Spanish public-service broadcaster RTVE has returned to the idea of converting its dedicated sports channel, Teledeporte, into an OTT platform, it has been reported.
RTVE’s new management team has proposed that Teledeporte ceases operating as a television channel, according to the Confidencial Digital media website. The management is said to have cited its low audiences and a potential saving of €20m ($22.1m) the corporation could make from converting it into a streaming platform.
RTVE has considered such a move on two separate occasions in recent years, in 2014 and 2017. In November 2014, José Antonio Sánchez, president of RTVE, outlined plans to strengthen Teledeporte after admitting the company was taken aback by public reaction to initial proposals to close the service.
Sánchez earlier halted a plan to dissolve Teledeporte at the end of the year – a proposal that was part of cost-cutting measures put forward by his predecessor Leopoldo González-Echenique. Earlier in 2014, RTVE had unveiled plans to take Teledeporte off the digital terrestrial platform and shift some programming onto La2, the secondary public-service channel.
It is claimed that a decision on a possible change would be made by RTVE’s director of projects and strategy, Fran Llorente.
Teledeporte, which launched in 1994, is said to be averaging a 0.4-per-cent audience share so far this month. The most-watched broadcast last week was the Uefa Women’s Euro 2021 qualifier between Poland and Spain, which pulled in 160,000 viewers (for a 1.5-per-cent share).