professional statute, contain provisions to safeguard the station’s editorial independence.
RTVA has an Ombudsman (or Audience Defender) whose mission is to handle complaints from the audience and suggestions from the public to improve the content of RTVA.
August 2024