Spanish Supreme Court Bans Atresmedia from Airing El Rosco in Pasapalabra. The Spanish Supreme Court has recognized the rights to El Rosco as belonging to the Dutch company MC&F and ordered Atresmedia to stop broadcasting it in Pasapalabra. Antena 3 must also pay €50,000 in compensation.
The Supreme Court of Spain has issued a decision that directly affects one of the country’s most popular television programs. Atresmedia, the owner of the Antena 3 channel, is required to immediately stop airing the final round of El Rosco in the Pasapalabra show. The court confirmed that the exclusive rights to this element of the format belong to the Dutch company MC&F;, not the Spanish broadcaster.
The Civil Chamber rejected Atresmedia’s appeal and upheld the verdict of the Barcelona court, which recognized El Rosco as the original work of authors Roto Luigi Pianta and Rene Mauricio Löba. According to the decision, all intellectual property rights are held by MC&F;, and the Spanish party must pay €50,000 in compensation for unauthorized use of the format.
Atresmedia stated that they have just reviewed the decision and have not yet decided on their next steps. Now, Pasapalabra may continue to air, but without the final round, El Rosco, which has traditionally been considered the most intense part of the program: this is where two finalists take turns answering questions by alphabet, competing for the main prize.
This is not the first time Pasapalabra has been at the center of a legal battle. In 2019, Telecinco already lost the rights to the format after a dispute with the British ITV. Back then, Atresmedia argued it held the license for the English version, but the court determined that El Rosco was based on the Italian original Passaparola, whose rights are protected by MC&F;. In other countries, such as Chile and Argentina, the show also uses hybrid formats, but it is in Spain where the Dutch company decided to defend its interests in court.
Pasapalabra remains a flagship project for Antena 3: the program consistently attracts around 1.87 million viewers and takes leading positions in the evening slot. After the show moved to this channel, Antena 3 managed to regain its leadership in the daytime slot, and Pasapalabra became a key driver for news bulletins and prime time. Losing El Rosco could affect ratings, as it already did for Telecinco after a similar court decision.
Legal disputes over intellectual property are not uncommon in Spanish media. For example, a Madrid court recently suspended construction of an industrial site in Montecarmelo due to violations during project approval — more on this can be found in the article about the court decision on Montecarmelo development.
For reference: MC&F; is an international company specializing in the protection of television formats. El Rosco was conceived as separate intellectual property and is protected by copyright. In Spain, court rulings in such cases can set a precedent for other countries where adaptations of Pasapalabra are also broadcast. In the near future, Antena 3 will have to restructure the show to retain its audience and comply with new legal requirements.
