The new RTVE law will allow the presidency to contract any program without going through the Board of Directors

Royal Decree-Law 5/2024, which It was approved this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, and which modifies the law that currently governed RTVE, dictates that the presidency of RTVE may contract any program without going through the Board of Directors. Until now, audiovisual content whose value exceeded two million euros had to exceed the Council meeting. From now on, the power of the directors is reduced to the approval of agreements, agreements or legal transactions submitted to the Public Sector Contracts Lawthis is works, supplies and services that exceed two million euros, as El Mundo has reported and ABC has been able to verify from what is written in the standard presented yesterday by Óscar López.

The legal trick introduced in the Council of Ministers limits the power of control of the Board of Directors over the presidency, which will have the ability to contract any audiovisual content for RTVE programming. In this way, contracts such as those for ‘La Revuelta’ or ‘Masterchef’ will be approved directly by whoever holds the presidency, currently Concepción Cascajosa.

Until now, audiovisual content whose value exceeded two million euros had to pass the Council meeting and its subsequent vote. According to RTVE sources, 80% of RTVE’s purchasing contracts do not exceed two million euros. Until now, the 20% that exceeded that figure, formats including David Broncano’s, ‘Masterchef’ or ‘Bake-off’, had to go through a vote among the entire Council. In the case of Broncano, his signing caused the Council to explode as well as the presidency with dismissals, such as the former Content Director José Pablo López, as well as that of the former president Elena Sánchez. The initial project underwent modifications since the Council did not want to approve a three-year contract. After several modifications, the Council carried out the project under the mandate of President Concepción Cascajosa.

While from now on the presidency will be able to contract any audiovisual content without any control by the Council, the function of the group will be reduced to approving, if necessary, expenses, travel agencies… Anything that exceeds the two million euros. This represents an even further reduction in the power of the Council and an increase in the power of the presidency to determine which content will be broadcast and which will be discarded.