RTVE offices are changing the priorities they had a few weeks or even a year ago and this is causing unexpected consequences. One of the latest decisions they have taken regarding what should be one of the star programmes of the summer is causing complaints and leading many viewers to lose interest in trusting its content.
Last year, RTVE made the recovery of Grand Prix the best decision it made in the year. This was confirmed by the great audience levels it achieved both on live television and through viewing through the RTVE Play platform. The country agreed on the great eye that the channel had had to recover one of the formats most loved by the Spanish. But, in the summer of 2024, the situation has changed radically. And, instead of getting better, it is getting worse.
From star to starry
It’s not that the Grand Prix is worse this summer, far from it. The programme maintains all its essence and has introduced new tests, so it continues to be engaging week after week. Although we don’t have data on its run on RTVE Play or on the demand it is having, it would be strange if it wasn’t leaving a good impression as it did last year. Possibly, a little less audience, because it is no longer a novelty, but, in any case, it should be getting good data.
Or maybe not, because RTVE is playing with the programme’s programming so much that some of its faithful followers have already started to lose patience. Since the premiere of this second edition, there have been constant incidents, such as the last-minute postponement of one of the programmes due to football. Although they were not dramatic cases, they were aspects that did not please the viewers. In any case, what has happened now is even more criticisable. They say, however, that it is not a last-minute decision and that everything has happened due to the delay that the premiere of the programme had at the beginning of this summer.
Now two programs a week
It doesn’t make much sense for a programme like Grand Prix to be broadcast twice a week. However, from next week there will be a double portion of the programme presented by Ramón García. Thus, on Monday 26 August the qualifying programmes will end and on Friday 30 August one of the semi-finals will be broadcast. Then, a week later, the programme will end earlier than expected and possibly leaving bittersweet feelings on all fronts. On Monday 2 September the second semi-final will be played and on Friday 6 September the final will take place.
Why have they decided to sacrifice Grand Prix with such a terrible decision? The reason is clear: to make room for RTVE to be able to premiere Broncano’s programme in Prime Time. The contract they have with the presenter indicates that his programme will be in Prime Time in the month of September and that implies that the channel has to make room for it as soon as possible. The mission, therefore, would be to have Broncano’s first programme premiere on September 9, just a Monday when, previously, we would have expected to be watching a Grand Prix programme.
This is, of course, a very bad decision for Grand Prix’s audience figures. And commercially it doesn’t seem like the best idea they could have resorted to either, since each programme of the show presented by Ramón García costs 550,000 euros. With that budget, with the fame that Grand Prix has and with what it meant for the channel last year, it would be logical to take care of the episodes so that it could maintain the audience in a sustainable way week after week. However, it cannot be denied that the million-dollar investment they have made in signing Broncano is also something that has weight.
In the process of putting David Broncano on the screen as soon as possible, RTVE will also affect the 4 estrellas series, which is practically facing the same situation. It cannot be said that the arrival of the famous presenter to the channel is not causing problems, although in the end everything will probably be forgotten if his program, which still has no title, succeeds.
