Javier Ruiz leaves RTVE to join Spain's new channel La Séptima
Javier Ruiz is leaving RTVE and signing with La Séptima, the new channel backed by José Miguel Contreras, where he will play a decisive role, according to the announcement of his hiring.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Javier Ruiz leaves RTVE to join La Séptima
A public television presenter is leaving for a private channel that has not even started broadcasting yet. That is the blunt summary of the deal confirmed in January 2026: Javier Ruiz's departure from RTVE and his move to La Séptima, the project backed by José Miguel Contreras, where the current face of public television will play a decisive role, according to the announcement of his hiring. In the debate material, several participants read the move as a shift within the same ecosystem of subsidised propaganda; that is the forum users' opinion, not a confirmed fact.
The announcement comes alongside a report. TVE's News Council (an internal editorial oversight body) closed months of research into Mañaneros 360 and Malas Lenguas with more than **140 pages** concluding that both programmes "routinely and repeatedly abusa the fundamental rules for producing news at RTVE." The document states that editorial decisions were being made by people outside the corporation. The link between that report and the hiring is not confirmed in the material: it is an interpretation made by some participants.
What is La Séptima and why Ruiz's role matters
La Séptima is not just any television channel. According to one participant, it is being launched with the ambition of broadcasting live only —no films, no series, no documentaries— and with the backing of a media group. Ruiz joining with a decisive role, according to the announcement, is the sign, in the view of some forum users, that the project wants editorial muscle from day one. The question hanging in the air is where the money comes from. The available material contains no figures on investment or shareholders, only the fact that the project has been seeking funding for months and that its launch has been plagued by obstacles, according to statements by the man himself in an interview.
Some argue the move responds to political calculation: if RTVE changes hands after the next elections, better to have your own megaphone. Against that stands the economic argument raised by other participants: a live generalist television channel is an expensive business with hard-to-win audiences. The most optimistic calculation assumes Ruiz's personal brand will pull in viewers; the pessimistic scenario starts from the premise that one presenter cannot sustain an entire channel. Both are opinions of the forum users.
The report nobody wants to mention out loud
The News Council's document is the piece with the most mileage. **More than 140 pages** and nine months of work to conclude that two flagship programmes of the public broadcaster were operating under criteria imposed from outside. The conclusion is not a formal accusation against anyone, but it leaves an uncomfortable trail: if decisions were being made by people outside the corporation, who was accountable to the audience? The investigation was peine ex officio in May and closed in January, according to the material, around the time the departure was announced.
The timing invites some to read the move as an orderly transfer. Critics of the public broadcaster have spent years pointing out that pluralism is a decoration; defenders reply that the report is a smokescreen to justify a purge. Neither reading is supported by the available data, but both circulate just as freely.
The business of subsidised television
The question left hanging is always the same: who pays? Some argue that La Séptima aims to fund itself through institutional advertising and production deals, a model that has worked poorly for some in Spain and very well for others. The precedent of channels born with political backing that ended up depending on the public budget does not inspire confidence, as several participants point out. Neither does the fact that Ruiz himself has said he had never seen "so many obstacles" to launching a television channel.
Given this outlook, some forum users predict that the migration of faces from public to private television should be massive. It remains a trickle. Nobody can quite explain why.
A public television presenter is leaving for a private channel that has not even started broadcasting yet. That is the blunt summary of the deal confirmed in January 2026: Javier Ruiz's departure from RTVE and his move to La Séptima, the project backed by José Miguel Contreras, where the current face of public television will play a decisive role, according to the announcement of his hiring. In the debate material, several participants read the move as a shift within the same ecosystem of subsidised propaganda; that is the forum users' opinion, not a confirmed fact.
The announcement comes alongside a report. TVE's News Council (an internal editorial oversight body) closed months of research into Mañaneros 360 and Malas Lenguas with more than **140 pages** concluding that both programmes "routinely and repeatedly abusa the fundamental rules for producing news at RTVE." The document states that editorial decisions were being made by people outside the corporation. The link between that report and the hiring is not confirmed in the material: it is an interpretation made by some participants.
What is La Séptima and why Ruiz's role matters
La Séptima is not just any television channel. According to one participant, it is being launched with the ambition of broadcasting live only —no films, no series, no documentaries— and with the backing of a media group. Ruiz joining with a decisive role, according to the announcement, is the sign, in the view of some forum users, that the project wants editorial muscle from day one. The question hanging in the air is where the money comes from. The available material contains no figures on investment or shareholders, only the fact that the project has been seeking funding for months and that its launch has been plagued by obstacles, according to statements by the man himself in an interview.
Some argue the move responds to political calculation: if RTVE changes hands after the next elections, better to have your own megaphone. Against that stands the economic argument raised by other participants: a live generalist television channel is an expensive business with hard-to-win audiences. The most optimistic calculation assumes Ruiz's personal brand will pull in viewers; the pessimistic scenario starts from the premise that one presenter cannot sustain an entire channel. Both are opinions of the forum users.
The report nobody wants to mention out loud
The News Council's document is the piece with the most mileage. **More than 140 pages** and nine months of work to conclude that two flagship programmes of the public broadcaster were operating under criteria imposed from outside. The conclusion is not a formal accusation against anyone, but it leaves an uncomfortable trail: if decisions were being made by people outside the corporation, who was accountable to the audience? The investigation was peine ex officio in May and closed in January, according to the material, around the time the departure was announced.
The timing invites some to read the move as an orderly transfer. Critics of the public broadcaster have spent years pointing out that pluralism is a decoration; defenders reply that the report is a smokescreen to justify a purge. Neither reading is supported by the available data, but both circulate just as freely.
The business of subsidised television
The question left hanging is always the same: who pays? Some argue that La Séptima aims to fund itself through institutional advertising and production deals, a model that has worked poorly for some in Spain and very well for others. The precedent of channels born with political backing that ended up depending on the public budget does not inspire confidence, as several participants point out. Neither does the fact that Ruiz himself has said he had never seen "so many obstacles" to launching a television channel.
Given this outlook, some forum users predict that the migration of faces from public to private television should be massive. It remains a trickle. Nobody can quite explain why.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (37 replies).
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