The Central Election Board responded yesterday afternoon to RTVE’s inquiry regarding a public broadcast of a debate featuring the two leading figures in the upcoming vote. The program, which airs on the Atresmedia network under the title Face to Face, is set to feature Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo this Monday at 10:00. The Board explained that it acted on general interest considerations, aiming to broadcast timely political discussion across the main channels and stations ahead of the July 23 elections, ensuring broad accessibility for viewers nationwide.
The plan to show the debate on public platforms was met with surprise from Atresmedia, which stated it would publicly address the issue at a press conference. News directors from Antena 3 and La Sexta described the request as unusual, noting that the discussion was being proposed for a private channel. They indicated they would comply with the Board’s guidance and proceed accordingly once the decision was clarified.
Next Monday, Sánchez and Feijóo will face each other in a high-stakes encounter.
In the press briefing, Atresmedia officials expressed their astonishment at the request and reiterated their intention to follow the Board’s directive. They stressed that the matter was complex due to the private nature of the broadcaster involved, while also underscoring the public interest in ensuring that the debate reaches a wide audience. The discussion, they argued, should be accessible to all citizens and not restricted to a narrow segment of the public.
The Board ultimately opted to reject RTVE’s request, arguing that any assignment to a contact group must be grounded in specific, clearly relevant conditions. It maintained that the debate should be disseminated broadly enough so that all citizens can access it without hindrance. This stance effectively keeps the public channel free from a formal signal of the event, at least for the moment, and places the responsibility on the private broadcaster to manage the airing within its own channels.
As a result, RTVE’s initiative to publicly signal the event faced obstacles, while Atresmedia prepared to move forward with its own plans. The situation highlights the ongoing tension between public and private media when it comes to political programming in the run-up to a nationwide election, and it raises important questions about accessibility, timing, and the roles of different broadcasters in delivering timely political discourse to the electorate.