Abstract
Post-Franco Spain inherited a broadcasting structure unique in Europe: a mixed commercial and public radio system and state-run national television financed by both public funds and advertising. News content in all sectors was tightly regimented by the government. Newly-democratic Spain broadened the scope of public television and created regional television corporations in the `Autonomous Communities'. Despite agreement in principle that broadcasting should be democratized, in practice public television remained dominated by the political parties in power. Subsequent legislation approving commercial television led to a battle for advertising and audiences and has sparked a financial crisis in state television and undermined its identity as a truly public service. The financial crisis, the growing national importance of the now federally-organized `Autonomous Community' network, and the phenomena of local and cable television, demand a fresh approach to Spanish broadcasting policy.
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