TRECE (formerly called 13TV) is a Spanish
free-to-air television channel run by the
Episcopal Conference of Spain, belongs to Radio Popular group together with the radio stations
COPE, Rock FM, Cadena 100 and MegaStar FM and the TV network Popular TV.
History
The channel was officially launched as ''13TV'' on November 29, 2010 by renting a television frequency belonging to the group
Unidad Editorial. On September 30, 2015, the channel received its own frequency, which began broadcasting officially in 2016.
Since its founding, the channel has shown its proximity to conservative postulates, something that intensified during the mandate of
Antonio María Rouco Varela
Antonio María Rouco Varela (born 20 August 1936) is a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a prominent member of its conservative wing. He served as Archbishop of Madrid from 1994 to 2014. He was made a cardinal in 1998. Cardinal ...
at the head of the
Spanish Episcopal Conference, for which reason it was considered as a means of diffusion of the conservative wing of the
People's Party.
In 2016 the Spanish Catholic Church commissioned a report on the situation of the channel due to the new social doctrine initiated by Pope Francis, the study showed that the channel had to undergo a reform because the public considered that the signal was aimed at a elderly audience and sympathizers of the People's Party. The new direction of the Episcopal Conference considered the reform of the contents of the channel was a necessary step for maintain the financing of 13TV.
In September 2017, the channel was subject to a change of identity, so it was renamed as ''Trece'', in an attempt to improve the reputation of the signal and make it more plural, as it had been indicated to be very close to right-wing postulates. The channel's new programming was based on current affairs, religion and cinema, especially
westerns, although some spaces from the previous stage of the channel were maintained because they generated good audience numbers. In addition, integration with COPE was increased.
Since 2017, the channel has been looking for a commercial partner to which it can assign part of its programming time in exchange for an improvement in economic income.
The channel had its best audience data during the spring and summer of 2020 due to the increase in film and religion programming derived from the lockdown decreed by the Spanish government to combat COVID-19. In May 2020, Trece was the most watched channel within the category of channels created for DTT.
Programming
Channel programming is based on three main points: information; cinema and current affairs about the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
. These three fundamentals are transferred to a bar of programming integrated by programs of debate, analysis, news, interviews, documentaries and movies.
See also
*
Catholic television
*
Catholic television channels
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...
*
Catholic television networks
References
External links
*
{{Television in Spain
Catholic television channels
Conservatism in Spain
Television stations in Spain
Television channels and stations established in 2010
Spanish-language television stations