More than half of the main Spanish media groups are owned by foreign companies or financial sector stakeholders, and most of them also have complex ownership chains that make it difficult for citizens to know who really controls them. This is one of the main conclusions of a recent report by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) that warns of the lack of transparency of the Spanish media and also of highly concentrated ownership.

The report, entitled Analysis of media ownership and transparency in Spain, is part of the Euromedia Ownership Monitor (EurOMo) project, which has gathered researchers from all over Europe. The researchers from the UPF Department of Communication who drafted the report are Laura Pérez Altable, Eloi Camps Durban, Xavier Ramon Vegas, Ruth Rodríguez Martínez and Marcel Mauri de los Rios, from the POLCOM-GRP research group.

24 major Spanish media analysed

For the report on Spain analyses were carried out on the ownership structure, corporate transparency and the legal framework regulating the activity of the 24 main Spanish media:

• The five most-watched television channels: TVE, Antena 3, La Sexta, Telecinco and Cuatro
• The four most-listened-to radio stations: SER, Cope, Onda Cero and RNE.
• The five most-read print newspapers: El País, El Mundo, ABC, La Razón and La Vanguardia.
• The four most-read digital-native newspapers: elespanol.com, elconfidencial.com, eldiario.es and huffingtonpost.es.
• Six social media profiles linked to relevant information actors: 3CatInfo, EDATV, Canal Red, Newtral, OkDiario and Ac2ality.

The analysis confirmed the high level of concentration of Spanish media ownership, across five large groups (Planeta, Prisa, Media For Europe, RSC and Vocento). Most of their owners are legal entities with a strong presence of foreign companies and financial stakeholders.

A non-explicit but persistent political influence 

Regarding politicization, the report concludes that it occurs neither directly nor overtly. The links between the mainstream media and political parties are rarely explicit in the content, but are made through the profile of directors and owners with political positions or connections, the selection of speakers and columnists. According to the study, the allocation of institutional advertising by administrations “is an influential instrument that, due to the absence of clear regulation, can compromise media independence”.

Lack of transparency and difficulty identifying media owners

Many of the Spanish media groups have complex ownership structures, with more than two ownership layers between the publishing company and the real owners, which hinders identifying the ultimate owners. In fact, although most media indicate their publishing company, they do not specify whether the latter is owned by other companies or reveal their real owners or who their shareholders are. Neither do they publish their annual accounts, and there is no legal obligation to report institutional advertising revenue. On the other hand, only seven of the 24 media analysed (29%) report on the size of their newsroom staff.

In any case, the report states that there is greater transparency in public and some private media, such as eldiario.es (directly owned by the workers, which publishes its annual accounts) or Newtral, with sole ownership and a similar transparency policy.

However, in general terms, the study notes that the Spanish legal framework has not yet been fully adapted to European standards in terms of transparency concerning real owners, media funding and assurances of the independence of public media. In 2025, the Spanish government announced several legal amendments to comply with European regulations. However, citizens still do not have sufficient guarantees regarding media independence and pluralism.

About the EurOMo project

The aim of the Euromedia Ownership Monitor (EurOMo) project, which has been running since 2021 with funding from the European Commission, is to strengthen media transparency and trust in democratic institutions. The project, which ends this March, has gathered research teams from 27 European countries under the coordination of the University of Salzburg (Austria).

Full report in English