RTVE halts the 2Cat name and is still looking for a brand for the new Catalan channel.

BarcelonaRTVE's new Catalan-language channel still does not have a name, as announced this morning by the president of the Spanish corporation, José Pablo López Sánchez, during the presentation of the new project at the production center in Sant Cugat del Vallès. The president explained that the brand has not yet been decided and, therefore, the name 2Cat, initially announced, remains up in the air. "The brand will never be a cause for conflict with another public corporation," the president stated. in reference to possible tensions with 3Cat. López Sánchez and RTVE advisor Miquel Calçada have reiterated that the new Catalan-language television project aims to contribute to and not provoke confrontations with Catalan public television. "We don't argue, as we Catalans normally have the bad habit of doing: we celebrate what we present," Calçada stated.

The new Catalan-language channel, which will have a budget of €8 million in 2025 and €11 million next year, will not be broadcast on the current La 2 channel, but will instead have another DTT frequency that has not yet been decided, they stated during the project presentation. "What we are doing is presenting more public television in Catalan, transforming RTVE's second channel into a fully Catalan-language channel," Calçada said. During the presentation, it was made clear that the new channel does not mean doing away with the existing Catalan-language channels, but rather will be complementary. In this regard, López and Calçada explained that the news blackouts on La 2 will disappear, but that the news blackouts on La 1 and the 24-hour channel will remain. The first broadcast will take place during the Diada (National Day) and, as explained, initially there will be half the content in Catalan and half in Spanish, but produced in Sant Cugat, pending new productions. Thus, the content in Catalan will gradually increase.

The president of RTVE described the project as "historic." "We want to help spread a language that has been in decline for several years. Increasing the supply of content in Catalan can help halt this decline. We are convinced that we must be a reflection of the multilingual reality of Spain," said the president, who argued that the RTVE project is similar to those already operating in other countries, with a reality that is unique to others. He also recalled that the idea of creating a Catalan-language channel has been around for years. In this regard, he recalled that Pilar Miró had already attempted this when she was general director of RTVE. "It's a long-standing idea. Now, the wills have aligned and we've managed to bring it to fruition," he remarked.

A generalist programming

Oriol Nolis, director of the new channel, and Laura Folguera, director of content, explained that they are still preparing the programming schedule because they joined the project just a week ago. Nolis explained that the idea is to start with the programs already being produced in Catalan and also some of those produced in Spanish from Sant Cugat, such as Know and win"We want to regroup all the programs that are being broadcast offline, which is a weak window, and give them good visibility," said Folguera, who emphasized that they are not starting from scratch.

"This new channel will expand the audiovisual offering in Catalonia, create new content, and provide new perspectives. We want to try to capture an audience that we believe isn't on linear television. On La 1 with The revolt We've seen it: suddenly, two million people appeared who didn't watch television and, with a complementary offering, they have appeared. This is our beacon," explained the content director. Regarding the type of programs they will focus on, the content manager has assured that it will be a mix of entertainment and public service "in order to be relevant."

For now, those responsible for the new channel have a "first draft" of the schedule, which they will present between October and November. Ideas Cafe, by Gemma Nierga, who stated that the new Catalan channel "is a dream come true." "The project we had dreamed of is finally becoming a reality," the journalist celebrated. Along with Nierga's program, there will be other programs already on air, such as The lost recipe either The speakerThe midday and evening newscasts will also be maintained.

For now, the new channel will only be available in Catalonia, although Folguera explained that the option of expanding its radio station to the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands is being considered. In any case, he noted that in the rest of Spain, Catalan content can be viewed through RTVE Play.