Scope and Difficulties of the Transmedia Practice. A Case Study on the Spanish PSM System

ABSTRACT

According to a growing volume of academic literature on the subject, transmedia fiction and non-fiction production is now one of the main areas driving innovation in media companies, thanks to the improvements it brings in numerous interconnected fields: narrative and content, management and productive strategy, brand promotion, etc. In this context the article focuses on transmedia linked to public broadcasting companies, starting with a qualitative study based on interviews with expert professionals from thirteen corporations in Spain, one operating at the national level (RTVE) and twelve at the regional level (A Punt Media, CARTV, CCMA, CRTVG, CMM, EITB, EPRTVIB, RTVM, RTPA, RTVA, RTRM and RTVC). The results show how professionals view the concept of transmedia production, its advantages, disadvantages and the challenges it poses, which depend on these corporations’ service and relationship with audiences. As the conclusions state, the keys factors for understanding the professional transmedia strategy of public broadcasting corporations are found in the characteristics of today’s media market, which is suffering from budget cuts and growing competition.

KEYWORDS:

• Transmedia
• content
• production
• strategy
• PSB
• Spain

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank all the public broadcasting corporations of the autonomous communities and the managers interviewed for their invaluable collaboration in providing information for carrying out this research: J. Alberto Fernández, X. Pereira, I. Gurrutxaga, G. de Vilar, I. Blazquez, J. García Poncela, J. Romero, M. Margineda, P. Vergara, A. Peña, J. Ledesma, J. Perelló and M. Maicas. The author is also very grateful to the reviewers for their suggestions.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Four of the seventeen autonomous communities of which Spain is constituted – Cantabria, Navarre, Castile and Leon, and La Rioja – do not have a public broadcasting service. Although Ceuta has had a public broadcasting corporation (RTVCE) since the year 2000, this is managed by a municipal company and is not integrated into the Federation of Autonomous Broadcasting Organisations (FORTA).

2 - EITB, Euskal Irrati Telebista (Basque Radio and Television) has been broadcasting since the year 1982 and employs just over one thousand staff. It has several television channels (ETB-1, in Basque; ETB-2, in Spanish; ETB-3 for children and teenagers, in Basque since 2008; ETB-4 entertainment, since 2014). It also has five radio stations: Eusko Irratia, Radio Euskadi, Radio Vitoria, Gaztea and EiTBmusika.

- CCMA, the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (Catalan Audio-visual Media Corporation) started broadcasting in 1983 and employs just over two thousand workers on its staff. It has five television channels (TV3, Canal 3/24, Súper 3, Canal 33 and Esport 3) and four radio stations (Catalunya Radio, Catalunya Informació, Catalunya Música and iCat fm).

- RTVA, Radio Televisión de Andalucía (Andalusian Radio and Television) has been broadcasting since the year 1988 and has a staff of almost 1,500 workers. It has two television channels (Canal Sur and Canal Sur 2), and also broadcasts via satellite (Andalucía Televisión), additionally it has Canal Sur Radio Andalucía, Radio Andalucía Información and Canal Fiesta Radio.

- CRTG, the Corporación de Radio e Televisión de Galicia (Radio and Television Corporation of Galicia) emerged in 2016 as the successor of the Compañía Radio Televisión de Galicia, which began broadcasting in 1985, and has nearly 1,000 employees.

- CMMedia, Ente Público RadioTelevisión de Castilla-La Mancha (Castile-La Mancha Media) has nearly 500 employees and began its radio and television broadcasts in 2001.

- EPRTVIB, Ens Public de Radiotelevisió de les Illes Balears-Ente Público de Radiotelevisión de las Islas Baleares (Public Radio and Television Organization of the Balearic Islands) has a little over one hundred employees and is formed of two companies constituted in 2004, Televisión de las Islas Baleares and Radio de las Islas Baleares.

- CARTV, Corporación Aragonesa de Radio y Televisión (Radio and Television Corporation of Aragon) has a staff of a little over one hundred employees. It includes Aragón Televisión, which began broadcasting in 2006, and Radio Aragón, which began broadcasting in 2005.

- RPA, Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias (Public and Television Corporation of the Principality of Asturias) began broadcasting in 2006 and also has almost 150 employees. It includes the TPA television channel and the RPA radio station.

- RTVC, Ente Público Radio Televisión Canaria (Canary Islands Radio and Television) was constituted in 1997, although television was not broadcast until 1999 and radio broadcasting began in 2010. It has a staff of almost 100 workers and its news services are managed by external companies selected through public tender.

- RTVM, Radio Televisión Madrid, S.A. (Madrid Radio and Television) was constituted in December 2015, which involved transforming the Ente Público Radiotelevisión Madrid (EPRTM). It has two television channels, Telemadrid and La Otra, and the Onda Madrid radio station. It has a staff of nearly 500 workers, following an employment adjustment carried out in the year 2002.

- RTRM, Radiotelevisión de la Región de Murcia (Murcia Region Radio and Television) is a public company that runs the television channel 7 Región de Murcia – managed indirectly through a concession – and the Onda Regional de Murcia radio station. It has less than 70 employees.

- RTVV, Corporació Valenciana de Mitjans de Comunicació (Valencian Media Corporation) emerged in July 2016 following the closure of Radiotelevisión Valenciana Canal 9-RTVV, which emerged in 1989 and ceased broadcasting in 2013. This is the only case of a closure that has taken place in Spain. At the time this analysis was being carried out this corporation was undergoing several unfinished processes, such as those related to job creation.

3 Memorandum on public service and corporate social responsibility of the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation RTVE; Organisational chart and management structure, 2017, of the Radio and Television Corporation of Galicia, CGRT; Strategic Plan 2013–2016 and its Evaluation Memorandum of the Basque Radio and Television, EITB; Corporate Strategy Master Plan 2015–2017 of the Catalan Audio-visual Media Corporation, CCMA; Organisational structure, offices, staff data, composition and trajectory of the management team of Castile-La Mancha Media, CMMedia; Brand presentation and corporate information portal of Public Radio and Television Corporation of the Principality of Asturias, RTPA; CARTV Memorandum of Activity 2017 and Aragón TV Memorandum of Activity 2017 of the Radio and Television Corporation of Aragon, CARTV; RTVA memorandums from 2010 to 2015 of Andalusian Radio and Television, RTVA; Transparency portal of Canary Islands Radio and Television, RTVC; Organisational structure of Radio and Television of Murcia of the Murcia Region Radio and Television, RTRM; Memorandum 2017 of the Public Radio and Television Organization of the Balearic Islands, EPRTVIB.

Additional information

Funding

This study forms part of the scientific production of the “Gureiker” Research Group (IT1112-16, Basque University System). It was also carried out within the research project title “Active Audiences and Viralization and Transformation of Journalistic Messages” (CS2015-64955-C4-4-R), funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund, FEDER (2016/2019).