Spain’s two major private television groups, Atresmedia and Mediaset, are facing mounting pressure as public broadcaster TVE and pay-TV platforms continue to erode their audience share and, increasingly, their revenue. After four years of declining viewership, the financial impact – previously contained – has now begun to transpire, signalling what many analysts fear could become a structural shift reminiscent of the decline that engulfed the print press in the wake of the internet and social media boom.

Since 2021 – pandemic data aside – the 13 channels operated jointly by Atresmedia and Mediaset have shed 4.7 percentage points of total daily audience share and 5.5 points in the highly lucrative prime-time slot (20:30–00:00). Over the same period, TVE’s five channels have gained 1.7 points across the day and an even more striking 2.8 points in prime time. The trend has been unbroken for four consecutive years, but the shift accelerated sharply in 2024 after the public broadcaster secured top-tier sports rights and restructured its evening schedule, shortening news bulletins and launching La Revuelta.

Mediaset has borne the brunt of the decline, losing 3.6 points in all-day share and 2.9 in prime time, while Atresmedia has registered drops of 1.1 and 2.6 points respectively. Around half of the prime-time audience lost by private broadcasters has migrated to public channels, while roughly a third of their all-day loss has followed the same path. Much of the remainder has been absorbed by pay-TV and global streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV.

Until recently, declining audiences had not yet translated into falling revenue, largely because TVE was not a significant competitor in the advertising market and streaming platforms had mostly avoided advertising-supported models. That landscape is changing swiftly. La 1, TVE’s flagship channel, now features a growing number of sponsored segments – particularly around sport and weather – while premium sporting events also attract sponsorship. Meanwhile, streaming platforms are increasingly offering lower-priced, ad-supported subscription tiers, and Movistar+ has markedly expanded the volume of adverts shown between channel switches.

The combined effect has been a sharp downturn in advertising revenue for private broadcasters. In the first nine months of the year, Atresmedia and Mediaset’s advertising income fell by 6.7 per cent, from €1.09 billion to €1.02 billion. Mediaset endured the steeper decline at –8.4 per cent consistent with its heavier audience losses, while Atresmedia fell by 5.7 per cent. Profits have also taken a hit: Atresmedia is down 18 per cent while Mediaset’s bottom line remains unclear, as its parent company, MFE-MediaForEurope, discloses only country-level revenues- up in Italy – but not consolidated profits.

The downturn is particularly striking given the broader macroeconomic backdrop: Spain’s economy is expanding by 2.9 per cent, with private consumption rising around 3.3 per cent. This disconnect bolsters the argument that the revenue decline is not a temporary blip but a structural consequence of a shifting business model. It also helps explain the poor stock-market performance of both companies in what has otherwise been a strong year for equities.

A recent study by EAE Business School – part of Grupo Planeta, Atresmedia’s main shareholder – highlights how deeply streaming has penetrated Spanish households. Some 64 per cent of internet-connected homes subscribe to at least one streaming platform, while 36 per cent pay for two. These households are also among the most valuable from an advertising standpoint, while non-connected homes tend to be older and have lower purchasing power, making them less attractive to advertisers.

Transparency remains limited in the pay-TV and streaming sector, but Netflix – three years into its ad-supported tier – has begun releasing selective data as it courts advertisers. The company claims 10.2 million monthly active viewers in Spain and 190 million across 12 countries, though this metric counts anyone who has watched at least one minute in the past month. More revealing is the behaviour of ad-tier subscribers in Spain, who watch an average of 46 hours per month and are exposed to four to five minutes of advertising per hour.

Netflix is also developing increasingly sophisticated advertising tools. Its proprietary Netflix Ads Suite allows brands to choose their technological intermediary and align campaigns with those running on platforms such as Google, Amazon and Yahoo. The company says it can profile subscribers geographically, demographically and sociologically, enabling advertisers to target specific consumer segments with a precision that traditional television cannot yet match.

As audience habits evolve and advertising technology becomes ever more refined, the competitive advantage appears to be shifting decisively towards public broadcasters with premium content and digital platforms with advanced targeting capabilities – leaving Spain’s private television giants facing the toughest challenge in their history.

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Categories: Advertising, Broadcast, Headline, Markets, Pay TV, Research

Tags: mediaset, netflix, spain, TVE