The Corporation's workers vote and demand that all brands be preserved.

BarcelonaEmployees of the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation (CCMA) voted this Thursday on a proposal from the works council calling for, among other things, the reinstatement of the Catalunya Informació and 324 brands, which were discontinued with the implementation of the new, cross-platform name 3CatInfo. Specifically, the question posed to staff was: "Do you agree that TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio, and all their brands, should remain fully active and visible both on air and on the platform, apps, and social media?" CCMA employees overwhelmingly supported the proposal, with 89.96% voting in favor, 5.40% against, and 4.64% abstaining. Voter turnout was 63.27%, out of a workforce of approximately 2,500 employees.

In addition, 324 retired professionals or former employees of the station have expressed their support "in defense of TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio." The works council also regrets that employees not assigned to TV3, Catalunya Ràdio, or La Marató, but rather belonging to the public entity Corporació – that is, the central cross-functional services dedicated to management – were unable to vote because, they claim, management did not provide them with the electoral roll. This Friday, a question period will take place in the Catalan Parliament, in which Rosa Romana, president of the CCMA (Catalan Broadcasting Corporation), will participate, and some of the questions address the new brand architecture being implemented. At the end of October, there was already a partial correction that allowed both TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio to maintain their brand presence even when broadcasting content produced by 3CatInfo, such as when signing news reports or displaying microphones on screen.

The consultation held this Thursday wasn't just about news brands. It also demanded that TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio be "treated as equivalent to 3Cat, not subordinate to it," and therefore called for the reinstatement of their social media profiles and their own visibility, independent of the umbrella brand. Furthermore, it called for "the full reinstatement of the Super3 brand and the Super3 Club." Sources within the works council, consulted by ARA, believe the controversy over the names could be the starting point for a more profound change within the Corporation. "The disappearance of the names makes us fear that they now want to target the media outlets," they explained, referring to a potential unification of stations and channels under the 3Cat and 3CatInfo umbrellas. "Management claims that TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio no longer have separate newsrooms and that 3Cat is now the newsroom. We don't know what the cross-cutting strategic projects are, but it's easy to deduce that the concept of a single newsroom is intended to be extended throughout the entire organization," the committee explained to the workers in an internal memo obtained by this newspaper.

Management's response

Sources from 3Cat's management responded to the results of the consultation: "We agree with the wishes expressed by a majority of the staff that our brands must remain active and visible. That's why we wanted to make it clear at all times that the TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio brands are fully in force and more alive than ever," they stated in a press release. "This, however, cannot come at the expense of our strategy to put content and the public at the center, becoming a content factory with a brand, 3Cat, which was created two years ago based on the values of TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio. And, at the same time, adapting to new consumption habits and having a much stronger presence in the digital environment to multiply our impact." According to management, this strategy is yielding positive results. "We have undisputed leadership for TV3, unprecedented growth for Catalunya Ràdio, the 3Cat platform's position among the three most consumed OTT services by Catalans, increased consumption of 3CatInfo news content, and an eightfold increase in views on social media under 3Cat profiles," they added.