Mac's Poll - Let's Vote

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POLL: What's your take on Spanish television?
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 @ 6:37 PM

The people are great, the weather is great, the food is great, the beaches are great, the countryside is great, Spain has a lot of great things going for it but what's your take on Spanish television? Is it good enough to draw you away from your Sky box now and again? I been here for a long time, I don't have Sky and I never have done. I've watched Spanish television since day one and I can tell you from my personal opinion that when digital television came in, introducing the capability to revert the programs back to their original language it was a life saver for me. Not because I don't understand Spanish, I speak it fluently and understand everything but because it meant I could finally watch foreign programs without that annoying voice over, as I found myself listening to the Spanish and the English simultaneously, it would drive me mad! I gave up on Spanish TV a long time ago finding it too monotonous at all times of the day, every chanel had and still has their own version of the same programme so it didn't matter if you switched channel, you were going to watch the same thing but with different faces. Loud panel discussions and long tedious talk shows that would go on for 4+ hours covering the entire prime-time broadcasting slot with one programme. They had and have the same presenters on all the programmes at all times of day and adverts that would go on for over 30 minutes, which meant and hour and half film on a Sunday afternoon would and still takes over 3 hours to watch... and of course dubbed. However dubbing has never really bothered me, it did in the beginning but you get used to it, eventually you don't notice it, and on more than one occasion I have reverted back to the dubbed version of the film as the original actors were awful and to be honest the quality of dubbing is very high and can often make a poor film rather good. However, having a Spanish family and living in Spain, British TV isn't much of an option for me so I have to make do and grab the odd film in original version or the odd documentary on Discovery when I am on my own, as Spanish TV is obviously preferred by my wife. So now that you know who controls the TV in my house, I was curious to know everyone else's view on local television. Do you watch it? Have you given up on it? or do you like it? If you like it please tell me which programmes, maybe I'm missing out on something! :)

Whatever it may be, please cast your vote and leave a comment.

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20 Comments

Fartharder said:
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 @ 10:17 PM

I understand your frustration regarding the voice overs on certain channels. Hearing both languages distracts me to the point that I also change the language to English as it's easier to concentrate. I find the quality of Spanish TV quite poor and very limited in terms of choice. Too many channels have the same programmes at the same time every day of the week which goes to show how little they have to offer. Discovery Max, Xplora and Energy are channels which promise to be interesting but fail to deliver, and worse, the amount of times they repeat the same episodes of the same series is unacceptable. Worst of all is the way all the channels cut to ad breaks. All the channels from one media company cut to ads at the same time. This means that programmes are being cut off either right at the start, or right at the end, or in most cases, whilst someone is mid sent..... It's very annoying! As a result of all this, I watch very little tv which is better because with the great Spanish weather, I can get out and do more.

Joan said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 4:29 AM

Spain isn't great the people are filthy and uneducated.

lenox said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 5:07 AM

I never watch TV. I speak fluent Spanish.

Roger Cummiskey said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 5:13 AM

I only have Spanish TV in my apartment.

I do not have any other languages.

The 24 hour channel is better than I can remember Sky News. I like watching Spanish football also. I sometimes watch a movie in Spanish.

I am not a TV addict

D J F said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 7:51 AM

I have a suggestion for Joan. Why don't you just go home then, wherever that is.
As regards TV, we use "Filmon" which makes us very selective as to what we watch and so lets us get out and enjoy!

Susan said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 9:05 AM

I have enough problems finding anything worth watching on Sky!!! Spanish is even worse!!

clive said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 10:03 AM

Love Spanish tele" cuenta me como paso " is my favourite, great soap. not only does it give you a insight into the Spanish life in the 60s 70s 80s it is funny entertaining and a great way to learn and improve your Spanish. Especially Spanish you will find on the street and in every day life.

Philip said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 10:38 AM

Can you please remove the awful comment from Joan.

Joan - go home! The polite way of saying something stronger!!

Miguel del Norte said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 10:42 AM

Couldn't agree with you more, Fartharder.

Talk shows are space fillers - not to be watched. Cutting off the dialogue in mid-stream just to synchronise the adverts on all the channels is a disgrace - an insult to the viewer. The repetition of the series is also incredibly boring and then when you get 6 episodes back to back of the same series, well it's just unbelievable.

That is until you realise that these companies don't give a fig for the viewer. They seem only concerned with pleasing the advertiser so they can make money from the adverts. Mind you, these long breaks can be very useful as it means you have plenty of time to boil the kettle for tea or do all the other things you really ought to be doing instead of watching TV. This way you can do both!

I confess that most days of the week we watch just Spanish News and Weather and the odd episode of a series, especially if it is the first time around in Spain, or a good film, again IF there's one on you haven't seen before 3 or 4 times already. Speaking Spanish, the choice of language is not a problem for us, although when you know the sound of a particular actor's voice, a dubbed version just isn't quite right.

For the rest, well Amazon has done well out of us in the last couple of years as we stocked up on high quality good old British TV on DVD. Now we all enjoy episodes of all those really great quality programs we missed before or happily see again.

So our vote is not for Spanish TV as I do not believe they consider the public interests, likes or wishes at all, unless they are football supporters when any other program gets shoved aside, even the TV1 News at 9. I am sorry to say these things as we are very happy living in this country and we have integrated as best we can and enjoy most of what Spain has to offer. The DVDs give us TV independence, though, so fewer spoiled evenings!!

mdavidfrost said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 12:08 PM

I ONLY watch Spanish cable TV. Why didn't you have this option as a reply? Admittedly Procono (or PTV) does have BBC World, CNN International and Russia Today (RT) and I have the language set as English first and Spanish second. Also I can change the language for British or American films on a lot of channels. Spanish or Latin-American films I prefer to watch in Spanish. There are also programmes in Portuguese, French and German, which interest me.

mdavidfrost said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 12:10 PM

And Joan, get out of Spain back to wherever you came from. People like you give foreign residents a bad name.

mac75 said:
Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 4:56 PM

Thanks all for commenting! Miguel del Norte & Farthander I totally agree! I am not alone in my thinking- what a relief!

Joan, I am not going to remove your comment because I want to comment on it, that way people will understand my response - firstly your comment has no relevance to the poll so even though you may think what you wrote, to post it just shows what a bitter person you are. I guess you had a bad time in Spain with some Spaniards, but don't right off a nation. The people are anything but filthy and the young are some of the most highly qualified in Europe. There are nasty people everywhere. Look, you have just posted one comment and I don't particularly like you now and I don't even know you. You could be a lovely person but speaking with that arrogance and superiority just brings out the negative side of people, maybe that was the part of reason you had such a bad time. Anyway unless you are going to post something constructive please do not leave any more comments.

mdavidfrost I didn't add cable tv because because I was only referring to Spanish national channels, not international channels.

Clive "cuentame como pasó" has been very successful but I am not one for soaps, too much commitment! If you miss a few episodes you completely lose the plot. But I can see how Spain in the 60's and 70's is interesting to many, and yes can be very good to help one's everyday Spanish.

kev said:
Sunday, September 22, 2013 @ 12:30 PM

Great
Free speech well done Joan, Don't follow the sheep believing everything is ok in Spain. The place is falling apart, the people are ill educated and will cut your throat to make a Euro.
I have lived here 10 years so don't go telling me to go home, just wake up alittle and look around you.

mac75 said:
Sunday, September 22, 2013 @ 12:45 PM

With all due respect this is a poll on Spanish Television not on the Spanish nation. So please if you are adamant on airing your views on the Spanish people and the country please set up a thread or post your own blog where you can exercise your right to freedom of speech as much as you want. The negative comments about the Spanish people are terribly generalised and inaccurate and I have been living and working here for much longer than 10 years and have travelled most of Spain. I feel sorry for the people who have lived here for so long and feel that way about the country, they have unfortunately missed out on so much.

mdavidfrost said:
Sunday, September 22, 2013 @ 1:21 PM

Llevas diez años en España Kev, pero hablas español? And you, Joan? If not, how do you really know what the country's like? And are you registered to vote and do you vote in Spain in the municipal and European elections? Voting is one way to change things you don't like.

Rob said:
Sunday, September 22, 2013 @ 5:57 PM

By Spanish TVI assume you mean shows produced in Spain, as 90% of what is shown on TV is American with dubbed voices. So no I don't, or didn't (since moved back Germany) watch any Spanish TV shows. On the other hand I don't mind German produced (non dubbed) prigrams as they are quite good.

BTW you mentioned your family is Spanish I'm surprised you let them watch TV in Spanish, how else will they develope natural English, unless you prefer of course to pay someone to teach them.

mdavidfrost said:
Sunday, September 22, 2013 @ 6:59 PM

Rob/BTW,
Kids will learn their parents' language(s) if both parents speak to them in their own language, whether Spanish or another one, but they also need to learn Spanish if they live here, and watching TV is one good way to do this. I watch the news in Spanish, although also in English on BBC World, CNN International, Russia Today and Al Jazeera, plus quiz shows - very good for improving even the best Spanish - and stand-up comics. If you can understand most of what the latter say, particularly the punchlines, you're almost there. The channels I watch most are Antena 3, Canal Sur and La 1. My parnter doesn't speak English, but when I'm on my own I watch Russia Today (RT) quite a lot, as you get to hear a different point of view. For the same reason I sometimes watch Fox News, AKA (by some, me included) Redneck News.

Steve Rayner said:
Saturday, September 28, 2013 @ 8:05 PM

Joan is being racist, I hope it's a wind up but I suspect not. She could go home and perhaps live in Leicester, more than half the population there are from the rest of the world, she could work out which race she hates most!

mdavidfrost said:
Sunday, September 29, 2013 @ 10:42 AM

You're right Steve. maybe she thinks the Spaniards are foreigners and she's not. Some Brits do.

alant said:
Saturday, July 19, 2014 @ 11:06 AM

Do they actually have programs? I was under the impression that it was just advertisements with interruptions.