Today, the Spanish broadcaster TVE announced the budget for 2004 will be reduced. A possible consequence might be that TVE can not afford to buy the rights for Operación Triunfo next year.
Spanish media watchers expect that the commercial channel Antena 3 will buy the rights for the programme. Antena 3 is 100% in hands of the Spanish telecom giant Telefónica. The owner of the Operación Triunfo rights is Telefónica too.
When TVE loses the rights on the programme, it will definately lose it's connection with the Eurovision Song Contest, and TVE has to search for a new method to select the Spanish representative for the contest.
