José Miguel Contreras, the journalist who started laSexta and now promotes La Séptima

The granting of a new state DTT (digital terrestrial television) license in Spain is, above all, an administrative procedure of the State, supported by a regulatory framework approved by the General Courts. The role of Parliament is mainly normative and political oversight; the specific decision to grant licenses corresponds to the Government, through the Council of Ministers and the competent audiovisual/telecom authority.

1. Prior regulatory framework and possible parliamentary intervention

Before a new call for state DTT licenses can be made, two substantive conditions must be met:

• Existence of an audiovisual legal framework: currently provided by Law 13/2022, General Audiovisual Communication Law, which regulates, among other issues, the need for a license to provide television service via terrestrial hertzian waves, the legal regime of licenses, the requirements of holders, duration, renewal, termination, and the basic rules of the tender.
• Radio spectrum planning: through the National Technical Plans of DTT, approved by government royal decree under the General Telecommunications Law. These plans determine the digital multiplexes, their capacity, and which part is reserved for private licenses with state coverage.

The intervention of the Cortes (Parliament) therefore occurs in the design of the general legal framework (audiovisual law, telecommunications law, possible reforms) and in the political control of Government decisions (questions, appearances, motions, investigative commissions if applicable). But the decision to launch a specific tender and to award licenses is not subject to parliamentary vote: it is the Executive's competence.

2. Competences and bodies involved

• Council of Ministers: is the competent body to grant state-wide DTT licenses. It is responsible for approving the agreement that:
  • Approves the tender specifications.
  • Calls the public tender under a competitive regime.
  • Resolves the tender and awards the licenses.
• Administrative instructing authority: typically the State Secretariat competent in telecommunications/audiovisual communication, which processes the file, manages the call, analyzes offers, and formulates the resolution proposal.
• Manager of the public radioelectric domain: within the same ministry or State Secretariat, grants the exclusive use of frequencies associated with the license.

3. Administrative phases of the new license tender

The General Audiovisual Communication Law establishes that available licenses of the same nature and scope must be awarded through a tender, with publicity, transparency, and competition. The typical scheme is:

• a) Planning and political decision
  • Within the framework of the National Technical Plan of DTT, the Government identifies available capacity in certain digital multiplexes for new state licenses.
  • The competent ministry prepares a tender proposal (number of licenses, type of SD/HD broadcast, programming obligations, technical conditions, etc.).
• b) Approval of the specifications and call
  • The Council of Ministers approves the tender specifications and agrees to its call.
  • The resolution publishing the agreement and the specifications is inserted in the Official State Gazette (BOE), opening the period to submit offers.
• c) Submission of offers
  • Interested parties submit their application and technical and economic offer within the established deadline.
  • Requirements of capacity, solvency, and absence of contracting prohibitions are verified, as well as limits on concentration in the audiovisual market.
• d) Instruction and evaluation
  • A collegiate body (evaluation committee) analyzes the offers according to the criteria set in the specifications: programming proposal, pluralism, economic viability, coverage commitments, technological innovation, etc.
  • The committee formulates a reasoned award proposal to the competent body for resolution.
• e) Resolution and award
  • The Council of Ministers, in view of the proposal, adopts the agreement awarding the licenses to the selected bidders.
  • The resolution is published in the BOE, detailing which operators obtain each license and on which digital multiplex.
• f) Enabling title and frequencies
  • The license award is associated with the grant of exclusive use of the public radioelectric domain necessary to provide the service.
  • The enabling title is formalized with essential conditions (territorial scope, type of service, number of channels, programming obligations, 15-year term, and renewal regime).

4. Control and subsequent appeals

Against the acts of the procedure, the following are possible:

• Administrative appeals: reconsideration appeal or others provided by the regulations against the award resolution or qualified procedural acts.
• Contentious-administrative appeal: bidders may go to the contentious-administrative jurisdiction to challenge the call, the specifications, or the award, alleging, for example, violation of principles of equality, transparency, or free competition.
• Political parliamentary control: oral and written questions, interpellations, and appearances of the minister to explain the Government's policy on DTT licenses.

In summary: Parliament sets the general rules and controls the Government, but the specific procedure to grant a new state DTT license is a public administrative tender called and resolved by the Council of Ministers, with specifications approved by Government agreement, instruction by the Administration, and full submission to the contentious-administrative jurisdiction.

In Spanish regulations, there is no specific legal definition of the position of content director in audiovisual groups like PRISA Media. Their competences and functions are mainly determined by the organizational autonomy of the company (corporate bylaws, organizational chart, and senior management contract), while the general legal framework (labor, corporate, and audiovisual) sets obligations and limits regarding content and who is responsible for it.

1. Absence of legal definition of the position

Neither the Workers' Statute nor the General Audiovisual Communication Law (Law 13/2022 and its reforms) nor the Capital Companies Law include a definition or a closed list of functions for the figure of “content director” or “general content director.” It is a senior management position created by sector practice rather than by law.

From a legal-labor perspective, this type of profile usually fits into the category of senior management personnel regulated by Royal Decree 1382/1985: executives who exercise powers inherent to company ownership and make strategic decisions with autonomy and responsibility. The specific content of the position is set in the contract and in the internal job description, not in a sectoral regulation.

2. Typical functions according to sector practice

Although the law does not define it, sector press allows identifying a fairly homogeneous pattern of functions in television, production companies, and multimedia groups:

• Creative and programming strategy. In production companies like El Estudio, the content director in Spain “leads the creative strategy, supervising the development and production of film and television projects” to consolidate the Spanish operation (Panorama Audiovisual).
• Grid design and genre offering. In the Valencian public broadcaster À Punt, the content and programming director must “design and guide programming strategies; propose to the General Directorate the entire offer of entertainment, fiction, series, animation, and documentaries” and “design the workflows of the content and programming area” (Audiovisual451).
• Commissioning and supervision of own and external production. At À Punt it is specified that they commission audiovisual content of internal and external production and control the budgetary resources of the content area, aligning the offer with the audience and public service objectives.
• Definition of the content strategy of the brands. In groups like AMC Networks International Southern Europe, the programming manager is responsible for “defining the content strategy” of fiction, factual, and documentary channels and is part of the management committee, illustrating the strategic and cross-cutting nature of the role.
• Multimedia editorial coordination. In the PRISA Media environment, sector news shows the existence of content directions that group radio, video, and audiovisual business, integrating editorial and product decisions for different group titles (Panorama Audiovisual).
• Monitoring regulatory compliance in the offering. In the case of À Punt, it is expressly mentioned that they must “monitor the broadcasting and production quotas established by current regulations” and optimize financial and contractual resources, linking the role to the regulatory obligations of the public service provider.

3. Fit within the General Audiovisual Communication Law

The General Audiovisual Communication Law does not regulate the internal figure of a “content director,” but it does impose on the service provider (the company or public entity) obligations regarding:

• Protection of minors against harmful content.
• Separation and transparency of advertising and other commercial communications.
• Quotas of European works, independent works, and, in some cases, production in co-official languages.
• Respect for fundamental rights, pluralism, and equality.

These obligations are supervised by the competent Ministry and the CNMC, as state audiovisual authorities, according to the agreement published in the BOE (BOE-A-2025-23343). Internally, a content director is usually the key figure to ensure that programming and production commissions comply with these requirements, although ultimate responsibility lies with the company and its governing bodies.

4. Corporate framework: Capital Companies Law

The Capital Companies Law regulates the formal distribution of powers among the general meeting, board, and executive directors, but it does not mention the content director either. In a group like PRISA Media, this position:

• Is normally subordinate to the delegated board or general management.
• May exercise delegated powers regarding content, editorial budgets, and agreements with production companies, within the powers that the board delegates to senior management.
• Is governed by the general rules of liability of directors and senior executives if they also hold corporate positions.

In summary, in Spain the “content director” is a senior management figure configured by the company: leads editorial and programming strategy, supervises content development and production, manages budgets and creative teams, and practically ensures that the offering complies with audiovisual regulations and business objectives. The law sets the framework (provider obligations, senior management regime, and corporate governance), but leaves each audiovisual group – like PRISA Media – the concrete and detailed definition of their competences and functions.

State-wide television channels broadcasting on DTT in Spain are subject to a dual framework: the Law 13/2022, of July 7, General Audiovisual Communication Law, the Law 11/2022, General Telecommunications Law and its implementing regulations (in particular the Regulation on the use of the public radioelectric domain approved by Royal Decree 123/2017 and the National Technical Plan of DTT, currently mainly regulated by Royal Decree 391/2019, partially amended by subsequent regulations and, more recently, by a new technical plan of 2025). Additionally, registration and service regime are developed in Royal Decree 1138/2023, on state registry and prior communication.

1. Enabling title to broadcast on DTT

• Law 13/2022 establishes that the provision of audiovisual television communication service via terrestrial hertzian waves (i.e., DTT) requires holding a license granted through a tender by the competent audiovisual authority. At the state level, the Council of Ministers grants these licenses.
• The granting of the license entails, according to Law 13/2022 itself and telecommunications regulations, a concession of exclusive use of the public radioelectric domain reserved for the service.
• For other audiovisual services that do not use radio spectrum (e.g., internet services), the regime is liberalized and prior communication suffices, but this is not the case for state DTT, where the license is mandatory.

2. Subjective and solvency requirements

• License holders may be natural or legal persons who:
  • Have nationality or registered office in an EU Member State, or in States that recognize equivalent rights to Spaniards, and
  • Have a representative domiciled in Spain for notification purposes.
• Law 13/2022 provides limits on third-country capital participation and prohibits license access to those who:
  • Have had a license revoked in the previous two years.
  • Have been banned in another Member State for violating the European Convention on Human Rights or regulations on the protection of minors.
  • Are subject to contracting prohibitions under the Public Sector Contracts Law 9/2017.
• The tender bases, approved by the Government for state licenses, must expressly include the economic solvency and technical means of the bidder as award criteria.
• Concentration limits are also set: for example, participation in several state providers must not imply controlling spectrum usage rights exceeding the capacity of certain multiplexes, nor reduce below a minimum the number of different private operators, to protect pluralism.

3. Technical and spectrum conditions

• The National Technical Plan of DTT (Royal Decree 391/2019 and its subsequent update) sets:
  • The frequency band in which DTT is provided (currently within 470–694 MHz) and the structure of national multiplexes.
  • The distribution of networks and territorial disconnections, guaranteeing the continuity of existing licenses and public TV disconnections.
• The Regulation on the use of the public radioelectric domain (RD 123/2017) provides that:
  • The use of spectrum for terrestrial television is granted through an administrative concession attached to the audiovisual license.
  • The holder must submit a technical project of the stations to be installed and comply with the radioelectric exposure limits established in the regulations on protection of the public radioelectric domain and health.

4. Content, public service, and user protection obligations

• Law 13/2022 imposes on state television providers general obligations of:
  • Quotas of European works and advance financing of European audiovisual works; non-compliance beyond certain margins is classified as a serious or very serious infringement.
  • Protection of minors: time and content restrictions for programs and commercial communications that are harmful, especially regarding gambling, alcohol, esotericism, and other harmful content.
  • Advertising and commercial communications: time limits, identification of teleshopping, sponsorships, product placement, and absolute prohibitions for certain categories of ads.
• Regarding accessibility, Law 13/2022 requires open linear television providers to:
  • Subtitle at least 80 % of programs, including obligatorily those with the highest audience.
  • Offer a minimum of five hours weekly in sign language, prioritizing peak audience slots.
  • Offer at least five hours weekly of audio-described programs, also preferably in peak audience hours.
  • Progressively improve the accessibility of websites, apps, and program guides, and inform about accessibility measures for each program.
• For the state public audiovisual communication service (RTVE), Law 13/2022 and Law 17/2006 set a specific public service mission, financing limits, separation of accounts, and reservation of up to 25 % of the state radioelectric space for public television.

5. Registry and prior communication

• Article 39 of Law 13/2022 and Royal Decree 1138/2023, of December 19, create and regulate the State Registry of audiovisual communication service providers and other related services.
• State audiovisual communication service providers, as well as state public service providers, must:
  • Register mandatorily in this electronic Registry.
  • Keep updated, at least, information on significant shareholdings, composition of governing bodies (including the proportion of women), and a contact point for public complaints and replies.
  • Publish basic information about their identity and editorial responsibility on their websites, in an accessible and reusable manner.

In summary, broadcasting on DTT at the state level requires: license obtained through public tender, concession and compliant use of spectrum, economic and technical solvency, registry inscription and transparency obligations, and strict compliance with the content, minor protection, advertising, and accessibility obligations set by Law 13/2022 and its regulatory development.