Canal Norte TV

Canal Norte TV is a municipal television station based in San Sebastián de los Reyes, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Launched in 1991 by a team led by Eduardo Sánchez as an extension of the municipal Audiovisual Media Unit and the photography programmes of Spain's first Universidad Popular, it is one of the earliest local public television services in the region and the only one to survive the later collapse of locally owned public DTT in Madrid. Its signal historically reached the entire urban area of San Sebastián de los Reyes and neighbouring municipalities such as Alcobendas, and after the arrival of DTT it was rebranded as the local television service for San Sebastián de los Reyes, Alcobendas, Tres Cantos, Colmenar Viejo and the wider Cuenca del Medio Jarama comarca. The channel produced news, cultural programmes, current-affairs magazines and humour shows, and also aired content from external producers and from the network of the Asociación de Televisiones Educativas Iberoamericanas (ATEI). Among its best-known productions is the annual live broadcast of the popular encierros (bull runs) of San Sebastián de los Reyes. In 2004 it became the first local television station responsible for a live production for the whole national territory. It also broadcast daily live programming from the street during the Fiestas in honour of the Santísimo Cristo de los Remedios, declared of tourist interest. Canal Norte is regarded as one of the main breeding grounds for television professionals in Madrid, linked first to the Universidad Popular and later to the Escuela Taller de Imagen de San Sebastián de los Reyes. Its small size encouraged multidisciplinary staff and a permanent commitment to experimentation; it digitalised early and had its own website with video on demand even before the main national television networks. Until 2009 it broadcast in analogue on UHF channel 47, although it had used digital formats for production since 1999. In 2005 it began leading its transformation into a DTT broadcaster in collaboration with other municipalities in northern Madrid, but the transformation plan was cancelled and analogue broadcasting ceased in December 2009, with news content moving exclusively to the website. Today the station operates in a legal grey area on DTT mux 47 of TDT-2 and also streams worldwide via canalnorte.org. It produces local and comarcal news bulletins on weekdays and live coverage of events such as the San Sebastián de los Reyes bull runs and municipal plenary sessions, while filling much of the rest of its schedule by simulcasting Canal Sur Andalucía to reduce costs.

Canal Norte Televisión was launched in 1991 by a team led by Eduardo Sánchez, as an extension of the Audiovisual Media Unit of the Ayuntamiento de San Sebastián de los Reyes and of photography programmes from Spain's first Universidad Popular. Although it was not the first municipal public television station in the Community of Madrid, it became the only one to survive the collapse of locally owned public DTT in the region, a failure attributed to the regional government led by Esperanza Aguirre. The station produced news, cultural programmes, current-affairs magazines and humour shows. It also broadcast programmes developed by external production companies and by the network of the Asociación de Televisiones Educativas Iberoamericanas (ATEI). Among its most notable productions was the annual live broadcast of the popular encierros of San Sebastián de los Reyes. In 2004, Canal Norte became the first local television station responsible for a live production for the entire national territory. Each year it aired daily live programming from the street during the Fiestas in honour of the Santísimo Cristo de los Remedios, declared of tourist interest, with a veteran team led by news director Laura Rodríguez Galindo and magazine managers Mario Viciosa and Virginia Gijón. Canal Norte is considered one of the main breeding grounds for television professionals in Madrid. This is linked to its initial ties to the Universidad Popular and later to the Escuela Taller de Imagen de San Sebastián de los Reyes, one of the most recognised public-sector training schools in Madrid. Its small size allowed staff to become multidisciplinary, and there was a permanent commitment to experimentation. The station embraced digitalisation and had its own website with video on demand even before the main national television networks, adapting its newsroom and image team to modern production and journalism standards ahead of time. Until 2009 it broadcast in analogue on UHF channel 47, although it had used digital formats for production since 1999. In 2005 it began leading its transformation into a DTT broadcaster in collaboration with other municipalities in the northern Madrid area, to which the Government of the Community of Madrid had pre-assigned licences. Ultimately the DTT transformation plan was cancelled and it was decided to cease broadcasting in December 2009, with news content retained exclusively on the website. In August 2002, two Canal Norte contributors started a programming and web development project for the station under the domain canalnorte.tv. Initially it presented the channel's schedule and an events diary. Months later it began publishing local news, first replicating television bulletins and later creating a breaking-news service. By early 2003 the website had become a small digital newspaper for San Sebastián de los Reyes, publishing multimedia content, initially photographic. It began experimenting with video formats and by mid-2003 was regularly publishing news accompanied by Windows Media videos and interactive Flash graphics. The canalnorte.tv website was the only local digital medium until 2005, when its visitor numbers placed it among the most viewed local websites in Spain; shortly before, the ONO-Pearson Broadband Guide awarded it a distinction. Today some of its programmes (the San Sebastián de los Reyes encierros, news from northern Madrid province, etc.) are broadcast at times convenient to each TV channel through the different channels belonging to the Asociación de Televisiones Locales de la Comunidad de Madrid (Canal 33 Madrid, Mad 33, Tele K, etc.). The station currently broadcasts in a legal grey area on DTT mux 47 of TDT-2, covering Alcobendas, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Tres Cantos, Colmenar Viejo, Algete, San Agustín del Guadalix, Paracuellos de Jarama, Daganzo de Arriba, Fuente el Saz de Jarama, El Molar, Cobeña and Ajalvir, among other municipalities of the Cuenca del Medio Jarama comarca. It also streams worldwide via canalnorte.org. Its current local and comarcal news bulletins air weekdays from 13:30 to 14:00 and 20:00 to 20:30 (excluding Madrid regional and Spanish national holidays), connecting with Canal Sur Andalucía news at 14:00 and 20:30 every day including Sundays and holidays. It also airs live coverage of events such as the San Sebastián de los Reyes encierros, municipal plenary sessions of San Sebastián de los Reyes and Alcobendas, and men's and women's sports matches from those municipalities and the wider comarca. For the rest of the day it connects live with Canal Sur Andalucía to complete its schedule and reduce costs, with Canal Sur Andalucía airing from around midnight to 8:00.

• 2009

  Ceased analogue broadcasting on UHF channel 47 in December after the DTT transformation plan was cancelled; news content moved exclusively to the website.

• 2005

  Began leading its transformation into a DTT broadcaster in collaboration with other municipalities in northern Madrid; the canalnorte.tv website was the only local digital medium until this year.

• 2004

  Became the first local television station responsible for a live production for the entire national territory.

• 2003

  By early 2003 the website had become a small digital newspaper for San Sebastián de los Reyes; by mid-year it regularly published video content.

• 2002

  In August, two contributors started the canalnorte.tv website project.

• 1999

  Began using digital formats for production.

• 1991

  Canal Norte Televisión launched by a team led by Eduardo Sánchez as an extension of the municipal Audiovisual Media Unit.

Pioneering municipal public television in the Community of Madrid, known for local news, live event coverage and as a training ground for television professionals.

• Annual live broadcast of the San Sebastián de los Reyes encierros

• Local and comarcal news bulletins

• Live coverage of the Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo de los Remedios

• Live coverage of municipal plenary sessions

• Live coverage of men's and women's sports matches

• canalnorte.org online news and video-on-demand portal

1. 1Canal Norte TV - Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org
2. 2Canal Norte TV - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Canal Norte TV official websitecanalnorte.org
4. 4San Sebastian de los Reyes - Verificando navegador…canalnorte.org