TVE proposes the closure of Teledeporte and turn it into a streaming channel

Director María José Amalia has submitted her resignation for not sharing the decision. It would depend directly on Fran Llorente

The future of Teledeporte  is back in the air For the third time in the last five years RTVE managers have proposed its closure as a conventional channel and that its contents are broadcast only by streaming over the Internet.

According to the data collected by Confidential Digital, it is a proposal of the new management, which once again puts on the table the arguments used on previous occasions: the low channel audience and the 20 million euros that the Corporation can save.

The 2014 efficiency plan

Indeed, in the last quarter of 2014, the RTVE board of directors chaired by Leopoldo González Echenique raised the fusion of Teledeporte with The 2. It was part of an “efficiency plan” that contemplated adjustments in three main areas: general expenses, structural expenses and workforce.

One of the most striking proposals included in that document was the Elimination of Teledeporte of DTT cas a sports themed channel. The idea was - as proposed now - in Keep it only through the internet. A saving was sought for the public television coffers of 16 million euros, according to the calculations made by the Corporation.

Television operators with national coverage pay Abertis around five million euros for the broadcast of a channel. And TVE has five: La 1, La 2, Clan, Teledeporte and 24 Horas. As explained at the time, with the merger, the Corporation could concentrate its entire national offer in a “multiple” (bandwidth with capacity for four channels). The savings would be immediate.

The audience does not trace

At the moment, the average audience of Teledeporte this November is a 0,4% share. The contents that are broadcast daily barely exceed that figure, which corresponds to some  40.000 viewers on average

An Internet channel in the hands of Fran Llorente

The proposal now handled by the Corporation puts the option of convert Teledeporte into a streaming channel, that is to say, of emission only through Internet.

In this case, it would depend on the director of Projects and Strategies of TVE, Fran Llorente. As already published eThanks to a parliamentary question that President Rosa María Mateo answered, Llorente took over several departments that were merged a few months ago.

It controls the RTVE Digital area, in which 114 people work; that of Investigation and Hearings, of 13 people; and Development of Strategies and Content Innovation, of ten people. There are 137 workers now under the direct command of Llorente.

Among its functions it was set “to promote the digital transformation of RTVE, including the management of the RTVE.es Website, mobile applications, RTVE on demand, OTT platforms, presence in social networks and specific developments for the internet or new technology devices” .

A resignation on the table

According to sources from the Corporation confirm to ECD, this plan that questions the future of Teledeporte as its own channel has led to the resignation of director María José Amalia.

The resignation is not official yet and is due to “serious divergences about the future of TDP,” the same sources explain. The resignation is expected to be made public at the end of the month.

There are no previous results.

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