José Antonio Sánchez, president of Spanish public-service broadcaster TVE, has outlined plans to strengthen sports channel Teledeporte after admitting the company was taken aback by public reaction to initial proposals to close the service.
Sánchez last month halted a plan to dissolve Teledeporte at the end of this year – a proposal that was part of cost-cutting measures put forward by his predecessor Leopoldo González-Echenique.
Teledeporte is now at the heart of a new strategic plan which includes five items designed to save €20m ($25m) over the next two years.
Teledeporte is now set to focus on minor sports and sports at grassroots level, although it will continue to broadcast larger sporting events. “Following the public’s negative response generated by its closure, Teledeporte will continue broadcasting,” Sánchez confirmed.
Sánchez stressed that the channel “essentially contributes to the development of Spanish sport, which gives us so much success, along with the dissemination of values that always accompany sport”.
Teledeporte’s sports coverage includes rights to basketball’s Spanish Liga. TVE in September renewed a rights deal for coverage of the ACB’s leading basketball competitions in the country.The new deal runs for two seasons, from 2014-15 to 2015-16.