Canal Sur goes dark as Spain's first general strike in 14 years begins

Broadcast cut on Wednesday morning

Canal Sur Televisión, the Andalusian regional public broadcaster, cut its output on Wednesday, 11 November, during the morning news programme Despierta Andalucía. Europa Press and El Confidencial put the interruption at 08:20, while RTVA sources who spoke to EFE said it began at 08:00. The channel had broadcast normally since midnight before that. The screen then went black with a notice to viewers:

“The interruption of the broadcast is a consequence of the call for the general strike. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

The blackout came on the day of a general strike called by CCOO, UGT and the Sindicato de Inquilinas, the tenants' union, to press for better wages, solutions to the housing crisis and stronger public services. La Vanguardia, citing Diario de Cádiz, reported that technicians in the signal control room at San Juan de Aznalfarache, near Seville, had joined the walkout. Part of the staff at Andalusian public radio also joined, although the radio kept broadcasting through the first hours. Those control technicians keep the channel's signal running, including the output of outside production companies.

Minimum services and the strike across Spain

The Junta de Andalucía fixed minimum services for the day in a resolution from the Consejería de Empleo, Empresa y Trabajo Autónomo, published in the Boletín Oficial de la Junta de Andalucía (BOJA) on Tuesday, 10 November. It obliges Andalusian radio and television companies to keep producing reduced-format news with the strictly necessary staff, and the resolution's wording reads:

“The production and broadcast of relevant news programming in reduced format will be guaranteed, with the strictly necessary staff.”

Across Spain, El País describes the walkout as the country's first general strike in 14 years. Pickets blocked some access roads to Madrid and the entrances to Sants station in Barcelona in the early hours. Minimum services ran from 50% to 75% on rail and from 18% to 85% on air transport. Comisiones put the drop in electricity consumption at 9.7% in the first hours of the day.

Barcelona studio stopped live

In Barcelona, a group of demonstrators entered the studio of Cafè d'idees, the programme presented by Gemma Nierga, and prevented its live broadcast. The show is carried simultaneously on La2Cat and Ràdio 4, and it had prepared a special edition for the strike staffed with the minimum personnel. Nierga explained what happened and said that journalists are considered an essential service, yet they could not do their work that day. The programme returned to air a few minutes later, but the morning's planned running order was completely disrupted.

Earlier blackouts

Canal Sur has gone dark before. La Vanguardia lists earlier strike-related interruptions in 2010, twice in 2012 and during the 8-M strike of 2018. El País adds that staff cut the output in February and December 2020, interrupting the Christmas Lottery draw and the approval of the budget in protest over a cut of 14 million euros. The most recent precedent came on 11 May 2026, during the Andalusian election campaign, when the signal went dark at 18:00 as La tarde, aquí y ahora gave way to Andalucía Directo. El País links the May cut to protests over the outsourcing of in-house production and claims of partisan manipulation of newscasts.

1. May 11, 07:00 PMSignal cut as La tarde, aquí y ahora gives way to Andalucía Directo
2. May 11, 08:50 PMProgramming resumes about two hours before the final electoral debate, scheduled for 21:45

Programming came back about two hours before the final electoral debate of the campaign between candidates for the Presidency of the Junta, which was scheduled for 21:45.