Broncano and the ratings: the political business of Spain's public television

The pre-election campaign is being fought on Broncano's set

Should public money fund interviews that then turn into ratings? Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero's visit to La Revuelta achieved the show's second-best result in its history, behind only the Pedro Sánchez interview, which was the year's most-watched non-sports broadcast. The figure is no accident: the pre-campaign is being fought on television, and every channel wants its share.

The show's second-highest rating ever

The pairing of the ERC leader and the former Podemos minister appeared together on David Broncano's set, and the result was another ratings smash. With that figure in hand, Pablo Motos's reaction makes more sense: he told his audience in detail how many times his team had contacted Pedro Sánchez's office to secure an interview. The exact number of contacts never came out, but the gesture did: the competition for political guests has become a war of backrooms.

Ratings from curiosity are not ratings from interest

It is worth separating two things that easily get mixed up. Ratings driven by curiosity are not the same as ratings driven by genuine interest. What the audience meter measures is how many televisions are tuned to a channel, not how many viewers are actually paying attention or why. Some argue that the success of these interviews reflects curiosity at seeing two political leaders together on an entertainment show, not real interest in their political platform. Against that weighs the argument that, during a campaign, any minute of screen time is gold, whatever the format.

The fine print of audience measurement

This whole debate rests on blind faith in audience measurement. And there is an open flank there: Kantar has stayed silent about Intxaurrondo's surprising lead during the TVE blackout. If the measurement system has shadows, the record-breaking headlines have them too. The very narrative of success is built on a tool that nobody audits in public.

The pamphlet and public money

The underlying question is what a publicly funded show is for. Part of the analysis holds that La Revuelta is a government pamphlet that whitewashes the Government with friendly interviews; others reply that public television has always served as a platform, and the problem is not the format but who occupies it. Meanwhile, the PSOE has spent eight years without repealing Fátima Báñez's labour reform, the one still in force and the basis for the furlough schemes (ERTE) used during the pandemic. The paradox speaks for itself.

In the end, the ratings war leaves one clear winner: whoever gets the most-watched interview. Everything else, public money included, is fine print.