La 1 overtakes Antena 3 in October TV ratings, its first October lead in 15 years

A first October lead in 15 years

La 1, the public broadcaster run by RTVE, finished October 2026 with a 13% audience share, ahead of Antena 3 on 12.5%, according to a report by Barlovento Comunicación based on Fifty5Blue data. It is the first October in 15 years that La 1 has led, and the first month in about 14 years that it has topped the ranking without a World Cup, European Championship or Olympic Games. Antena 3 lost three tenths of a point over the month, while its parent group Atresmedia remains the leading group with 24.5%, according to eldiario.es. Antena 3 still won more individual days, 15 to 13 according to ABC and 14 to 12 according to El Mundo, with three ties in both counts.

La 113%

Antena 312.5%

Telecinco8.6%

Cuatro7.5%

laSexta5.5%

La 23.3%

La 1

13 %

Antena 3

12.5 %

Telecinco

8.6 %

Cuatro

7.5 %

laSexta

5.5 %

La 2

3.3 %

Data from the article text

Football and politics drive the peaks

Spain's Nations League match against Croatia on 6 October was the most-watched free-to-air broadcast of the month, with 5,313,000 viewers and a 39.3% share, according to El Mundo. The Spain versus Czech Republic match three days earlier drew 4,375,000 viewers and a 39.5% share. The National Day parade on 12 October reached 2,537,000 viewers, with El Mundo giving a 47.1% share and eldiario.es reporting 44.2%.

Croatia vs Spain (6 Oct)5,313,000

Pedro Sánchez on La Revuelta (22 Oct)4,387,000

Spain vs Czech Republic4,375,000

Rufián and Montero on La Revuelta2,654,000

National Day parade (12 Oct)2,537,000

Croatia vs Spain (6 Oct)

5313000 viewers

Pedro Sánchez on La Revuelta (22 Oct)

4387000 viewers

Spain vs Czech Republic

4375000 viewers

Rufián and Montero on La Revuelta

2654000 viewers

National Day parade (12 Oct)

2537000 viewers

Data from the article text

Pedro Sánchez, the president of the government, appeared on La Revuelta on 22 October, drawing 4,387,000 viewers and a 33.9% share, which eldiario.es described as a record for the programme. The visit by Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero to the same show took a 21.7% share and 2,654,000 viewers, according to ABC.

La Revuelta and the morning and news slots

ABC reports that La Revuelta averaged 14.1% and 1,716,000 viewers across the month, beating El Hormiguero on Antena 3, which took 13.2% and 1,606,000 viewers. On La 1's morning schedule, Silvia Intxaurrondo's magazine averaged 21.4% in October, up from 19.3% in September, according to El Periódico. Jesús Cintora's Mañaneros 360 rose to 19.2% from 16.8%, and the Telediario 1 bulletin climbed to 15.8% from 13.9%. On the Antena 3 side, Pasapalabra (17.5%, 1,611,000 viewers) and La ruleta de la suerte (21%, 1,500,000 viewers) kept their audiences, and the series Sueños de libertad remained the most-watched fiction on television in October, according to ABC.

Telecinco, Cuatro and the smaller channels

Telecinco held third place with 8.6%, which El País describes as its worst October in its history, and eldiario.es notes that it has now spent 16 months in a row below double-digit share. Cuatro rose from 7.1% in September to 7.5%, its best October since 2009 according to El Confidencial, and it finished about 1.1 points behind its parent channel. laSexta reached 5.5% before the arrival of La Séptima, while La 2 closed the ranking with 3.3%, according to El Periódico. Antena 3 Noticias filled the rest of the month's 25 most-watched broadcasts, according to El País.

Election and news context

The month was shaped by the call of a general election for 29 November, which El País places at the centre of October's political agenda. La 1 also covered a train collision in Urda, in the Toledo area, a coverage that eldiario.es cites among the reasons for its audience. Eurovisión Junior reached 12.2% on La 1, according to El País. The channel also led in the mornings, where El País says its programmes set records during the month.