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Juan del Val Accuses TVE of “Obviously Falsifying Data” in Ratings battle with ‘El Hormiguero‘
Madrid, Spain – Juan del Val sharply criticized Spanish public broadcaster TVE, alleging manipulation of audience data during the recent premiere of El Hormiguero‘s new season, which coincided with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s first television interview in over a year. The accusations stem from TVE’s reporting of viewership figures during the competing broadcasts.
The controversy erupted after Rubén Amón, also appearing on El Hormiguero, joked that the Sánchez interview was “Used as counterprogramming” to the show’s return. Del Val then escalated the critique, arguing that TVE unfairly inflated it’s numbers by combining viewership across three different channels – La 1, 2, and 24h – during the period El Hormiguero was directly competing with Newscast and pepa Bueno’s interview. ”When you add three televisions, you are, obviously, falsifying the data,” Del Val stated, suggesting a deliberate attempt to diminish El Hormiguero‘s success.
The ratings dispute is important as El Hormiguero launched its new season with a record 21.1% audience share, while Masterchef Celebrity 10 premiered with 16.4%. The incident raises questions about transparency in television audience measurement and the potential for political influence on public broadcasting, especially given previous claims that Moncloa (the Spanish Prime Minister’s office) has used public television to discredit programs. The debate is likely to continue as industry observers scrutinize the reported figures and the implications for fair competition in the spanish television landscape.
