Advanced Television; Spain: Record-breaking pay-TV audiences

Story from Advanced Television:

Pay-TV in Spain ended the 2024/2025 season (September 20th 2024 to June 30th 2025) with record-setting numbers. According to the latest GECA report, pay thematic channels have reached an all-time high audience share of 11.3 per cent – the best figure ever recorded in a regular season. It represents a 70 per cent increase compared to the previous year, cementing pay-TV’s role as a continued force in Spain’s TV landscape.

At the top of the rankings is LaLiga TV on M+, which maintains its lead with a 0.34 per cent audience share. It is closely followed by Movistar Plus+ (0.29 per cent) which posted the strongest growth of the season with a gain of 0.11 points, and DAZN LaLiga (0.29 per cent), in third position.

Among the non-sports offerings, Warner TV stands out as the most competitive channel, commanding an average 0.25 per cent share (+0.03). It is followed by Star Channel (0.23 per cent; -0.01), Canal Hollywood (0.20 per cent; -0.04), and Liga de Campeones on M+ (0.20 per cent; +0.01). AXN drops to 0.18 per cent (-0.06), while Calle 13 holds steady at 0.16 per cent. Eurosport rounds out the Top 10 with a 0.14 per cent share.

The strong performance of sports channels, coupled with high-quality films and entertainment content, has been key to the success of this season for pay-TV platforms.

The most-watched broadcast of the season was the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, aired by DAZN LaLiga on October 26th, which drew 2,029,000 viewers and achieved a 17.7 per cent audience share. In second place was the reverse fixture on May 11th, aired by LaLiga TV by M+, with 1,621,000 viewers and a 16 per cent share.

Other top events included Atlético de Madrid vs. Barcelona (1.61 million, 12 per cent) and the Champions League Madrid derby between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid on March 4th (1,358,000 viewers, 10.3 per cent), broadcast by Liga de Campeones bon M+. The fifth spot went to another Madrid derby, Atlético vs Real Madrid on September 29th, aired on DAZN LaLiga, with 1,354,000 viewers and an 11.2 per cent share.

Pay-TV has also achieved strong numbers in other genres. Time shifted viewing saw particularly strong audisnce gains: La infiltrada, aired by Movistar Plus+, became the most-watched programme in this category, drawing 736,000 viewers in deferred viewing and a total of 764,000.

In linear TV, the most-watched film was Star Wars: The Force Awakens, shown on Star Channel on January 6th 2025. It drew 150,000 viewers and achieved a 1.3 per cent share, highlighting cinema’s continued appeal among pay-TV viewers.

Warner TV and Star Channel have stood out this season capturing the attention of an increasingly selective audience seeking alternatives beyond sports.

The sustained growth of pay-TV stands in contrast to the decline of free-to-air thematic channels, which fell to a 28.6 per cent share, a drop of 1.6 points.