u~~~~RECENTLY, TELEVISION IN THE SPANISHSTATE HAD BEEN MONOPOLIZED BY TVE (TELEVISI~NESPAÑO- LA) AND ITS TWO CHANNELS -TV1 AND TV2-, THE SE- COND OE WHICH ALREADY BROADCAST A FEW PRO- GRAMMES IN CATALANFOR ~ATALONIAAND THE BA- LEARICS. SINCE JANUARY1984 THERE HAS EXISTED A NEW CHANNEL -TV3-, CONTROLLED BY THE AUTONO- MOUS GOVERNMENT, WHICH HAS MANAGED TO TAKE UP A CONSIDERABLE PART OF THE TOTAL TELEVISION AUDIENCE. AN ENTIRELY CATALANTELEVISION WITH PROGRAMMES WHICH COVER ALL THE USUAL SECTIONS: CURRENT AFFAIRS, CULTURAL PROGRAMMES, CHILDREN'S PRO- GRAMMES, FILMS, DOMESTIC PRODUCTIONS, SERIES DUBBED FROM OTHER LANGUAGES, ETC. IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, TV3 HAS BECOME A DAILY REALITY WITHIN THE REALITY OF .AN INS- TRUMENT OF COMMUNICATION SERVING A BETTER-IN-' FORMED AND EDUCATED POPULATION, AS WELL AS A LANGUAGE IN A PRECARIOUS SITUATION. TODAY ONE CAN SAY THAT TV3 IS ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL ELE- MENTS IN THE FUTURE NORMALIZATION OF CATALAN. SOCIETY. SOMETHING NEW OFFER

ENRIC CANALS DIRECTOR OF TV3

V3 Televisió de Catalunya has porting and top quality programmes commercial side of TV3. Unlike conven- emerged at a time when Televi- could attract such an audience. tional publicly-owned television servi- Osión Española's decades-old In the three years it has been in opera- ces in Europe, TV3 has had to thrive as monopoly is being broken down and tion, we believe that TV3 has fulfilled a publicly-owned concern with a com- demands for the introduction of priva- these goals, which today are of funda- mercial outlook. If in the near future TV3 tely owned television in , and an- mental importance. Catalonia now has is to compete with privately owned nouncements on the same subiect, are a television station broadcasting about stations, plans must be laid in advance being heard. seventy hours a week to an average and its place in the advertising market The birth of TV3 has occurred, more- audience of over 45 %, three times and as a popular source of entertain- over, at a time when Catalonia is in the more than Televisión Española's second ment and communication must be well midst of a process of national recons- channel. Surveys give TV3 a rating for established. TV3's advertising revenues truction, one important aspect of which reliable and obiective news coverage rose from 1,480 million pesetas in 1984 is the recovery of the double that of Televisión Española and to 4,500 million in 1985 and 5,360 mi- and its return to normal public use. The the widespread acceptance the new llion in 1986, while grants from public main objective of TV3 from the outset channel enjoys is proof that the doubts funds were considerably reduced. The was that of rapid penetration through- originally expressed in certain quarters creation of TV3 has also endowed the out Catalan society and this required a about the fact that the programmes audiovisual industry in Catalonia with large audience. Only a television service were to be entirely in Catalan were al- new vitality as well as fostering creati- different from the one the public was together without foundation. vity and benefitting professionals in the used to, with high-credibility news re- Another aspect of the question is the field. O