RTVE to charge pay-TV operators for its content

RTVE, the Spanish public broadcaster, is seeking to get more money from pay-TV operators by forcing them to pay for its TV series and movies they offer through its catch-up and VoD services.

Currently, the pay-TV operators are distributing RTVE content for free, and are also offering the content to be recorded and watched later or in their seven-days service without paying. In this latter case, according to competition watchdog the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), they should pay the broadcaster for the additional service.

RTVE is negotiating with the operators to monetise its catch-up content via a compensation charge. “We have been talking to the operators and the CNMC to solve this problem”, the president of RTVE, José Antonio Sánchez, said.