TV3 (Catalonia)

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TV3
Launched	September 11, 1983
Owned by	Televisió de Catalunya
Picture format	576i (SDTV) & 1080i (HDTV, trials)
Audience share	17'6% (March '07, [1])
Country	Spain
Broadcast area	Catalonia, Andorra, Northern Catalonia, Balearic islands, Valencian Country[1]
Headquarters	Sant Joan Despí
Sister channel(s)	33, 3/24, K3, 300, TVCi
Website	http://www.tv3.cat
Availability
Terrestrial
Analogue	Channel 3
DTTV
Cable
ONO	Channel 7
IPTV over ADSL
Imagenio	Channel 7

TV3 is the name of Catalonia's first public television channel. It belongs to Televisió de Catalunya (Catalan Television), a subsidiary of the CCRTV. TV3 broadcasts programs only in Catalan, with an optional dual track in the original language for some foreign-language series and movies. TV3 is also a founding member of FORTA, the Federation of Autonomic Radio and Television Organizations of Spain.

History

TV3 started its trial broadcasts on September 11, 1983 (the National Day of Catalonia), but its regular broadcasts started a few months later, on January 16, 1984.^[2] TV3 was the first television channel to broadcast only in Catalan. On 1985, TV3 expanded its coverage to Andorra, Northern Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Country, also Catalan-speaking lands. One year later, TV3 inaugurated its new headquarters in Sant Joan Despí, near Barcelona.^[2]

Since 1987, TV3 has broadcast a second audio channel on almost all foreign-language series and movies with the original program audio,^[2] first using the Zweikanalton system and currently using NICAM. Local series and movies are usually broadcast in NICAM stereo, although sometimes an audio narration track for blind and visually impaired viewers is provided instead. In other occasions, an Aranese language track is provided.

In 1988, TV3 started a descentralization process, first broadcasting programs in the Aranese language for the Val d'Aran and, one year later, opening branch offices in Tarragona, Girona and Lleida and creating the Telenoticies Comarques, a regional news program broadcast simultaneously in four different editions, one for each of the four Catalan provinces.

In 1995, Televisió de Catalunya launched TVCi, a satellite channel which broadcasts a selection of TV3 programs though the Astra and Hispasat satellites.

In 2002 started broadcasting in the Digital terrestrial television system. TV3 has recently introduced the widescreen format to some of its programs and launched a trial High-definition television channel on April 23, 2007,^[3] being the first broadcaster in Spain to use both formats.

TV3 today

TV3 is leader in audience in Catalonia. On top of the list is TV3's daily news program, Telenotícies. The daily soap opera El Cor de la Ciutat is the most watched fiction program in Catalonia, especially among the female audience, drawing around 28-33%^[4] of the audience with as much as 40% on season finales, followed by political satire program Polònia, with a share of about 28%^[5]

According to Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya (Catalonia's Audiovisual Council) report of 2006,^[6] the people of Catalonia think TV3 is the channel more politically impartial, the one who informs better, and the one with the best family and sports programming. Its also the first choice for entertaining and the one with the best overall programming.

TV3's current schedule contains informational programs, both daily (Telenotícies, La Nit al Dia) and weekly (Entre línies, 30 minuts), self-produced series (El Cor de la Ciutat, Ventdelplà), international dubbed series (Heroes, Invasion, Close to Home as Fiscal Chase), morning and talk-shows (Els Matins - around 22% share, El Club - around 22% share^[5]), humor programs (Polònia, Just for Laughs, Algunes imatges més), culinary programs (Cuines, La cuina de l'Isma), sport programs (Gol a gol), documentaries (Bèsties, Caçadors de paraules) as well as movies and sport broadcasts (La Liga matches, Formula One races).

News and current affairs

Daily news information is served by Telenotícies, which usually gets the highest ranking in both timeslots (14:30 and 21:00) and La Nit al Dia (23:45), though the later is only broadcasted from Monday to Friday. Both of them include a very highly-regarded weather bulletin and La Nit al Dia includes interviews and in-depth coverage. Both Telenoticies and La Nit al Dia are simulcast by TVC's news-only channel, 3/24. Morning news, from 6:00 to 8:00 are simulcasted from 3/24's news bulletins.

Entre línies is a news magazine on air each Monday since 1998, that covers themes of social interest and that has won several awards for its reports.^[7]

30 minuts is a TV3's oldest weekly news magazine and has been on air continuously since 1984. The program broadcast self-produced reports as well as international reports, that deal in-depth with current affairs and news. 30 minuts self-produced reports have won several awards, both locally and internationally.^[8]

Self-produced series and documentaries

TV3 produces a number of series and TV movies each year. These include:^[9]

• Soap operas: Josep Maria Benet i Jornet is the most prolific soap opera author, having penned successful series like Poble Nou (1993-94) and its sequel Rosa (1995-96), Nissaga de Poder (1996-98) and its sequel Nissaga, l'herència (1999), Laberint d'ombres (1998-00), El Cor de la Ciutat (2000-ongoing), Ventdelplà (2005-ongoing) and Mar de Fons (2006-2007, alongside Rodolf Sirera and David Castillo). Maria Mercè Roca and Sergi Belbel penned Secrets de Família (1995-96).
• Comedies: Teresina, S.A. (1992), Quico (1994), Oh, Europa! (1994) and its sequel Oh, Espanya! (1996), Pedralbes Centre (1995), Plats bruts (1999-2002), Psico express (2002), Jet Lag (2001-2006), Majoria absoluta (2002), 16 dobles (2003), L'un per l'altre (2003), Lo Cartanyà (2005-ongoing)
• Dramas: Estació d’enllaç (1994), Sitges (1996), El joc de viure (1997), Dones d’aigua (1997), Laura (1998), Crims (2000), Porca misèria (2005-on hiatus)
• Historical dramas: La memòria dels Cargol (1999), Temps de Silenci (2001), Des del Balcó (2001), Mirall trencat (2002, based on the novel by Mercè Rodoreda), La Via Augusta (2007).
• Documentaries: Catalunya des de l'aire (1999), Catalunya des del mar (2003), Els Pirineus des de l'aire (2006), Bèsties (2006-2007)

Criticisms and controversies

Since the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia reform referendum, including the 2006 Generalitat elections and the June 2007 municipal elections, all the electoral information during a campaign broadcasted by TV3 news programs is unsigned in protest of TV3 (and most Catalonian) reporters to the rules that assign the air time of each political party and the order they air in the order of electoral seats (the more seats, the more airtime and first on air) and not based in objective and professional criteria.^[10]

In summer 2006, karaoke program Cantamania raised criticisms by certain political and journalistic sectors because it allowed participants to choose between Spanish, English and Catalan songs, the latter being chosen less often.^[11] In the last program, all the songs were translated to Catalan. The program, though, drew respectable ratings and was a hit in the places it went.

Presentation

TV3 has had three different logos in her twenty-something years. The first one consisted of the word "TV3", with the 3 done as it was made with a flag with the colors of the senyera, Catalonia's flag. That logo was created by the Ogilvy advertising agency.^[12] In 1993, the logo was changed due to functional and strategic necessities. The new logo was designed by Josep M. Trias^[12] and dropped the "TV" letters to focus on a 3 and a triangle made of four lines that also represented the senyera. This logo evolved again in 2005 into the current logo, that strengthens the presence of the 3, from the hand of the advertising agency Gédeón, which won the designing contest.^[12]

La Marató de TV3

Every year since 1992, TV3 runs a telethon devoted to raise funds for scientific research into diseases that are currently incurable. Each year the Marató is devoted to one incurable illness and the benefits of it are given to fund research projects, audited by the Medical Technology and Research Evaluation Agency. The funds are administered by The TV3 Marathon Foundation,^[13] created in 1996. La Marató de TV3 is the highest grossing telethon in Spain. In its 15 years of story, La Marató has grossed 64.733.170 €.^[14]

The annual telethon have covered the following diseases:

• Leukemia (1992: 1,230,128 €)
• Down’s Syndrome (1993: 2,352,669 €)
• Cancer (1994: 3,035,331 € and 2004: 8,622,000 €)
• Cardiovascular diseases (1995: 2,040,443 € and 2007: 6.031.309 €^[15] This quantity is likely to augment since donations are accepted until the end of January).
• Neurological diseases (1996: 4,107,795 €)
• Hereditary Genetic diseases (1997: 4,172,090 €)
• Diabetes (1998: 3,945,421 €)
• Organ transplants (1999: 4,685,110 €)
• Mental disorders (2000: 4,511,808 €)
• AIDS (2001: 4,653,496 €)
• Chronic Inflammatory diseases (2002: 4,518,315 €)
• Chronic Respiratory diseases (2003: 4,279,265 €)
• Alzheimer (2005: 7.145.000 €)
• Chronic pain (2006: 6,485,338 €)

See also

• Televisió de Catalunya

References

External links

• Official Site (Catalan)
• TV Catalunya
• TN