Atresmedia and ITV are preparing legal action against Mediaset, accusing its new Telecinco game show, Rueda la letra, of copying basic elements from Pasapalabra. Lawyers for Pasapalabra are preparing to take Mediaset to court, escalating a rivalry marked by disputes over format rights and show structure. Spanish media report that Atresmedia and ITV Studios are preparing legal action, though no lawsuit has been officially filed.
The controversy began almost immediately after Rueda la letra debuted, as viewers and journalists pointed out similarities to Pasapalabra. Hosted by Carlos Sobera and produced by Bulldog TV, the show drew attention for its familiar set and format. It recorded a 9.1% share and 624,000 viewers, information from Infobae. Its camera work and familiar set stood out, with former Pasapalabra contestants Fran and Lilit also drawing attention. The contestants, along with celebrity guests, compete in a format that closely follows its rival, with split-screen shots and buzzer-based musical challenges, all against a color scheme nearly identical to Pasapalabra’s. El País and El Mundo note that the dispute concerns the show’s overall look and mechanics, including its visual cues, not just the final round.
The basic point of contention is El rosco, the well-known final round in Spanish game shows. Mediaset owns the rights to El rosco, originally created in 1998 as 21x100 by Reto Luigi Pianta and René Mauricio Loeb, then sold to the Dutch company MC&F. Atresmedia holds the Pasapalabra brand, based on ITV’s The Alphabet Game from 1996. This legal split means Rueda la letra can use El rosco, but not the name. A court ruling earlier this year barred Antena 3 from including the round in its broadcasts, even as it retained the brand. El Mundo reports that in May 2026, Spain’s Supreme Court confirmed MC&F’s intellectual property rights to El rosco, preventing ITV from licensing this part of the format to Atresmedia without MC&F’s approval.
El Mundo also reports that in 2019, Spain’s Supreme Court confirmed ITV’s rights to the Pasapalabra brand, forcing Telecinco to remove the show from its schedule. The format returned to Antena 3 in 2020 after ITV licensed it to Atresmedia, illustrating the volatility of the Spanish TV market and the legal maneuvering among its broadcasters.
Carlos Sobera’s introduction of “the most famous test on television: El rosco, which is now La rueda” did little to ease tensions. Instead, it gave Atresmedia and ITV more reason to accuse Mediaset of trying to benefit from Pasapalabra’s established format and loyal audience. The legal wrangling goes both ways: last July, Mediaset announced plans to sue Atresmedia over AlaZ, the new final round in Pasapalabra, claiming it was too similar to El rosco. That lawsuit has not moved forward, so for now the legal initiative is with Atresmedia and ITV. As El País points out, the situation is complicated by ITV holding the Pasapalabra brand rights, while Mediaset can use similar mechanics but not the name.
Legal battles over TV formats are common in Spain. As reported earlier, disputes over show ownership and format rights often lead to lengthy court cases and shifting alliances among broadcasters and production companies.
This latest dispute drew immediate skepticism from legal teams and viewers, who recognized the alleged similarities after Rueda la letra’s debut. Mediaset’s earlier threats to sue Atresmedia remain unresolved, adding to the back-and-forth as both sides seek to protect their interests in a competitive market. Spanish media report that Mediaset scheduled Rueda la letra at 19:00 as part of a broader push to win back evening viewers, with plans to expand its game-show lineup with formats such as ¡Allá tú!.
The dispute reflects wider tensions over format rights in Spanish television. Legal loopholes and aggressive rights management often blur the line between homage and imitation. Both Atresmedia and Mediaset seem more willing to fight in court than to invest in new ideas.
