Vox has stepped up efforts to gain influence within Canal Sur, the Andalusian public broadcaster, with a focus on its newsrooms and programming. The move follows an agreement for the party to join the regional government led by Juan Manuel Moreno, where Vox’s Manuel Gavira heads a major ministry with vice-presidential status. Negotiations over public entities and companies managed by the Junta de Andalucía have made the Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA) a basic point of discussion.
Vox is seeking direct involvement in Canal Sur’s management, party sources say. The broadcaster operated last year with a budget exceeding 170 million euros, making it Spain’s third-largest public broadcaster after the Catalan and Basque corporations. Vox spokesperson José Antonio Fúster said the party’s participation in public bodies was being negotiated separately from the agreed government programme and allocation of ministries. He argued that a role in Canal Sur’s leadership was necessary to protect freedom of thought and expression and ensure that no political party was excluded from coverage.
The parliamentary outcome on 21 October 2026 gave Vox a formal place in RTVA’s governance, but not executive leadership of the broadcaster. The Andalusian Parliament re-elected Juan de Dios Mellado Pérez as RTVA director general, a position he has held since 2019. The Partido Popular de Andalucía (PP-A) and Vox backed his nomination; PSOE-A, Adelante Andalucía and Por Andalucía opposed it. The same parliamentary process renewed RTVA’s nine-member board and the Consejo Audiovisual de Andalucía (CAA), the regional body responsible for audiovisual oversight.
Vox’s nominee to the renewed RTVA board, José Antonio Gómez Granados, received 66 votes in the parliamentary ballot, while PP-backed candidates received 108. Representatives proposed by PSOE-A, Adelante Andalucía and Por Andalucía also joined the board. Vox also secured a place on the renewed CAA, with Luis Blasco Sáenz-Messía named as its nominee. The appointments give the party a place in both the broadcaster’s governing structure and the body overseeing audiovisual standards, while day-to-day executive leadership remains with Mellado.
The renewal followed the broader PP and Vox agreement in Andalusia. Measure 150 of the pact reportedly commits the parties to vote together on matters concerning government stability, budgets and specified institutional issues, across plenary sessions, committees and collegial bodies. The settlement also covers other institutions, including the Andalusian ombudsman and the Cámara de Cuentas. In the RTVA negotiations, the agreement led to joint backing for Mellado and a negotiated redistribution of seats on the broadcaster’s board and the CAA.
Until now, Vox had not explicitly demanded positions in regional public media in other autonomous communities where it shares power, including Extremadura, Aragón and Castilla y León. The party’s interest in Andalusia is reinforced by the experience of Álvaro Zancajo, Vox’s national communications director, who served as Canal Sur’s director of news content and digital change in 2020. Zancajo was dismissed later that year following criticism from unions and opposition parties, as well as concerns raised by the CAA about the neutrality of news coverage and budget cuts attributed to Vox’s influence.
After his dismissal, Zancajo remained involved with RTVA, sitting on its board from 2022 as Vox’s representative amid controversy over his eligibility. Vox also held a seat on the CAA, occupied by Ignacio González before the October 2026 renewal. The new appointments change the party’s named representatives and confirm its institutional presence, but do not give it control of Canal Sur’s executive management or newsroom output.
During Mellado’s confirmation hearing, he cited eight CAA reports that he described as favorable to Canal Sur, saying at least one found progress in pluralism. He also pointed to workforce stabilization and audience performance. Mellado described RTVA as being in “a sweet spot” in audience terms. He identified a new digital public service and the return of Canal Sur 2 as priorities, alongside a new contract-programme and a strategic plan. These were management’s arguments for continuity as the parliamentary vote divided along government and opposition lines.
PP-A deputy José Ricardo García framed the renewal as a commitment to pluralism, saying the aim was “a television that works with pluralism and where everyone has a place.” Vox deputy Ricardo López defended the Andalusian broadcaster in comparison with RTVE. Their arguments reflect a dispute over how public-media governance should represent parties while protecting editorial independence. Canal Sur’s news programming shapes public debate across Andalusia. The October appointments leave Mellado in charge and give Vox a formal role in oversight and governance.
Fúster had expressed satisfaction with the 150-point agreement reached with the Partido Popular, which secured Vox’s support for Moreno’s investiture. The pact includes measures such as prioritizing nationals over foreigners in access to public services, rejecting the European Green Deal and rolling back climate policies. Fúster acknowledged that, despite the party’s progress, a large gap remained between the existing arrangement and Vox’s ambitions for majority control. The parliamentary settlement over RTVA has given Vox board and CAA representation, but the director-generalship remains with Mellado.
