The king's message improves the audience in his shortest speech.

BarcelonaAfter a few years with a declining audienceKing Felipe VI's message has reversed the trend. The monarch's speech, broadcast this Wednesday at 9 p.m., drew an average of 5,921,000 viewers across Spain and a 65.7% audience share. Both figures are slightly higher than last year's, when the King's address attracted 5,908,000 viewers and a 62.4% audience share. In Catalonia, the audience is also growing. This year it drew an average of 548,000 viewers and one share The King's speech drew a 40.8% share, compared to 546,000 viewers and a 37.2% share in 2024. The channel with the highest average audience share was La 1, with a 14% share, followed by Antena 3 with a 10.3% share and Telecinco with a 4.5% share. A total of 6.7 million viewers tuned in to the speech at some point across Spain, compared to 6.8 million in 2023. This year's improved viewership can be attributed to it being Felipe VI's shortest speech since his coronation in 2014. The message lasted just over nine minutes and was broadcast on 26 television channels, including those belonging to the Televisión Española group, Atresmedia, and Mediaset. TV3 didn't broadcast it, but 3CatInfo did, attracting 25,000 viewers and a 1.8% share.

A change of scenery

Unlike previous years, this time King Felipe VI delivered his Christmas address standing outside the Zarzuela Palace. The chosen venue was the Hall of Columns in the Royal Palace, where 40 years ago Spain's accession to the European Union was signed. In his speech, the King He warned about extremism. He also called for coexistence. "It is not an imperishable legacy. It is not enough to have received it: it is a fragile structure," the monarch said. By autonomous community, Murcia has the largest audience in all of Spain. It is followed by Castile-La Mancha, Aragon, Castile and León, and Madrid. Catalonia and the Basque Country are the regions where the king draws the fewest viewers.