RNE faces the largest technological renewal in its entire history

In his first appearance of the course before the parliamentary control commission of RTVE, the president of the Corporation, José Pablo López, has defended the need for adequate financing and announced that Radio Nacional will face the largest technological, program and human resources renovation in its entire history.

López has stressed that the RNE budget for this year and next year will be the largest in the last twenty years. “We are addressing a profound and necessary reform in Radio Nacional de España, with three major strategic axes: renewal of the program offering, technological renewal, budget allocation and provision of human resources,” he explained and recalled that, in recent years, the figure of the director was eliminated and left the station without a person to direct strategic decisions, something that has changed now.

In addition, he has announced that the entire digital area will be reformed to give it the visibility it deserves and attract new audiences, providing it with more human capital and has also highlighted that more visibility is being given to the radio on the TVE antenna. RNE's direct consumption in September has grown by 63% compared to the previous year, The Mornings have grown by 69% and The afternoons 61%, through the RNE Audio app.

Financing

López has referred to the debt situation and he recalled that it is bank debt to finance the currency, short-term debt, one year, and as a consequence of the fact that, like the rest of the public television stations, the VAT is not refunded by the Tax Agency.

He has defended the need for a adequate financing for RTVE. "The public service must be well financed. The regional governments have grown their budget by 7% and the growth of RTVE accounts was 0. That is not reasonable. We already go out to carry out our service with a tied hand and a broken leg. And furthermore we cannot go out in worse conditions than other public television stations. I will continue to ask here and where sufficient financing is needed from national public television. A budget that is not being wasted because more people are watching us every day," he assured.

José Pablo López recalled that the first measure of his mandate was to achieve a management structure that was as small, effective and efficient as possible. In this sense, it has been advanced that the cost of RTVE structure Since he began his presidency it has been reduced by 2,183,061 euros. He has also highlighted that RTVE has 1 manager for every 40 employees, compared to 1 manager for 22 employees of RTVG or 1 for 27 employees of A Punt.

Eurovision

On the other hand, José Pablo López defended this Thursday in Congress the recent decision of the Corporation's Board of Directors to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel competes. He has pointed out that "withdrawing is a decision that is not pleasant. Spain is one of the countries with the greatest following of the festival, but this takes a backseat to the massacre in Gaza." "It hurts me a lot not to broadcast it, but there are issues that are above entertainment. It is a decision that has to do with human rights," he explained.

He stressed that "not only are we part of the EBU, but we chair the Eurovision Reference Group and we are also the core of the EBU within the so-called BigFive. It is clear that we have co-responsibility in the decisions taken at Eurovision and regarding the internal governance of the EBU," he indicated.