The Ibex loses 19,900 points after a flat opening: Santander and Cellnex hold back the index

As of August 19, 2026, the review of the wholesale market for terrestrial television signal broadcasting by the CNMC is in the public consultation phase, recently opened, focusing both on the market analysis and a proposal of commitments from Cellnex. The regulator has not yet made a final decision on whether to maintain or modify the ex ante regulation of this market.

Current status of the file

According to information published on August 14, 2026, and reported by the specialized media Audiovisual451 , the National Commission on Markets and Competition has:

• Opened for public consultation the review of the wholesale market for the terrestrial television signal broadcasting service (DTT platform) and, in parallel, the proposal of commitments submitted by Cellnex.
• Proposed a preliminary analysis according to which this market continues to meet the conditions that justify specific ex ante regulation.
• Provisionally concluded that Cellnex maintains a position of significant market power, due to:
  • The need for an extensive network of transmitting and retransmitting centers to achieve national coverage.
  • High barriers to entry arising from the required investments and the difficult replication of the infrastructure.
  • The fact that the competitive structure has barely changed compared to the previous review, despite the increasing use of existing obligations by alternative operators.
• Emphasized that DTT remains the predominant component of linear audiovisual consumption in Spain, around 71 % of linear television consumption, and a strategic platform to guarantee universal and free access to news and other content of general interest.

In this context, the CNMC maintains the obligations already imposed on Cellnex, in particular the reference offer for access to transmitting centers (ORAC), which requires allowing competitors access to co-location and interconnection services under regulated conditions.

Public consultation and proposal of commitments

The public consultation addresses both the regulatory review of the market and the commitments that Cellnex proposes under the General Telecommunications Law. Among the key elements highlighted in the available information are:

• Deadline for submissions: interested parties may submit comments until September 30, 2026.
• The proposal of commitments does not question the market definition nor Cellnex's status as an operator with significant power, but aims to replace part of the regulatory obligations with binding commitments.
• Among the commitments subject to market testing are:
  • Maintenance of infrastructure access obligations (co-location and interconnection).
  • A price stability mechanism for five years, with updates linked to the CPI.
  • Certain relaxation of accounting supervision and transparency obligations, maintaining the ORAC reference offer.

Next steps in the process

Based on the official information collected in the cited note, the itinerary planned by the CNMC is as follows:

• 1. Collection of contributions
  Until September 30, the CNMC will receive observations from operators, broadcasters, sector associations, and other interested parties, both on:
  • The market review and competition diagnosis, and
  • The proposal of commitments from Cellnex.
• 2. Internal analysis of responses
  Once the deadline closes, the regulator will analyze the contributions in detail to assess:
  • Whether the preliminary diagnosis of lack of effective competition is confirmed or should be nuanced.
  • Whether the proposed commitments are adequate, sufficient, and verifiable to achieve the objectives of access, transparency, and non-discrimination.
• 3. Decision on regulation and/or commitments
  Based on that analysis, the CNMC considers two main options:
  • Maintain the ex ante regulation of the wholesale DTT broadcasting market, deciding if necessary the specific content of future obligations (access conditions, prices, transparency, etc.).
  • Accept fully or partially Cellnex's commitments; in that case, the accepted commitments would become binding obligations and replace the affected regulatory obligations.
• 4. Further development of the file
  The consulted note does not yet detail subsequent phases (for example, possible interactions with the European Commission). At this stage, the process is formally focused on the public consultation and on assessing whether to maintain, adjust, or replace part of the ex ante regulation with commitments.

In summary, the file is in an open and participatory phase, in which the CNMC has set a preliminary diagnosis — strategic market, strong weight of DTT, significant power of Cellnex, and high barriers to entry — but still must decide, in light of the observations received, whether to renew, adjust, or transform the regulatory framework of the wholesale terrestrial television signal broadcasting market in Spain.

In the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) market, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) acts simultaneously as the state audiovisual authority and as the sectoral regulator of electronic communications and competition defense. Its competencies mainly derive from Law 3/2013 (creation of the CNMC), Law 13/2022, General Audiovisual Communication Law, Law 11/2022, General Telecommunications Law, and Royal Decree 657/2013, which approves its Organic Statute, as well as competition defense regulations.

1. General framework: Law 3/2013 and CNMC Statute

Law 3/2013, of June 4, establishes that the CNMC's purpose is to “guarantee, preserve, and promote the proper functioning, transparency, and existence of effective competition in all markets and productive sectors” (art. 1.2–3, according to the text reproduced in the institutional tool). Article 5 of this law – from which extensive passages are cited in the BOE – lists, among others, the following general functions:

• Supervision and control of all markets and economic sectors (art. 5.1.a).
• Application of Law 15/2007, on Competition Defense, regarding restrictive conduct and merger control (art. 5.1.c–e, according to the excerpt reproduced).
• Capacity to request information, investigate, instruct files, and sanction, as well as issue circulars and sectoral reports.

Royal Decree 657/2013 (Organic Statute) completes this framework and recognizes the CNMC as:

• National Competition Authority.
• National Regulatory Authority in the electronic communications sector.

Although the Statute does not create specific competencies only for DTT, it establishes that the CNMC exercises its functions over “all markets or productive sectors”, which includes audiovisual and DTT.

2. Supervision of content, advertising, and protection of minors (Law 13/2022)

Law 13/2022, of July 7, General Audiovisual Communication Law, explicitly states in its preamble that the CNMC is the “state audiovisual authority competent for supervision and control of the audiovisual market and, in particular, many of the obligations contained in this law” (excerpt reproduced in the institutional tool).

From there, the law assigns it, regarding state DTT providers:

• Control of advertising and commercial communications: the CNMC applies, for example, art. 122.3 LGCA on hidden advertising, as reflected in the sanction to Teledeporte for unidentified brand placement (CNMC press release of 07/10/2024).
• Protection of minors and age classification: the law provides for co-regulation codes (art. 98 et seq.); CNMC notes and recent news report that the body promotes a “co-regulation agreement for program rating” and can initiate sanctioning proceedings if operators (including DTT) do not adhere to or breach these systems.
• Supervision of accessibility obligations: a law excerpt cited in the institutional tool establishes that “the National Commission on Markets and Competition shall be the body responsible for controlling compliance with accessibility obligations of audiovisual communication service providers of state scope and shall publish an annual report.”
• Users of special relevance and platforms: the regime for “users of special relevance” (art. 94 LGCA) and the sanctioning regime (arts. 157–158, cited in various news) apply under CNMC supervision, which has opened files and fines to creators and platforms for failing to comply with advertising and minors protection obligations.

In summary, the CNMC monitors that DTT channels comply with LGCA rules on content, schedules, protection of minors, advertising, and accessibility, with authority to investigate and sanction.

3. Wholesale markets for DTT signal broadcasting

Law 11/2022, of June 28, General Telecommunications Law, together with Law 3/2013 and the CNMC Statute, configures the body as the national regulatory authority in electronic communications. On that basis, the CNMC performs wholesale market analyses and, when it detects an operator with significant market power, can impose access, transparency, and non-discrimination obligations.

A direct example is the public consultation of 08/14/2026 on the “wholesale market for the terrestrial television signal broadcasting service”, which “allows broadcasters to transmit their DTT channels” and where the CNMC analyzes Cellnex's position and access obligations to its infrastructure (access to transmitting centers, ORAC reference offer, price stability, etc.). These actions are supported by Law 11/2022 and the regulatory supervision functions recognized in Law 3/2013.

4. DTT licenses and compliance control

Law 13/2022 provides that the granting of state DTT licenses corresponds to the Council of Ministers (arts. 21, 24 to 26, cited in the resolution of 10/16/2025 publishing the tender for a new state license). However, the same tender indicates that:

• “The General State Administration, through the Ministry […] and the National Commission on Markets and Competition shall exercise […] the inspection and control competence necessary to ensure proper compliance with the licensee's obligations.”

That is, the CNMC does not grant state DTT licenses, but does participate in the inspection and subsequent control of compliance with obligations linked to those licenses (coverage, technical conditions, public service and pluralism obligations derived from the LGCA).

5. Competition defense and merger control in the DTT sector

In its role as competition authority, and applying Law 3/2013 and Law 15/2007, on Competition Defense, the CNMC:

• Investigates and sanctions anticompetitive conduct affecting televisions and providers linked to DTT (for example, abuses of dominant position in fees to radios and televisions, as in the sanction to SGAE of 06/26/2024).
• Controls merger operations among audiovisual groups, assessing their impact on competition and media pluralism.
• Can challenge administrative provisions or actions that create unjustified obstacles to competition in the audiovisual market.

Overall, the current regulatory framework places the CNMC as a central piece in DTT regulation: it does not grant licenses, but supervises content and operator obligations, regulates the wholesale signal broadcasting market, controls competition, and has broad inspection and sanctioning powers.

At the latest shareholders' meetings of Banco Santander and Cellnex Telecom, significant adjustments have been approved in the composition and election system of their boards of directors, but with different intensity: at Santander, a new independent director was added, while at Cellnex the very regime of annual re-election of all directors was redesigned and the number of independents increased. Below I detail, with the available information, the most recent results.

Banco Santander: meeting of March 27, 2026

According to the newspaper Demócrata, Banco Santander held its last ordinary general shareholders' meeting on March 27, 2026, focused on two major blocks of agreements: the dividend policy and the appointment of a new independent director (Demócrata news).

Regarding corporate governance, the meeting:

• Approved the appointment of Deborah Vieitas as independent director. Vieitas is currently non-executive chair of Banco Santander Brazil and has an executive career in international banking and financial markets, including senior positions at entities such as Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Brazilian subsidiary), BNP Paribas, and Crédit Commercial de France.
• Vieitas's incorporation fills the vacancy left by Homaira Akbari, who had previously announced she would not stand for re-election and therefore would leave the board after the meeting.
• The bank emphasized that this replacement strengthens the international profile and geographic and experience diversity of the board, relying on a figure with deep knowledge of the financial business in Latin America and global markets.

The same meeting also approved a complementary dividend of 0.125 euros per share, so that the total cash remuneration charged to 2025 stands at 0.24 euros per share, more than 14 % above the effective dividend of 2024 (Demócrata prior report).

Regarding the final composition of the board (total number of members and exact breakdown among executive, proprietary, and independent directors), the consulted pieces focus on the specific replacement of Homaira Akbari by Deborah Vieitas and do not detail the complete picture by categories. To know the exact distribution at any time, it would be necessary to consult the updated official information at the CNMV or on the bank's corporate governance website.

Cellnex Telecom: 2026 meeting and annual board re-election

In the case of Cellnex, the last ordinary general shareholders' meeting, held at the end of April 2026, involved a deeper adjustment of the board election system. According to Demócrata, the company submitted to shareholders' approval a statutory change so that all directors are re-elected annually, instead of longer terms, aligning with practices in other major international markets (preview and later report).

Based on these agreements:

• The meeting approved reducing directors' terms to one year and subjecting their continuity to annual re-election. The company highlights that this scheme strengthens accountability, allows a more dynamic evaluation of the board's performance, and facilitates orderly renewals when necessary.
• The appointment of two new independent directors was ratified: Cynthia Gordon and Kais Ben Hamida.
• The CEO Marco Patuano was re-elected as executive director.
• Proprietary directors Christian Coco and Jonathan Amouyal were re-elected.
• The meeting also confirmed chairman Óscar Fanjul and independent directors Marieta del Rivero, Ana García Fau, Maite Ballester, and Dominique D’Hinnin.

From the documentation before and after the meeting, Demócrata summarizes the resulting board composition, once the proposals were approved:

• 12 members in total, of which 11 are non-executive directors.
• 8 independent directors, representing about 67 % of the total.
• 5 women directors, around 42 % of the board.
• A single executive director (the CEO, Marco Patuano) and the rest distributed among proprietary and independent directors.

In addition to redesigning the re-election system and increasing the core of independents, the meeting approved a new incentive plan linked to operational and financial objectives, consistent with the company's strategy after several years of expansion and acquisitions.

In summary, while at Banco Santander the latest relevant move has been the replacement of one independent director by another, maintaining the general structure of the body stable, at Cellnex the 2026 meeting has served to strengthen both the independence and the annual rotation of the board, increasing the weight of independents and consolidating a majority of non-executive members and a significant presence of women.