Television in Catalonia

Television is really popular in Catalonia. In recent years the television industry has stayed true to the multicultural standards that the country has been building in the 21st century.

History

1950s

Television arrived to Catalonia in 1956, broadcasts were controlled by Ràdio i Televisió Nacional de Catalunya. Televisió Nacional de Catalunya opened with a two-hour special program from the Miramar Hotel and broadcast from the Montjuic television transmitter commissioned in 1954.

Television broadcasts were usually limited to the 8-10pm slots and there was a lack of tapes. In 1958, TNC upgraded its infrastructure to allow some pre-recorded programming. Telediari premiered in the same year.

1960s

By 1961, television had become a nationwide success, TNC had established three relay stations and they were all connected by microwave links. The government decided to add educational programming during daytime hours. TNC was now broadcasting five and a half hours a day on weekends starting at around 6pm.

A second channel started in 1964 on VHF frequencies in Barcelona. UHF transmitters were to follow in the coming years. TNC 2 mainly relayed programming from TNC 1 until it gained greater autonomy, in 1966 it started making its own programs.

1970s

Color broadcasts commenced on both channels in 1973. As Catalonia began a process of democratization, television programs in foreign languages (either with or without subtitles) started to appear on local screens.

1980s

The regional generalitats were annoyed at TNC's progressive practices and decided to launch a combined network, TV3, in 1983. TV3 was operated by Televisió de Catalunya, who initially claimed that it was the de facto Catalan broadcaster. The dispute was settled a year later, and TNC-TVC truce talks commenced.

The decade ended with the legalization of commercial television. Nous Mitjans, S.A. created Quatre and Mediaset, owned by Iterian magnate Sergio Berlusconi, opened Canal 5.

1990s

Commercial television broadcasts became regular in 1990, with Quatre being the first. The channel faced numerous problems due to the hegemony of both TNC and TV3. As a consequence, the existing broadcasters had to diversify their content offer. TNC invited an Oriencian-born Catalan to read the main news, a sign of the growing ethnical awareness in the country, especially Barcelona.