Report of the Defender of the Audience The absurd and innumerable complaints that RTVE receives from the audience: "The representation was totally offensive"

Every quarter, the RTVE Audience Ombudsman, a position held since 2021 by the journalist María Escario, publishes the report on the complaints received from viewers to her department. A few weeks ago she touched on the report corresponding to the months of April, May and June and, although there are few surprises, how unusual, diverse and numerous they are is curious to say the least.

The report includes all the criticisms and comments that the public entity has received about its programs and broadcasts, with MasterChef and the news being the formats that have received the most complaints: 260 criticisms received by the culinary talent and 419 directed at the news, 88 more than last quarter.

In total, in the second quarter of the year, RTVE received 2,953 complaints compared to 2,131 in the previous quarter, which means 822 more.

On the occasion of the municipal and regional elections, 249 communications were received for not broadcasting the electoral ad for Unidas Podemos. Another 79 communications made reference to the dismissal of Eva Mora as head of the Spanish delegation at Eurovision.

In the case of programs, the report from the Defender of the Audience indicates that 328 fewer complaints have been received than in the first quarter, since in the first three months of the year there was an increase in the number of communications, receiving 704 for the presence of Rocío Carrasco in the Días de Tele program.

In this quarter, the highlight is MasterChef. Most of the criticism comes from “the end time, the drop in quality of the program, more focused on the show than on the kitchen, and the favoritism shown towards one of the contestants.” It is followed by “the broadcast of the first Eurovision semifinal on La 2 and not on La 1”, also with 140 communications from viewers; “changes in programming”, especially referring to the fact that “the Joker reduced its duration, Cover Night changed the day and time of broadcast several times and the final began after two episodes of the 4 Stars series”.

The curious thing is precisely those complaints, particularly those referred to in MasterChef and that RTVE also exposes. Thus, it can be read how a Catalan viewer sent a long communication to the RTVE Ombudsman expressing her “concern” about “the content of the MasterChef program in which a recreation of the Bacchanal show was shown.”

“It seemed to me that this representation was totally unnecessary and even offensive to viewers. It seems important to me to remember that television broadcasts reach a very wide audience, including minors, and the image of a show like the one that was shown can be worrying and offensive to many viewers,” the complaint states. The show that this spectator refers to is the Circus of Horrors show, Bacchanal, in which she shows herself what hell would be like.

It is not the only curious complaint regarding MasterChef. Another spectator from Galicia protests because “they talk about the peppers “of the Padrón”, but it is not correct.” Indeed, “del Padrón” is not the correct term but “de Padrón”. Another viewer complains that “they shouldn’t do minimalist or avant-garde cooking.” Jorge, from the Basque Country, complained, for example, that “they don’t say the word tempura well.”

Ana, from Andalusia, for her part, sent a complaint because “They belittle traditional ways of speaking.” While Esther, from Aragón, criticizes that the contestants “cook with expensive coats that are later to be thrown away.”

But, without a doubt, the largest number of complaints addressed to RTVE about MasterChef -up to 64- has Luca, one of the most controversial contestants of MasterChef 11, as its protagonist: “Luca should be expelled, he does not know how to cook, he is lacking in this regard, the judges protect him”.

And although MasterChef is the program that accumulates the most complaints on RTVE, there are others that also deserve special attention. This is the case of Plan de Tarde, the program that Toñi Moreno presented on weekend afternoons on La 1 and which was finally canceled due to low audience data. Regarding Plan de Tarde, viewers criticize, among other things, that “the presenter fired a doctor because she says that the table is not compensated because he did not think like her” or that “the presenter and some collaborators do not say Miami correctly.”

As for the complaints addressed to the RTVE News, it is curious how Irma, from the Valencian Community, protests because the newscast “dedicates a lot of time to Holy Week”. In contrast, Laura, from Castilla y León, complains that the Palm Sunday newscast featured several processions, “none from Castilla y León”.

“April 23 only the day of Sant Jordi and the April Fair and they do not mention the day of Aragon and Castilla y León,” criticizes another viewer. “They do not mention the Villalar fair on April 23, the day of Castilla y León,” says another.

Most of the complaints towards the news, in addition to “its lack of plurality”, are directed at a piece on the activity of free tours in Madrid, which generated the reception of 52 communications; and the electoral special of the Valencian Community in La Noche en 24 horas, which generated 70 communications, for not having Unidas Podemos.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project