Spain: RTVE and the national lottery will inject €7m into Teledeporte to save the TV channel

The Spanish public audiovisual group RTVE and Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, the Iberian national lottery, concluded a partnership agreement worth €7m "for the promotion of Spanish sport" on 11/03/2015. "The agreement is very important in making Teledeporte's future clear," stated José Antonio Sánchez, president of the Spanish public broadcasting group.

"We want to be where you need us, especially in amateur sports and minor sports. The €7m will be used to sponsor, co-produce and ultimately help the sport in this big house (RTVE) that belongs to everyone (the Spanish public)," added Inmaculada García Martínez, president of the Spanish national lottery. Loterías y Apuestas del Estado particularly wants to sponsor women's competitions.

RTVE showed a debt of €716m on 31/12/2013, and estimated its provisional losses for 2014 to €130m. The group had announced the closure of Teledeporte by 31/12/2014, which was expected to save €16m. Then José Antonio Sanchez, named president of the RTVE on 16/10/2014, announced the continuation of Teledeporte programming on 26/11/2014.

RTVE: losses…