The Government awards a new state DTT license

The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the granting of a new state license for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), a decision that partially reconfigures the Spanish audiovisual map and that comes at a key moment for the technological evolution of the broadcast sector towards UHD and DVB-T2.

The license has been granted to the Siete consortium (Integrated Television Entertainment Services), which prevailed in the award process over the other candidate with more industrial significance, Mediaset España. Among the promoters of the project stands out Jose Miguel Contreras, who was already behind the launch of Globomedia and of LaSexta. The business core of the consortium will revolve around society Alconaba and three relevant businessmen who are shareholders of PRISA, as Diego Prieto (founder of SSG group), Adolfo Utor (president of Baleària) and Andrés Varela Entrecanales (one of the founders of Globomedia). In order to meet the technical solvency required in the tender, the new concessionaire has 25% participation from the businessman José Luis Manzano, owner of Integra and shareholder of Argentine chain Telefé.

The minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Oscar Lopez, has defended in the press conference after the Council of Ministers that the awarding of the new state DTT license to the Siete consortium appeals to the “normality” of the process and the objective of expanding audiovisual plurality in Spain. López has avoided entering into editorial assessments about the future channel and has focused his intervention on the legal security of the contest, insisting that the procedure had been developed normally and within the established deadlines.

The new operator will now have a period of six months for technical and operational adaptation before starting regular free-to-air broadcasts. The proposal comes from a strategy aimed at both traditional linear broadcasting and the digital environment. The project contemplates a strong integration between DTT and OTT distribution, following the trend of convergence between conventional television, on-demand platforms and FAST models financed by advertising. Sources from the sector suggest that the proposal will combine current content, entertainment and in-house production, relying on lighter production structures (with a strong weight on outsourcing) and flexible technological models in order to optimize operating costs. Luis Morales Losada, a professional with a long history in the sector and who for more than two decades was responsible for production at Mediapro, will be in charge of production at the new chain.

License for fifteen years

The license, whose duration is fifteen years, coincides with the roadmap promoted by the Executive to modernize Spanish DTT. The objective is to move progressively towards UHD broadcasts and facilitate the technological migration of operators through the use of DVB-T2 standard. This evolution will increase image quality, improve spectrum efficiency and enable new audiovisual services, while maintaining the universal coverage characteristic of terrestrial television.

The awarding of the new channel is part of the National Technical Plan for DTT approved in March 2025, which established the legal and technical framework for the redistribution of digital multiplexes with national coverage. The winner of the contest will have to share multiplex (MPE5) with Real Madrid Tv, Radio Blanca (DKiss) and CBMedia (Ten)

The Executive points out that the new award reflects the interest in revitalizing the free-to-air television market at a time when the sector is looking for new models of monetization, advertising integration and multiplatform distribution. With this concession, the Government also seeks to reactivate the development of the terrestrial audiovisual space after eleven years without new state awards, opening a new phase for the television business and for the technological evolution of broadcasting in Spain.