The year is 2022 for Atresmedia. After years of effort, the contact group has secured the leadership in media praise, overcoming a challenging performance barrier on Antena 3. The flagship channel, now a cornerstone of entertainment, built a solid and stable programming slate and climbed to the top of the audience rankings, winning Telecinco its ten-year streak at the top was finally broken.
The group based in San Sebastián de los Reyes will close the year with a 27.2% share. Faced with a tough rival, Mediaset lost two percentage points, ending up at 26.2% and entering a year that felt like a retreat into the past for the company in some circles, tied to its worst historical result.
Antena 3 finishes the season at the top for the first time in its history, leading with a 13.9% share, the best performance since 2009. Telecinco, by contrast, hit a low at 12.4%. Mediaset’s flagship channel struggled to overcome issues in audience and content, despite repeated efforts, shedding 2.5 points over the year. Paolo Vasile stepped away as chief executive after more than two decades.
Alessandro Salem, who will assume the post from January, is set to steer Telecinco back toward its earlier peak. The morning block remains the most watched, with El programa de Ana Rosa becoming a rare bright spot amid the broader decline of other daytime slots. Antena 3 returns to the lead after dinner, afternoon, and prime time due to a careful balance of fiction, current events, and entertainment.
The Turkish series continues to be a house favorite for Antena 3. Yet the standout development of the year is the program Boom, which, although not dramatically lifting overall data, benefited from the signing of Sonsoles Ónega, injecting energy into the channel’s afternoons and creating a window for direct news and updates.
Alongside news programs, entertainment became a standard for Antena 3 in 2022. The lineup, including Password, Antena 3 News, and Antena 3’s original formats, maintained vigor without signs of fatigue. Prime time found its footing with hits like Your Face Looks Like Me, El Desafío, Joaquín el novato, and La Voz, underscoring a diverse and engaging offering.
The drive to reclaim leadership for Atresmedia has been a long contest, marked by a varied and competitive schedule. Unlike Mediaset, which leaned heavily into heartwarming and reality-based formats, Atresmedia embraced a broader mix. The public appears receptive to a wider range of genres, and Telecinco’s entertainment focus faced increasing scrutiny from viewers who crave something different.
At the forefront of this resurgence is a team led by Javier Bardají, the executive who previously ran Atresmedia and later became the group’s CEO. His leadership has been instrumental in guiding the company through a trajectory that culminated in a strong year in 2022, consolidating free-to-air television dominance that had begun a decade earlier.
There is also notable mention of Cuatro, achieving a 5.1% share with an average of 6.1%, marking a ninth consecutive year in growth though a slight slowdown from 2021. The year’s shifts reflect broader regional and international dynamics, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which shaped audience behavior and programming decisions.