Spanish Government Lifts Six-Year Ban On Televising Bullfighting

Bullfighting will return to Spanish TV Wednesday after a six-year ban, according to EUROPA PRESS. Broadcaster TVE will have a live show at 6pm local time from the Feria de Valladolid. TVE Dir Ignacio Corrales said that it was an "opportunity to satisfy the demand of a public that has been asking for this type of content for some time" (EUROPA PRESS, 9/5). The AP reported that the return of bullfighting comes after the "new conservative government lifted a six-year ban on the tradition that has been hard hit by declining popularity and the economic crisis." Live broadcasts were stopped in '06 by Spain's previous Socialist administration, which said that "they were costly and coincided with youth TV viewing hours." The Socialists lost power and new Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy "is a bullfighting fan" (AP, 9/5). In Madrid, Antonio Lorca opined that the decision is "without a doubt good news and a reason for profound satisfaction for the lovers of bullfighting" (EL PAIS, 9/4).