Movistar has made the firm decision to permanently close its bullfighting channel, Canal Toros, although not in support of banning the “sport”, but rather in response to the agreement between the companies of Las Ventas, Plaza 1 and La Maestranza with the new OneToro platform, still under development, to broadcast their seasons for the next three years.
Canal Toros was the leading bullfighting channel in Spain, operating without competition for broadcasting rights, until a competitor came on the scene, and they lost the San Isidro and April fairs.
It was due to the appearance of the German company OneToro that competition for rights came about. “In 2023, we hope to broadcast live 100 bullfights on our platform covering the most important bullrings (Valencia, Seville, Madrid, Pamplona, Bilbao, Salamanca, etc.). From 2024 we will expand our offer to more than 125 bullfights broadcast live in Spain, France and Portugal, which offers us a very balanced offer throughout the season”, said CEO Moritz Roever, in the presentation of the streaming platform.
The truth is that Canal Toros was vital in sustaining bullfighting during the last decade, and especially during the pandemic. In addition to the bullfights themselves, it also includes documentaries, reports and bullfighting news, all of them self-produced. Despite their decision to close being financial, this closure has been interpreted by the Animal Naturalis animal welfare group as one more symptom of the little interest that bullfighting has in the general public, which must now seek an audience beyond the borders of Spain.
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