Educational television in Spain occupies a complex and often marginal space within mainstream programming, yet it simultaneously offers essential insights for understanding the relationship between media, pedagogy, and citizenship in the 21st century.
The research coordinated by Rodríguez-Castro, López-Cepeda, and Soengas-Pérez does not merely describe content but instead maps out a critical cartography of how RTVE, Atresmedia, and Mediaset have configured their educational offer following the revitalization experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. From this perspective, the article highlights both the persistence of historical models of school and cultural television and the emergence of new practices shaped by digital convergence.
The analysis of broadcast schedules and associated platforms reveals a productive tension between public and private television: while RTVE demonstrates a stronger commitment to pedagogical goals, commercial groups tend to relegate educational content to secondary slots or subordinate it to the logics of children’s entertainment.
This imbalance is not only quantitative but also qualitative: there is a predominance of externally produced programs, many imported from international markets, raising questions about the capacity of Spanish television to generate original content with cultural identity and educational intent.
In a context marked by digitalization and multi-platform consumption, educational television can no longer be understood as a mere curricular supplement, but rather as a cultural device expanding into websites, apps, and transmedia experiences. Consequently, the article invites us to rethink the very notion of educational television: rather than a closed genre, it emerges as a hybrid ecosystem where children’s animation, scientific dissemination, adult education programs, and cultural content coexist.
This critical and forward-looking perspective makes the study a key contribution to assessing the future of television as an agent of learning in the digital society.
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How to Cite: Rodríguez-Castro, M., López-Cepeda, A. M., & Soengas-Pérez, X. (2022). Educational Television in Spain: the offer of Atresmedia, Mediaset and RTVE. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 25(1), 203–221. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.25.1.30952
