Spanish public broadcaster RTVE experienced a broadcast interruption on Friday, May 15, 2024, after a power failure at a transmission site [1, 2].

The incident highlights the vulnerability of national broadcasting infrastructure to localized technical faults, potentially disrupting the flow of real-time news to millions of viewers.

The outage occurred at the transmission facility located in Prado del Rey, Madrid [2]. The failure affected the signals for both La 1 and Canal 24 Horas [2]. Presenter Silvia Intxaurrondo, who was on air during the disruption, said, "Hemos sufrido un corte de electricidad" [1].

Reports on the exact duration of the blackout vary between sources. One report said the channels were off for 12 minutes [2], while another indicated the program was interrupted for approximately 20 minutes [1]. This discrepancy reflects the difference between the total loss of signal and the time required to resume full programming.

An RTVE spokesperson said that the emissions of La 1 and Canal 24 Horas were interrupted for several minutes due to the power cut in Prado del Rey [2]. The broadcaster identified the cause as a technical fault in the electricity supply [1, 2].

Technical teams worked to restore power and signal stability. The interruption occurred during the broadcast of "La hora de La 1," which is a primary news slot for the network [1]. While some reports focused on the specific program, the wider transmission failure affected multiple channels operating from the site [2].

“"Hemos sufrido un corte de electricidad"”

This event underscores the critical reliance of digital broadcasting on physical power stability at key transmission hubs. Even in a modernized media landscape, a single point of failure at a site like Prado del Rey can silence multiple national channels simultaneously, revealing a need for more robust redundancy systems to prevent total signal loss during technical faults.