Los telediarios: una oportunidad para conectar con la audiencia de los canales de televisión

The growing competition from Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms has transformed the programming offe­rings of traditional generalist television networks. For these channels, newscasts are a differentiating feature from the content offered by competitors outside the classic structures of television broadcasters, in which live broadcasts are scarce. This research analyzes the behavior of the Spanish television au­dience regarding newscasts over the past six years (2019-2024) to determine whether their evolution has been affected by the mentioned changes, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic or the dislocation of news. In this way, it is possible to assess whether these segments constitute a significant pillar within the programming schedules of linear channels. To achieve this, audience data from the four Spanish ge­neralist networks that broadcast newscasts during these six years were analyzed, based on information obtained from audience measurement systems. The results indicate that these programs have increased their viewership, with a special predominance of Antena 3’s news broadcasts. Furthermore, newscasts tend to contribute to the audience of the channels and confirm the importance of audiovisual journalism in their schedules. It is concluded that newscasts are a differentiating value compared to OTT platforms, both in terms of content and consumption format.