Onda Jerez TV

Onda Jerez TV is a Spanish local public television station based in Jerez de la Frontera, in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. It is owned and operated by the Ayuntamiento de Jerez de la Frontera (the city council), which holds the ondajerez.com domain and runs the service as a municipal department. The channel holds a broadcast licence for the Jerez de la Frontera demarcation and has historically been part of the wider Onda Jerez Radiotelevisión group, alongside Onda Jerez Radio. The station began broadcasting on Tuesday 2 May 1989 at 20:00 on UHF channel 32, timed to coincide with the start of the Feria del Caballo. Its first broadcast featured an institutional message from the then mayor, Pedro Pacheco Herrera, greetings from television stations in Rome and Gibraltar, and a report on the recently opened fair. Initial programming ran about one hour per day, extended on Sundays for films. The launch represented an investment of 100 million pesetas, a substantial sum at the time, and fulfilled an electoral commitment of the Partido Andalucista in its 1987 programme for Jerez. The project was driven by José Antonio Carmona Otero, who had previous experience at TVE and became the station's first director; he was also active in the Asociación Nacional de Televisiones Locales de España (Local Media TV) and the Asociación Europea de Televisiones de Grandes Ciudades. In its early years the station faced repeated legal obstacles because Spanish law at the time restricted television broadcasting beyond channels authorised by the central government. Three days after launch, the director general of communications ordered the closure of the channel and its premises; workers nonetheless removed the seals from both the headquarters and the repeater to continue broadcasting. On 11 May the Dirección General de Telecomunicaciones sealed the premises again shortly before the scheduled 20:00 broadcast, prompting staff to bring the emission forward to 19:00. Despite further closures, Onda Jerez TV returned to air on 16 May on UHF channel 30 with an editorial, recordings from other municipal stations in Seville province, its daily news bulletin and a delayed broadcast of a Xerez CD versus Mallorca match. Government authorities shut down the Sierra de San Cristóbal transmitter within 48 hours, but after further disputes between central and local government, transmissions were restored a few days later from the Calle Caballeros premises that the station still occupies. Onda Jerez TV focuses on local-interest content for Jerez de la Frontera, including coverage of the Feria, Semana Santa, news and sports, as well as programming from the distributor Retelsat. The station has also streamed plenos (council sessions) live and offers a programme radio grid. Looking ahead, Onda Jerez RTV has stated it is investing in new equipment and preparing to broadcast in HD; following its reconversion and absorption by the city council it operates as a municipal department, with the council making a financial effort to provide a dignified public service. Over its history the station has been led by directors including José Antonio Carmona Otero, Álvaro Moreno, Vicente Delgado, Pedro Rollán, Begoña Rodríguez, Rocío Tinajero, Fulgencio Meseguer, Ana Carrión and María del Mar Carrasco.

Onda Jerez TV is a local public television station in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, with a broadcast licence for the Jerez de la Frontera demarcation in the province of Cádiz. It forms part of Onda Jerez Radiotelevisión, together with Onda Jerez Radio, and is owned by the Ayuntamiento de Jerez de la Frontera. The station's first broadcast took place on Tuesday 2 May 1989 at 20:00 on UHF channel 32, coinciding with the opening of the Feria del Caballo. The inaugural programme included an institutional message from the mayor of Jerez, Pedro Pacheco Herrera, greetings from television stations in Rome and Gibraltar, and a report on the newly inaugurated fair. Initially, programming consisted of about one hour per day, except on Sundays when it was extended for the broadcast of films. The launch required an initial investment of 100 million pesetas, considered a high figure at the time. The project had been an electoral commitment of the Partido Andalucista for Jerez in the 1987 election programme and was driven by José Antonio Carmona Otero, who, after experience at TVE, became the station's first director. Carmona also played a notable role in promoting local television in Spain through the Asociación Nacional de Televisiones Locales de España (Local Media TV) and the Asociación Europea de Televisiones de Grandes Ciudades. In its early years the station encountered significant difficulties in staying on air, mainly because its broadcasts transgressed the legislation then in force, which prohibited television emissions beyond those granted by the central government: at that time three private channels, two state channels and the legislated regional television services (Canal Sur Televisión had begun broadcasting only two months before Onda Jerez TV). Three days after the station started emissions, the director general of communications ordered the closure of the channel and the premises from which it broadcast. Despite this order, the workers themselves removed the seals from both the headquarters and the repeater in order to continue broadcasting. On 11 May, the Dirección General de Telecomunicaciones sealed the premises again, minutes before the scheduled 20:00 broadcast; to avoid going off air, the workers brought that day's emission forward to 19:00. Despite successive closures, Onda Jerez Televisión returned to air on 16 May, this time on a different UHF channel (channel 30), broadcasting an editorial signed by the station's managers, recordings made at other municipal television stations in the province of Seville, the daily news bulletin and a delayed transmission of a match between Xerez CD and Mallorca. Within 48 hours, government officials closed the emissions again by dismantling the transmitting centre at the Sierra de San Cristóbal repeater. Eventually, after several disputes between the central and local governments, emissions were restored a few days later, already from the premises on Calle Caballeros where Onda Jerez remains based. Over the following decades the station continued as a municipal public broadcaster. Its programming has centred on local-interest content for Jerez de la Frontera, including the Feria, Semana Santa, news and sports, as well as programmes from the distributor Retelsat. The station has also provided live coverage of council plenary sessions (plenos en directo) and maintains a radio programme grid. It has been led by a succession of directors: José Antonio Carmona Otero, Álvaro Moreno, Vicente Delgado, Pedro Rollán, Begoña Rodríguez, Rocío Tinajero, Fulgencio Meseguer, Ana Carrión and María del Mar Carrasco. Looking to the future, Onda Jerez RTV has stated that it is acquiring new equipment and preparing to broadcast in HD. Following its reconversion and absorption by the Ayuntamiento de Jerez de la Frontera, it has become another municipal department, in which a financial effort is being made to offer the public a service worthy of them.

• 1989

  Onda Jerez TV begins broadcasting on 2 May at 20:00 on UHF channel 32, coinciding with the Feria del Caballo.

• 1989

  Three days after launch, the director general of communications orders the closure of the channel and its premises; workers remove the seals to continue broadcasting.

• 1989

  On 11 May the Dirección General de Telecomunicaciones seals the premises again; staff advance the broadcast to 19:00.

• 1989

  On 16 May the station returns on UHF channel 30; the Sierra de San Cristóbal transmitter is dismantled within 48 hours, but transmissions resume days later from Calle Caballeros.

• 1987

  Local television for Jerez becomes an electoral commitment of the Partido Andalucista in its municipal election programme.

Municipal public-service local television for Jerez de la Frontera, focused on local news, culture and sport.

• Local news bulletins

• Sports programming

• Feria del Caballo coverage

• Semana Santa coverage

• Plenos en directo (live council sessions)

• Retelsat distributor programming

1. 1Onda Jerez official websiteondajerez.com
2. 2Aviso legal y política de privacidadondajerez.com
3. 3Onda Jerez TV - Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org
4. 4Onda Jerez TV - Wikidatawikidata.org