Televisión Española celebrates seventy years on air with special programming. Legendary presenters will return to the screen, while a small Madrid village takes center stage in the festivities.
Robledillo de la Jara, a quiet village in northern Madrid, will step into the national spotlight on October 15. For one day, its main square—now called plaza de Televisión Española—will host a live edition of Telediario 1. The broadcast, titled "70 años juntos," will be presented by Alejandra Herranz and air live from this town of just 80 residents. RTVE chose Robledillo for its deep ties to the early days of Spanish television, when neighbors gathered around a single set to watch the news together.
This time, the cameras will turn toward the villagers themselves. Alejandra Herranz and her team will leave the studio behind and set up in the heart of the community, echoing the moment in 1956 when La 1 first reached Spanish homes. The plaza, named for the broadcaster, stands as a living reminder of how television once brought people together in small towns like this one.
RTVE began regular television broadcasting on October 28, 1956, from a small studio on Madrid's Paseo de La Habana, making the official anniversary date October 28, with October broadcasts serving as preliminary celebrations.
The main event for TVE’s seventieth anniversary lands four days later. At 21:00, the network will air ‘El Telediario de nuestras vidas’, a special that brings back some of the most influential names in Spanish news. Carlos del Amor directs, with Pepa Bueno as presenter. The program will look back at the biggest stories from the past seventy years. However, as several Spanish media outlets have clarified, the special will actually air as part of Telediario 2 on Monday, October 19, with Antonio Casado directing and a runtime of about 45 minutes.
Confirmed to appear are Carlos Franganillo and Matías Prats, whose return is possible, as TVE points out, “thanks to the generosity of Atresmedia and Mediaset.” They will join Iñaki Gabilondo, Pedro Piqueras, Olga Viza, Manuel Campo Vidal, Ana Blanco, María Escario, and Lorenzo Milá. Paco Montesdeoca will handle the weather, reviving a segment that has spanned generations. According to El Confidencial and El Mundo, these presenters will revisit and discuss the events that shaped both Spain and TVE over the decades.
Earlier in the week, on October 10, ‘Informe Semanal’ will air a special edition led by Mari Carmen García Vela. For twelve years, she was the face and driving force behind the network’s longest-running program. This episode will focus on the show’s history and its impact, as confirmed by La Vanguardia and eldiario.es.
RTVE emphasizes that the anniversary is not just a nostalgic reunion of former anchors, but a retrospective of seventy years of news broadcasting—from the first transmissions in 1956 to the present day. The unique format brings together both past and current journalists to work with the program's archival memory, highlighting the evolution of Spanish television journalism.
TVE’s anniversary programming goes beyond nostalgia. By bringing together pioneers and current icons, and by shining a light on the viewers who shaped its story, the network is staging a rare tribute to the staying power of public broadcasting. In a media world often split by trends and short attention spans, this celebration roots itself in shared memory and real places. Robledillo de la Jara, where the first village television arrived thanks to ‘Destino TV’, grounds the festivities in the real-life origins of Spanish broadcasting. For the industry, it signals continuity and relevance. For viewers, it’s a chance to see the faces and stories that have filled Spanish living rooms for seventy years.
