‘Horizonte’ returned with a strong 9.8% share, dominating Monday night. ‘Grand Prix 2026’ fell to its lowest numbers this season. Antena 3 maintained its lead, while La Sexta and TVE struggled to keep up.
Monday night’s television ratings in Spain saw a clear winner as ‘Horizonte’ launched its new season with a commanding 9.8% average share, according to the latest audience data. The program, led by Iker Jiménez reporting from Ceuta on the ongoing migration crisis and Carmen Porter anchoring from Madrid, managed to dominate its time slot and outperformed all competitors.
Mediaset España continued its strategy of splitting ‘Horizonte’ into two segments. The access prime time portion achieved a notable 9.2% share, drawing nearly one million viewers—significantly surpassing last week’s double episode of ‘Viajeros Cuatro’, which had only managed 6.5% and 6.3%. The momentum carried through the night, with the late segment of ‘Horizonte’ climbing to a 10.6% share and attracting 720,000 viewers, nearly matching the numbers from its previous Thursday finale.
In contrast, La Sexta’s attempt to counter ‘Horizonte’ with a special daily edition of ‘El objetivo de Ana Pastor’ failed to gain traction, posting just a 3.6% share and 388,000 viewers. This result was even lower than the previous week’s reruns of ‘El intermedio’, which had reached 4.1% and 409,000. Atresmedia’s decision to replace reruns with live coverage of the Ceuta crisis did little to shift the balance.
Elsewhere, TVE’s ‘Grand Prix 2026’ suffered a significant setback. The second semifinal dropped to its lowest point this season, marking the first time Ramón García’s show failed to reach double digits in share. On Antena 3, ‘El hormiguero’ posted weak numbers (7.8% and 851,000), which negatively impacted the Turkish drama ‘En tierra lejana’. The series slipped to a 10.6% share, down from 12.1% the previous Monday, though it did gain 10,000 viewers and still led its slot.
Other programs also saw mixed results. ‘First Dates’ started the week with an 8.3% share and 754,000 viewers, losing 0.8 points and 24,000 viewers compared to the previous Monday. In late night, Telecinco aired the final episode of ‘Romi’, which improved to a 6.5% share and 224,000 viewers—up from 3.8% and 140,000 the week before. Despite this uptick, ‘Romi’ ended its run as one of the network’s least successful dramas.
Looking at the overall channel rankings, Antena 3 led Monday with a 12.8% share, ahead of La 1’s 11.7%. Pay thematic channels collectively reached 13.1%. Telecinco lagged behind at 8%, while FORTA’s public channels averaged 7.5%. Cuatro benefited from the return of Iker Jiménez, Risto Mejide, and Nacho Abad, achieving a strong 7.1%. La Sexta trailed at 5.4%. Lower down, La 2 posted 4.1%, Nova 2.4%, and both Energy and FDF closed at 2.1%.
For the month of August, the final standings were: Antena 3 at 11.9%, La 1 at 11.5%, FORTA at 8.8%, Telecinco at 7.8%, Cuatro at 5.8%, La Sexta at 5.2%, and La 2 at 3.8%. These figures highlight the shifting dynamics in Spanish television, with established leaders consolidating their positions and several channels struggling to maintain audience share amid changing viewer preferences and programming strategies.
Spanish television ratings are closely watched by networks and advertisers, as they directly influence programming decisions and advertising revenue. The strong performance of ‘Horizonte’ underscores the continued appeal of live, issue-driven content, especially when tied to current events such as the migration situation in Ceuta. Meanwhile, the decline of long-running formats like ‘Grand Prix 2026’ and the struggles of new dramas like ‘Romi’ reflect the challenges facing traditional broadcasters in retaining audience loyalty. As competition intensifies, channels are likely to experiment further with formats and scheduling to capture viewers’ attention in an increasingly fragmented market.
