Only "days after his appointment," Spanish public broadcaster TVE President José Antonio Sánchez has "postponed the closure of the public sports network
Teledeporte which was due to be taken off air" on Dec. 31, according to Juan Fernandez Gonzalez of RAPID TV NEWS. The "money-saving measures" proposed by former company president Leopoldo González-Echenique reportedly will not be implemented by Sánchez, "who is likely to propose other solutions for TVE's financial problems." Spanish newspaper ABC "referred to rumours last week about a return to private advertising," which was banned in '10. González-Echenique's plan was to "close Teledeporte, integrate its content into La 2, but keep the channel on-air through the network's streaming platform." According to the former president, this "would have saved" around €10M ($12.7M) a year while "concentrating the audience" -- Teledeporte has an average 0.7% share, "although it reaches 6-7% rates with its regular broadcasts." The proposed closure of Teledeporte was "one of the most controversial decisions by González-Echenique in his last year at TVE, and was a factor in his resignation two weeks ago" (RAPID TV NEWS, 10/27).
