Connected screens: the crisis in TVE and its repercussions for the
Spanish lm industry (1990-1996)
Pantallas conectadas: la crisis de TVE y su inuencia en el cine nacional
(1990-1996)
doxa.comunicación |
nº 35, pp. 245-260
| 245
July-December of 2022
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
How to cite this article:
Gil Gascón, F. and Chicharro, M. (2022). Connected screens: the crisis in TVE and its repercussions for the Spanish lm industry (1990-1996).
Doxa Comunicación
, 35, pp. 245-260.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n35a1622
Fátima Gil Gascón.
Full Professor in the Communication degree, Department of History & Communication at the
University of Burgos. Her main areas of research are lm and television, as well as the representation of women in the
media, principally during the Spanish Civil War and Francoism. She has published numerous papers concerning these
matters, in several Spanish and foreign journals.
University of Burgos, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-7920-2144
Mar Chicharro
. PhD in Sociology and Full Professor of Audio-visual Communication at the University of Burgos. Her
research is focused on the study of the televisual medium, its messages and audiences; she also works on gender and
the media. She is a lead researcher and project assessor and has published papers in domestic and foreign journals.
University of Burgos, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-7510-1373
Abstract:
is article aims to analyse Spanish television’s lm policy and its
relationship with the crisis in the Spanish lm industry between 1990
and 1996. To do this, we examine TVE’s participation in the nancing
of domestic productions and its cinematographic scheduling. Our
research aims to corroborate two hypotheses. Firstly, that the need to
secure the loyalty of an audience that, for the rst time, could choose
what it watched, forced public television to nd new strategies. is
aected all scheduling, especially domestic lms broadcast on both
Resumen:
Este artículo tiene como objetivo estudiar la política cinematográca de
televisión española y su relación con la crisis de la industria fílmica en
-
tre 1990 y 1996. Para ello se estudiará la programación cinematográca
y la participación del Ente público en la nanciación de producciones
nacionales. La investigación pretende corroborar dos hipótesis. Por un
lado, cómo la televisión pública tuvo que buscar nuevas estrategias para
delizar a unos espectadores que por primera vez podía elegir lo que
veía. Esto condicionó al cine nacional emitido en ambas cadenas. Sus
Received: 15/02/2022 - Accepted: 25/05/2022 - Early access: 06/06/2022 - Published: 01/07/2022
Recibido: 15/02/2022 - Aceptado: 25/05/2022 - En edición: 06/06/2022 - Publicado: 01/07/2022
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1. Introduction
e rst private TV channels appeared in Spain in 1990 thus breaking a near fty-year monopoly. is Neo television, caused a
radical change in the concept, function and consumption of the small screen. e new paradigm, characterised by the modication
of reality, hypervisibility, increased choice or more showbiz-like content not only transformed the televisual medium (Eco, 1986),
it also had an impact on the country’s lm industry.
e audio-visual sector is currently going through a revolution. Limitations on mobility and leisure spaces have accelerated the
process initiated by the popularity of digital platforms. Although alternatives such as Filmin or Rakuten already existed, these
were limited to being little more than containers of audio-visual material. e arrival of Netix in 2015, of HBO one year later and
of Amazon Prime, Disney and Apple in 2020 represented a radical transformation.
In just a few years, these new platforms have attracted millions of subscribers, while conventional television has lost viewers
swiftly and inexorably. is scenario calls for a re-think of the idea of television, and of those formats typical of the medium, as
well as the relationship established between the viewer and the channel and with other audio-visuals industries such as cinema.
Video streaming platforms allow the user to create their own televisual ow (Heredia, Quirós-Ramírez & Quinceno Castañeda,
2021). us, audience loyalty and therefore, nance, dene the nature of the formats broadcast and permit investment with
reasonable certainty in products suited to their tastes (Berejano, 2020).
e almost simultaneous opening of lms such as
Roma
(Cuarón, 2018) or
e Irishman
(Scorsesse, 2019) in cinemas and via
streaming oers a new business model which provokes a vital debate for this collective (Moreno, 2020, pp. 198-199). Moreover,
the conversion of these platforms into producers has created lms conditioned by the screens where they are going to be shown.
ey have been created in many cases in line with the circumstances of this new television. e internationalisation of lms
allows for greater projection, but also certain uniformity (Chalaby, 2016) which has a bearing on narrative, visual, sound and even
creative approaches (León, 2021).
channels. Low viewership gures made this product unprotable,
and, consequently, it was not properly scheduled on the small screen.
Secondly, we attempt to show that the entity’s nancial diculties had
a profound eect on the Spanish lm industry’s crisis. A lack of capital
aected cooperation in nance and production between the two
media, further weakening the fragile domestic lm industry. is lack
of support for cinema not only had a negative eect on production, but
also had consequences for its promotion and society’s recognition and
acceptance of it.
Keywords:
Spanish television; lms; lm industry; Spanish television crisis; lm
scheduling; Spanish lm crisis.
bajos índices de audiencia hicieron que este producto no resultara rent
-
able y, por consiguiente, que no fuera convenientemente programado en
la pequeña pantalla. Por otro, se intentará demostrar que los problemas
económicos del Ente incidieron en la crisis de la industria cinematográ
-
ca española. La escasez de capital modicó las formas de producción
y de colaboración económica entre ambos medios debilitando aún más
la frágil industria cinematográca nacional. La falta de apoyo al cine
no solo tuvo un efecto negativo en la producción. También repercutió
en su promoción y en su reconocimiento y aceptación por parte de la
sociedad.
Palabras clave:
Televisión española; películas; industria cinematográca; crisis tele
-
visión española; política cinematográca; crisis cine español.
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In this labyrinth, where the audio-visual industries face a paradigm shift, it is particularly interesting to observe the ways and
means in which an analogous problem was approached thirty years ago. e study of the introduction of certain scheduling
policies will allow us to understand the consequences that these may have for viewers’ knowledge and recognition of a given
product and the implications for other cultural sectors.
2. Objectives & methodology
is paper’s object of study is the cinematographic policy of TVE between 1990 and 1996. e text strives to corroborate two
hypotheses. Firstly, we will try to demonstrate that the loss of its television monopoly and the need to foster audience loyalty
dened the way in which Spanish cinema was programmed on both of TVE’s channels. Secondly, we will intend to discover how
the entity’s economic diculties aected the crisis in the Spanish lm industry.
e general objective of the research is, therefore, to study the changes occasioned in the public entity’s lm scheduling policy in
the early-90s. e special circumstances that gave rise to these modications and their consequences for the latticework of the
industry structure a series of specic objectives:
–
O1: Identify and understand the patterns of lm scheduling, especially of Spanish lms, during the period under consideration.
–
O2: Establish the relationship between the changes in lm scheduling and public television’s economic and business crisis.
–
O3: Analyse any possible relationship between the Spanish lm industry’s problems and the lack of support from TVE.
–
O4: Outline some consequences, for both the industry and the public, of the scarcity of broadcasts of domestic lms on public
television.
is paper places itself chronologically between 1990, with the commencement of broadcasts by commercial television, and
1996, the year in which the electoral victory of the People’s Party (PP) saw the socialist party (PSOE) leave oce after fourteen
years, with the corresponding changes in TVE’s senior management. Apart from the changes in the organisation’s management,
1996 was also the rst year in which the sum of the private channels’ audiences exceeded those of the public ones, thus beginning
the slow but progressive deterioration of public television (Vaca Berdayes, 1997, p. 411). It was also the year that saw the beginning
of a certain recuperation in the lm sector due to increased production and the success of titles such as
Two Much
(Trueba, 1996),
e day of the beast
(De la Iglesia, 1996) or
Libertarias
(Aranda, 1996).
e study of one medium –cinema– broadcast in another –television– calls for a double analysis, as a broadcast product and,
therefore, subject to the trends of TV scheduling, and as a format foreign to the medium and regulated by both national law and
by those of its own industry. In order to learn how the format was scheduled, a data base has been created compiling the lms
broadcast on the two channels over four weeks of the year. 28 days per season over 6 years have been analysed, for a total of 168
days. For a broader understanding of the channels’ lm scheduling policy over the whole of a season, two months have been
selected –March and September– when there were no events that could distort the broadcasting of these pieces, and another two
with specic characteristics, such as the summer (July) and Christmas (December). e resulting data base is made up of 2064
items.
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e quantitative analysis has been complemented by a qualitative study. As well as the time slot, data has been compiled on
nationality, year of production, its inclusion or not in a specic themed series or the lm’s genre. ese questions –a lm’s
scheduling in line with the public’s tastes or loyalty through a recognisable brand or time slot– allow us to pinpoint the importance
granted by a channel to the lm being broadcast and the medium’s trends in the topic we are studying.
For the study of the relationship between television and cinema we have turned to both the academic literature on the matter
and the publications of the two media during the period. On one hand, the annuals published by Televisión Española. ese
detail the channel’s circumstances and its eorts to adapt to the new situation. On the other hand, the journal
Academia
, the
periodical publication of the Spanish Film Academy. Here one nds both the consequences of television’s lm policies and the
consternation these caused in the movie industry.
3. e relationship between television and cinema in Spain
In 1956, the year of the rst television transmissions in Spain, cinema was one of the most popular media with a national
star
system
that was both recognised and highly-regarded socially (García Fernández, 2009, p. 30). Despite this, television’s arrival
caused a degree of concern in the movie industry, principally due to how lms were shown in cinemas. is was by using the
lucrative formula of extending the life of lms over several years by their projection in cinemas of dierent categories. Given this
situation, television was seen as a competitor able to take on those older lms destined for the minor local cinema screens in city
neighbourhoods and / or villages.
e country’s political and economic characteristics meant that both media were dominated and nanced by the state. One, the
cinematographic, through a complex system of subsidies intended to control lm content and which hindered the development
of private initiative. e other, the televisual, chiey thanks to advertising, absolutely crucial for its launch and consolidation
(Montero & Antona, 2019, p. 27).
e 70s brought major novelties to Spain. Social, political and economic changes brought new forms of entertainment. Cinema
started to lose customers and the number of movie theatres also declined. While, in 1968, cinemas had a total of 773 million
movie-goers, by 1987 the number had fallen to only 86 million (Gámir, 2001, pp. 223-253).
Television became the most popular mass media (Prado, 2001, pp. 161-170). is not only had repercussions for the economy
of the sector, but also for its social standing. e consolidation of television as the place for making new viewers (Cerdán &
Pena, 2007, p. 20), the progressive disappearance of lm magazines (Llinas, 1987, p.153), the absence of eective and attractive
advertising to win over the public (Academia
,
1994a, p. 25) or the growth in domestic VCRs (Calvo, 2011, p.16) were some of the
causes of the big screen’s loss of inuence.
At the beginning of the 90s, the cinema industry was in serious trouble. e poor box oce results of the productions of those
years did not encourage investment by lm companies, which could not, nor wished to, assume the nancial risk inherent in
producing a Spanish lm. Despite the search for new creative formulas to aid the development of lm with a national Identity,
the box oce take showed a lack of synchrony with the public. As put by the Director General of Cinematography, Juan Miguel
Lamet, it was quality cinema, but it left the public indierent. (Academia
,
1992, p.12).
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e idea of a national lm industry in crisis started to gain weight and entered the national consciousness. e 1992 Goya awards,
the Spanish
Oscars
, demonstrated both the diculties of and the unease in the sector. e continual allusions to the need
for major investment or requests to movie-goers to go to see Spanish lms made some talk of the ceremony as a “weep-fest”
(Academia
,
1992, p. 21). is image conrmed the weakness of Spanish cinema. As an industry and as a cultural good.
Televisión Española closed 1988-1989 having consolidated its position as the media group with the largest audience in Spanish
history (TVE, 1989, p. 41). One year later, not only had the number of viewers fallen by a third, but it was immersed in one of the
most complex and convulsive periods of its existence.
May 3, 1988, saw the passing of the private television law which conceded three licences, two for free-to-air channels –Telecinco
and Antena 3– and one for a subscription channel (Canal Plus). e legislation ended public television’s monopoly and completely
altered the nation’s audio-visual panorama.
e crisis in Televisión Española was due to several causes. Disastrous management of its resources united to the recession that
aected all the audio-visual sector in the early 90s. Added to this, the arrival of the commercial channels, Telecinco and Antena
3, smashed a system that depended excessively on advertisers. Public television received mixed nancing, part coming from the
State and the rest from advertising and the sale of products. From 1984 on there was a progressive withdrawal of public subsidies
to television (Palacios & Ciller, 2018, p. 579). 1988 was the rst year in which RTVE did not receive money from the General Budget
of the State, having to rely on its own resources to nance its operations (TVE, 1989, p. 22).
Advertising turnover for 1990 was 153,313 million pesetas. 178 times greater than the income for program sales, the second source
of revenue (EFE
,
1990). Six years later it had lost 42% of its advertising income (Tijeras, 2012). e fall in the number of advertisers
represented, as can be seen, a terrible blow to the medium’s nances. Especially as it was so swift and so massive.
Without government money and at the mercy of a market it no longer controlled, the public organisation had to adopt a series of
measures such as the creation of a marketing department that modied the image of the group’s channels, a drastic reduction in
headcount and, more than anything, a radical control of spending.
4. Films broadcast by TVE
State television utilised lm dierently on its two channels. TVE1 tended towards modern, North American lms. eir number
increased at the weekend and over holiday periods, when, moreover, movies appropriate to the season were common, adventure
lms and lms for teens in the summer, with Christmas-themed movies in December.
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Connected screens: the crisis in TVE and its repercussions for the Spanish lm industry (1990-1996)
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doxa.comunicación
Graph 1. Films broadcast by TVE1
Sourc
e: created by the authors
The
idiosyncrasy of TVE
2
meant the broadcasting of older films
from
a wider
range of nationalities. A large part of its
schedules
were films, even doubling the number
shown on TVE
1
. Apart from
abundance,
there were differences in the genres and time
slots.
Compared to the other free
-to-
air channels, most of their movies were shown on
weekdays.
The channel also showed classic films under umbrellas such as
Cine club
or
The star is…,
films in black and white, mostly of renowned quality, and largely, though
not exclusively, from Hollywood.
Graph
2
. Films broadcast by
TVE2
Sourc
e: created by the authors
The time slots were commercially driven. Firstly, s
uccessful
films
-
mainly due to
their topicality and popularity
-
were broadcast in prime
-
time
though
these became less
frequent as other formats more suited to the medium became available, such as TV series.
Dur
ing the period under study, TVE broadcast, at least, three prime
-
time films per week,
usually on
Mondays
, Tuesday
s
and/or Thursday
s
and, at the weekend,
on
Saturdays
on
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1990199119921993199419951996
January
March
July
December
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1990199119921993199419951996
JanuaryMarchJulyDecember
Source: created by the authors
e idiosyncrasy of TVE2 meant the broadcasting of older lms from a wider range of nationalities. A large part of its schedules
were lms, even doubling the number shown on TVE1. Apart from abundance, there were dierences in the genres and time
slots. Compared to the other free-to-air channels, most of their movies were shown on weekdays. e channel also showed classic
lms under umbrellas such as
Cine club
or
e star is…,
lms in black and white, mostly of renowned quality, and largely, though
not exclusively, from Hollywood.
Graph 2. Films broadcast by TVE2
Sourc
e: created by the authors
The
idiosyncrasy of TVE
2
meant the broadcasting of older films
from
a wider
range of nationalities. A large part of its
schedules
were films, even doubling the number
shown on TVE
1
. Apart from
abundance,
there were differences in the genres and time
slots.
Compared to the other free
-to-
air channels, most of their movies were shown on
weekdays.
The channel also showed classic films under umbrellas such as
Cine club
or
The star is…,
films in black and white, mostly of renowned quality, and largely, though
not exclusively, from Hollywood.
Graph
2
. Films broadcast by
TVE2
Sourc
e: created by the authors
The time slots were commercially driven. Firstly, s
uccessful
films
-
mainly due to
their topicality and popularity
-
were broadcast in prime
-
time
though
these became less
frequent as other formats more suited to the medium became available, such as TV series.
Dur
ing the period under study, TVE broadcast, at least, three prime
-
time films per week,
usually on
Mondays
, Tuesday
s
and/or Thursday
s
and, at the weekend,
on
Saturdays
on
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1990199119921993199419951996
JanuaryMarchJulyDecember
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1990199119921993199419951996
January
March
July
December
Source: created by the authors
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251
e time slots were commercially driven. Firstly, successful lms - mainly due to their topicality and popularity - were broadcast
in prime-time though these became less frequent as other formats more suited to the medium became available, such as TV
series. During the period under study, TVE broadcast, at least, three prime-time lms per week, usually on Mondays, Tuesdays
and/or ursdays and, at the weekend, on Saturdays on TVE2 and Sundays on TVE1. Films were highly popular with the public
which made them a great draw for viewers (TVE, 1989, p. 44).
Secondly, television lms dominated the afternoons in the mid-90s on TVE1, substituting soap operas. Finally, lms of lesser
commercial value shown in the small hours or in the morning. Particularly on TVE2 which had two themed formats –
Films for
Everyone
and
e Morning Movie
- showing a daily lm. In both cases, the norm was family lms, adventures, North American and
Spanish, over thirty years old and B-lms. In 1992, amidst the celebration of the ve hundredth anniversary of the Discovery of
the Americas, there were quite a number of Latin American lms such as
Historia de una noche
(Saslavsky 1941) or ¡Viva el amor!
(De la Serna, 1958). e few morning lms on TVE1 were mainly broadcast in 1991/1992 and 1994/1995.
ese time slots indicated little care for or interest in the product. In fact, in 1993, the estimated viewing time in the slot was 18
minutes in the after-midnight slot and 22 minutes mid-morning. is is only half of the time in other slots and less than a third
than in prime-time (Palacio, 2008, p. 168). As the director Antonio Mercero said, the important thing was not how much lm was
broadcast but when and what (SGAE, 2000, p. 335). Putting lms on at a time when there is going to be little audience or with a
very specic target, as well as choosing old lms and ones of slight interest, shows, more than anything, a wish to cut costs using
lower quality stock to occupy an unpopular time slot.
e public channels always maintained a consistent number of lms. Excepting periods such as 1991/ 1992, the toughest in the
organisation’s crisis, when the number of lms almost doubled. Most were part of the
existing stock in the channel’s library, old
lms, some of poor quality and little suited to the tastes of prime-time viewers. A special themed season was created, Cine 92,
with one lm per night.
e number of lms can be seen to increase again in late 1996. e March elections had handed power to the People’s Party.
When the new director general, Mónica Ridruejo, took up her position, there was no budget left for acquisitions that year or the
next (Munsó, 2001, p. 327). e policy of cost control she wanted to introduce and especially the limited room for manoeuvre
called for an optimization of existing resources through the use of the library. is was particularly true at Christmas, a time for
family and movies.
e early 90s saw greater repetition of lms, in 1991 TVE tripled the number of repeats compared to previous years, a tendency
“likely to become a fundamental resource to maximize the investment in external production”. (TVE, 1991, p. 183). is approach,
that sought not only to make the most of a lm but also avoided scheduling others, was highly eective with popular titles such
as
Pretty Woman
(Marshall, 1990). is lm was broadcast three times by TVE during the period under study – twice in 1994 and
once in 1996- achieving a large audience on each occasion (Palmero, 2015).
North American commercial cinema attracted viewers and, in consequence, advertisers, therefore TVE clearly turned to it. In
October 1992, it signed a contract with Warner which committed the entity to purchasing broadcasting rights from the studio to a
value of 100 million dollars over the 93, 94 and 95 seasons (Tijeras, 2012). is outlay set the nationality of the movies to be shown
over the following years. e channels bought bundles of lms from the majors. Licences were oered for a specied period
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and bound together famous titles and others of less renown or made-for-TV. is meant that along with the acquisition of major
feature lms, the channel accepted a commitment to broadcast the other tapes it had been obliged to buy.
e most famous movies were shown under several umbrellas. One of the most popular was
ursday Movie
which showed
action and adventure lms such as
Jumanji
(Johnston, 1995),
e Last Boy Scout
(Scott, 1991) or
e Film of the Week
. is space,
which mixed Hollywood productions with made-for-TV pieces and Spanish lms, struggled to consolidate itself as leader in its
time slot until it switched to almost exclusively showing Hollywood lms made in the 90s.
Until the 1991-1992 season, domestic titles used to gure in the top 25 most watched. e statistics for later seasons reected a
shift in viewers’ preferences towards stories made in the Mecca of cinema. Nineteen of the top twenty lms in terms of audience
in the 1995/1996 season were American (GECA, 1997, p. 80). Spanish productions barely gured in this televisual scenario,
maintaining a share, with little variation, of 12% over the years under consideration.
ese productions used to be shown in the mid-morning or late-night slots, mainly on TVE2, the channel where, in the early years
of the decade, some lms were broadcast in the mid-afternoon slot on weekdays. ere were hardly any Spanish feature lms
shown outside of these slots.
In general, the domestic lms shown corresponded to two very specic periods. One, late-Francoism, stories from which were
very popular. Indeed, between 1991 and 1993, the only Spanish lms scheduled at popular times were comedies such as
Cateto a
Babor
(Fernández, 1970) or
Objetivo bikini
(Ozores, 1968).
e other period was the 90s productions in which the public television entity had participated. ough few in number, from
1994 some of these feature lms could be seen -for example,
Tender Summer of Lust on the Rooftops
(Chávarri, 1993) or
Anything
for Bread
(Urbizu, 1991)- at weekday prime-time. e public’s response was variable. While the Francoist movies gained high
audience shares, the contemporary output had a varied following.
From 1995 on there was an increase in the number of Spanish lms on TVE2 thanks to the creation of themed programs such
as
Nuestro cine
and
Cine de Barrio
which swiftly, due to its popularity, switched over to TVE1. e structure of these programs
implied a certain care for the product as it bundled together, in a common framework, lms with similar characteristics. is
allowed for their identication by the public, and thus created a certain anity.
5. Causes of the lack of Spanish movies on the screens
e public channel’s nancial struggles and the need to gain the loyalty of the public so as to attract advertisers, created a
cinematographic policy focused on the protability of the products broadcast.
1992 was one of the seasons in which TVE broadcast most Spanish features. It was also the year in which the crisis engulng
Spanish cinema became most evident. During this time, the public channel relied on titles in its archive, and therefore did not
renew or invest in lms (TVE, 1992, p. 233). In the case of Spanish products, old lms were shown for two reasons.
e rst was nancial. Domestic productions, like foreign ones, were purchased in bundles. is dened both the channel’s
library, which contained previous purchases, and the titles that had to be shown at some point. e gures were high. An example
would be the nearly eight hundred movies acquired by TVE between 1995 and 1997 for three billion pesetas. Among these are
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popular lms such as
La tonta del bote
(Orduña, 1970) or
No desearás al vecino del quinto
(Fernández, 1970) and many others of
little renown which, by contractual obligation, also had to be shown (TVE compra 700...,1997).
Modern Spanish lms could not, by law, be broadcast less than two years after their big-screen premiere, which meant a nancial
outlay which could not be recuperated for at least two years (Academia
,
1995, p. 96-97).
Furthermore, there was the audience share. e domestic lms with the highest TV audience – and therefore the most popular
among the general public- were comedies from the 60s and/or 70s. Films from that period were very popular, even twenty years
later. eir success, combined with that of domestic series, reects the average viewer’s interest in formats related to local and
national culture as opposed to more universal and homogenous products (Waisbord, 2004, p. 359-383). e audience gures
obtained by these lms were also fruit of the nostalgia for lost idiosyncrasy, both general and particular (Armbruster, 2016, p. 23).
A certain longing for a country that, though living under a dictatorial regime, had felt cheerful, carefree and undogmatic, with a
clearly dened character. And, of course, for a time when the typical viewer of these pieces had been young and had their whole
life before them.
Moreover, the need to maintain audience gures meant that certain broadcasting norms were systematically ignored, which had
negative repercussions for the industry. ese norms stated that 40% of commercial lms broadcast should be productions from
the European Community and, within that percentage, at least half had to be Spanish (Cuevas, 1994: 119). José Antonio Suárez,
legal advisor to the Confederation of Spanish Audio-visual Producers (FAPAE), pointed to compliance with the legally established
European-produced percentage as one of the key measures for the reactivation of Spanish production (Academia, 1993, p. 13).
e solution, he thought, was evident, there should be investment in contemporary cinema and not in foreign material or lms
produced in the past (Academia 1993, p. 10). One should not forget that the broadcasting of old lms, although they were domestic
productions, not only failed to build the industry, but also failed to consolidate the new roster of stars.
Despite these considerations, Televisión Española’s pressing nancial needs led it to give priority to trends in the television market
as opposed to public interest. Competition with the private channels had two fundamental consequences. Firstly, viewers began
to see themselves as potential clients (Mateos-Pérez, 2014, p. 71). Secondly, there was a homogenisation of formats, degrading
and putting cultural demands to one side (Gubern, 2006, p. 370).
6. TVE’s participation in the nancing of domestic cinema
TVE’s nancial crisis had a direct impact on its support of Spanish lm-making. According to data from the Spanish Film Academy,
a third of the nance provided to Spanish lms in the 90s came from the sale of broadcast rights to TV channels (Academia, 1997b,
p. 15).
Agreements with these bodies could mean a dierence of between 70 and 80 million pesetas, for lms with a budget of little
more than one hundred million (Academia, 1997a, p. 26).
e public entity started to participate actively in lm nancing in the 80s thanks to the signing of agreements with the
Confederation of Spanish Audio-visual Producers which set a share of 20% and regulated broadcast rights and associated
productions (Gómez-Escalonilla, 1998, p. 60). ese were corroborated by the norms proposed by Pilar Miró – who during the 80s
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held the highest positions in the Directorate General of Cinematography and in RTVE – which permitted the direct production of
lms and series in exchange for exclusive broadcast rights (Mateos-Pérez & Cabeza, 2015, pp. 76-92).
Despite the producers’ change of attitude and the channel’s initial good-will, most of the agreements were not honoured. In 1990
the agreement signed a year earlier between e Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) was extended
with a commitment to invest 2 billion pesetas in lm and 10 billion in other types of audio-visual products. A year later, TVE
declared its inability to fulll the agreement, with the Ministry of Culture assuming the cost.
In 1992, TVE’s tendency to participate in the nancing of Spanish lm through associated and nanced production was modied
(Academia, 1994b, p. IX), this being the rst year in which no feature lms were produced.
Although it did not acquire any broadcasting rights (Academia, 1994a, p. 9), from that moment on, the public channel was to
bet on this format. e norm was to negotiate lming beforehand, and the agreements were for three years (Bello, 2012). Prices
were low and were set following the channel’s criteria. at is to say, the estimated audience, time slot or broadcast region were
considered, instead of the movie’s production costs.
Graph 3. Broadcast rights acquired by TVE during the years under study
Despite the producers
’
change of attitude and the channel’s initial good
-will,
most
of the agreements were not honoured.
I
n 1990 the agreement signed a year earlier between
The Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (
ICAA)
was extended
with a commitment to
invest
2 b
illi
on pesetas
in
film
and
10
billion
i
n other types of
audio-visual
products. A year later, TVE
declar
ed its inability to fulfill the agreement,
with
the Ministry of Culture
assuming
the cost.
I
n 1992
,
TVE
’s tendency to participate in the financing of Spanish film through
associated and financed production was modified (Academia, 1994b, p.
IX)
, this being
the first year in which no feature films were produced.
A
lthough it did not acquire any broadcasting rights (Academia, 1994
a
, p. 9), from
that
moment
on
, the public channel was to bet on this format
.
The norm was to negotiate
filming beforehand, and the agreements were for three years (Bello, 2012). Prices were
low and were set following the channel’s criteri
a.
That is to say, the estimated audience,
time slot or broadcast region were considered, instead of the movie’s production costs
.
Graph
3.
Broadcas
t rights acquired by TVE du
r
ing the years under study
Sourc
e: created by the authors from data compiled by the journal
Academia
Thanks to the agreement signed by TVE and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO)
i
n 1994, which established a 2 billion
peseta
annual line of credit for the purchase of
broadcast rights over the following three years, the organization was able to keep up its
investments.
A
lthough the terms had changed, the return of TVE to the world of financing
Spanish cinema had positive repercussions for the indust
ry.
In fact, as pointed out by
Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
’s brother and
produce
r
of
El Deseo S.A., it was
television that really brought profits for films (Academia, 1996a, p. 98).
Nevertheless
,
and despite the change in
tendency
,
domestic cinema’s
market share remained firmly
below
11% (EGEDA, 2001, p. 11).
7.
Conse
quences of
TVE
’s cinematographic policy for the Spanish cinema
industry.
During the 80s, a major cultural shif
t
could be observed in Spain, fruit of the
enormous changes taking place following the death of Franco.
The
consolidatio
n of
Spanish democracy, entrance into the
EEC
o
r the improved international standing of the
country following numerous events in 1992 saw Spain open up to the world. The younger
population found themselves torn between two trends, immersed in globalization but still
0510152025
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
Broadcasting rights acquired
Source: created by the authors from data compiled by the journal
Academia
anks to the agreement signed by TVE and the Instituto de Crédito Ocial (ICO) in 1994, which established a 2 billion peseta
annual line of credit for the purchase of broadcast rights over the following three years, the organization was able to keep up
its investments. Although the terms had changed, the return of TVE to the world of nancing Spanish cinema had positive
repercussions for the industry. In fact, as pointed out by Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar’s brother and producer of El
Deseo S.A., it was television that really brought prots for lms (Academia, 1996a, p. 98). Nevertheless, and despite the change in
tendency, domestic cinema’s market share remained rmly below 11% (EGEDA, 2001, p. 11).
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7. Consequences of TVE’s cinematographic policy for the Spanish cinema industry.
During the 80s, a major cultural shift could be observed in Spain, fruit of the enormous changes taking place following the death
of Franco. e consolidation of Spanish democracy, entrance into the EEC or the improved international standing of the country
following numerous events in 1992 saw Spain open up to the world. e younger population found themselves torn between two
trends, immersed in globalization but still tied to local tradition (Henseller, 2011, p. 16). is was not truly taken on by lms, with
themes and ideas diering greatly from those of their viewers. ey were more tuned to imitating, with little success, stories from
abroad, than addressing national problems, resulting in low audience levels both on the big screen and on the small.
e lack of support from public television did no more than worsen the situation. In fact, the small screen was one of the media
that had most inuence on mass audiences, which thanks to it, assumed tastes and fashions and learnt what books to read,
which records to listen to and what movies to see. (Postman, 1991, p. 83). is had a negative eect on the media education of
a society which lacked educational policies designed to study audio-visual culture (Medina, Briones & Hernández, 1997, p. 50).
is contributed to a lack of awareness about domestic productions.
In this competitive system, public taste and the trends in the medium set both the nature and the format of the productions of
the time. Products were no longer only created for darkened movie theatres but for brightly-lit living rooms. is meant that
audio and visual elements such as the size of shots, depth, sound or photography (Academia, 1997b, p. 39) were aected by and
adapted to new forms of consumption. is was manifest in the more technical tasks, where the professionals had to approach
their work thinking of a substantially smaller screen. A good example of this is the modications introduced in the eld of lighting.
As the Director of Photography Toe Trenas put it, in the 90s nobody dared to illuminate taking full advantage of the latitude and
underexposure of cinematographic material, as they had just a decade before, as it was impossible to transfer the atmosphere and
quality of an image to television (
Academia,
1998, p. 27)
e development of televisual elements as opposed to the cinematographic also changed the narrative structure of stories.
Language, rhythm, or staging were all altered when writing scripts (Rimbau & Torreiro, 1999, p. 38), in many cases adapting to the
type of movie the organisation was backing, a quality product, mainly comedy, with sucient budget to permit it to be well-made
and which would gain certain prestige (
Academia
, 1996a, p. 100).
Television’s subjugation in televisual, nancial, aesthetic and even sociological terms produced a certain uniformity of format
(Cerdán & Pena, 2007, pp. 18-19). It became a “generic” product that covered certain general and uncontroversial subjects from a
conservative standpoint. In fact, as Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón said, “from the moment that I became aware that lms were going
to be on television (…) I have lmed more specically, bringing the camera in closer without realising I’m doing it... At rst, that
doesn’t matter, but at the end of the day, that’s one of the reasons why lms, unfortunately, look more and more like each other”
(Monterde & Casas, 1986, p. 140).
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8. Conclusions
In the early 90s, TVE struggled with serious structural and nancial diculties. After decades of control of both public and
advertisers, the end of its monopoly obliged it to ght hard to keep its audience without greatly increasing spending. Films had an
important role to play in this context. ey were still a major draw for the public, and the broadcasting of library lms allowed for
the lling of broadcast hours, amortising material without the need to acquire new products.
Analysis of TVE’s lm scheduling over the period under study corroborates our initial hypothesis. It can be said that the lack of
capital and, especially, the need to compete for the public’s favour, dened the public channels’ lm policy. e priority given to
broadcasting foreign, usually Hollywood, lms, the emission of Spanish lms in uncompetitive time slots or the systematic non-
compliance with the broadcast quota were some of the actions that had a negative eect on the way domestic lm was scheduled.
Since TVE was, still, the leading channel, this trend became a constant over the decade, and dened, by imitation, the private
channels’ approach to broadcasting and investment.
is question conrms that Spanish television’s nancial problems were one of the factors that sharpened the national
cinematographic sector’s crisis. A sector that, alienated from its public, nancially dependent on budgets that grew smaller and
smaller every year, and almost totally lacking self-criticism, could not understand or connect with the new society of the 90s. is,
at least, is what the poor results of contemporary Spanish lms on the big screen seem to demonstrate. at is why, above and
beyond questions such as a lm being in the channel’s archive, or its price, the most important criterion for the broadcasting of a
Spanish movie was its box oce results.
e paradigm shift when choosing to give nancial backing to Spanish productions had a bearing on two questions. For one
part, during the period of study, the number of pieces lmed fell considerably. Moreover, stories lost certain creative freedom
in adapting to the thematic, visual and narrative tastes of the channels. Similarly, a lack of promotion and the scarcity of
contemporary domestic products did little to drive the star system that could strengthen the recognition and following of certain
actors and actresses. is is especially relevant given the social importance of the medium in Spain (Smith, 2006). At a time when
television, as cinema had been before, became the school of the audio-visual, the absence of modern references supposes a lack
of adhesion and habit in the consumption of Spanish lms produced in the 90s.
e pass from Paleo-television to Neo-television had negative repercussions for the Spanish lm industry. In 1996, a TVE advert
in the journal
Academia
, indicated that the public tv body designed its programming for those lms the viewers wanted to see
(
Academia,
1996b). e option to choose granted the public the power to decide the success or failure of a format. is turned
them into an active subject able to inuence the channel’s future investment, by their choice of certain stories, with very specic
themes and visual solutions.
e new televisual paradigm not only made manifest the clear inter-relation between audio-visual media in Spain, but it also
revealed the industrial weaknesses of a sector, that of cinema, still highly dependent on external nancing.
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257
9. Acknowledgements
Our thanks to Brian O’Halloran for the translation of this paper.
is paper forms part of the research initiated by the authors within the framework of the project “History of TV programmes and
scheduling in Spain (State channels): from deregulation to the analogue shutdown (1990-2010)” (HISPROTEL) nanced by the
Ministry of Economics & Competitivity.
10. Specic contributions from each author
Name and Surname
Conception & design of the research Fátima Gil and Mar Chicharro
Methodology
Fátima Gil and Mar Chicharro
Compilation & analysis of the dataFátima Gil and Mar Chicharro
Discussion & conclusionsFátima Gil and Mar Chicharro
Writing, layout, review & approval of the versionsFátima Gil and Mar Chicharro
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