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[UPD] Spain: TVE airs semifinal with a 1-hour delay
The European Broadcasting Union rules state clearly that every participant broadcaster should broadcast at least the semifinal where they are taking part. In the case of Spain, that would be the second semifinal, where the country has its voting rights after moving them from Tuesday. As previously reported, TVE asked EBU for a semifinal change due to the broadcast two days ago of the most important political debate of the year.
UPDATE. TVE has started airing the second semifinal, in a recorded format, shortly after 22:00 CET, with a delay of 1 hour. The Spanish broadcaster claimed "technical difficulties" to do the live broadcast, and therefore the televote was deactivated. Spanish results for tonight's semifinal have been produced by the back-up jury.
Stay tuned to esctoday.com for further development on this story.
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If she isn't disqualified then I hope she goes on to win, then TVE can host and we can have a show as hilarious as ITALY 1991!!!
This has been embarrassing. I call to TVE studios in Madrid (I live in Valencia) and nobody answered; all the time a recorded voice was asking me to wait... for almost 30 minutes!!
And during the show, there wasn't explanation about if we were going to vote or not (obviously not), and there were not technical problems, as the Semi Final begun authomatically when the tennis match finished!!
Having Spain(TVE) win this year to have them h in host the contest in 2010 is NO punishment at all! Spain(TVE) will just issue a statement to EBU stating that "Due to financial difficulties, we can not host the contest in 2010." There, they win the contest, yet get out of having to actually host it.
I don't think it matters if Soraya is disqualified or not. Even if she is allowed to compete, people will not vote for her because of the idiocy of TVE. Soraya is doomed either way. Sorry...
SPAIN must DSQ in 2010 !!!
Spain shoud lbe disqualificated for what they have done!!!
As much as I love Soraya and the Spanish song (and Spanish entries generally), God forbid that TVE actually have the responsibility of organising a Contest next year (or any other year for that matter!) after the shambles this year...
i´m spanish... tve is the worst of the world, tve shame me... and i repeat again our public television is the worst of europe
SORAYA IS THE BEST!!
Very strange. My post pointing out that the "English only"-policy is disrciminating and that it shuts out a lot of fans was deleted. Obviously esctoday is as open for criticism as the Russian government.
The most read news today at El Mundo paper in Spain says: "Soraya, ¿Descalificada en Eurovision?" ( Soraya, ¿banned from Eurovision? ). You can read this "story" at: http://www.elmundo.e(...)sion/1242347519.html
This article agree with my tesis that TVE did not broadcast the semifinal because they had to show the match between Verdasco and Monaco. So there was no technical reasons but a comercial one.
In other hand, it's a shame that our comentaries here made in other language than english, even trying to translate them into this language, are removed. The major part of the people in Europe don't have english as their mother language, so sometimes is hard to express some kind of things, more when you are answering to others from your same country. So I bet for a change in that rule. Everybody have the right to express in his own language as the European Institutions allow. It's our right.
Regards
Soraya is 16 in the money betting odds... she would not win anyway. Not with that song anyway. Spain should be sent to the semifinals next year.
I don't know if any satctions would be made,because there is no any informarion about this incident on the official site...
The fault is of RTVE, not neither of Soraya nor of the Spanish. If it is necessary to punish someone it is to RTVE. Please it is necessary to vote for Soraya because she deserves it, has worked very much with the song and with the eurofans. If you do not vote for Soraya you will be punishing her and not to RTVE. This year the Spanish song is very good and Soraya is a great artist, there is not deserved that pagueis with her. The eurofans of Spain also we are angry with RTVE.
It's awful, but they cannot punish Soraya!!!
A shame, TVE. I wanted to vote for the song of Poland, Slovakia and Cyprus ,the real winners of the 2nd semi-final, and I could not do .
:_(
Just Disqualify them and then let one of the unsuccessful semi finalists through (one that could be bothered to broadcast the show.
TVE have brought shame on Spain. It is sad to punish Soroya but she won't win anyway so why not afford her the opportunity to ride the wave of publicity.
She will probably end up back next year bigger and better than ever!
EBU NEEDS THE MONEY OF SPAIN.
because tve brings the most money for the contest.
ITS NOT FREE TO PARTICIPATE 
.
But yeah its typically spanish. They are always to late -.-
i feel sorry for Soraya, i think TVE should be punished, you can't just do what you want - all the other countries are acting properly. However this may go against Soraya 
which is a shame as shes got a nice song
Well I feel TVE should be heavily fined, countries can't just pick and choose what they do. I don't believe for one minute that there were such bad technical problems as the show was able to be recorded and broadcast anyway a while later.
It would be ashame if Soraya was disqualified but as TVE has a responsibility for carrying out the rules on Spain's behalf and if they are not followed then consequences will have to be met on Spain's behalf too. I think Spains "pick and choose" attitude stinks as they've already changed semifinals to suit their last minute broadcasting changes and now this. They could have uses their back up jury in semi one in that case.
In my opinion, TVE should be disqualified of the final.
Why? Soraya es una santa, but TVE deserves the disqualification, and since Soraya represents TVE... must be disqualified.
They say technical problems... but we all know TVE lie more than breath... so, it's just an excuse... Why could they say "We were airing tennis. We like tennis more than eurovision, so we decided to air tennis and not eurovision. That simple".
TVE must be disqualified, and if not... lose the big4 status and privileges for 2010. Maybe this could be a lesson to learn to respect the semifinals.
I'm from spain and think Soraya hasn't to be disqualified, because all this situation is no her fault. She is one artist ho lives of music, her dream is participe in eurovision and she don't make anithink bad last nigth.... I'm sure all this afect to she... but I have to say that she is my winner, Soraya the best wishes for you.
Economic sancion yes, but no discualify this can't afect to Soraya she is and artist!!
@ Jose- why Seden- like the idea though- however TVE pay alot of money to get into Eurovision I don't think the EBU can afford to annoy them!
TVE did already know that they wouldn't broadcast it LIVE because the commentator who suposedly was giving "live" comments to the contest didn't even offer the spanish viewers the chance of voting. In the voting time he said nothing about voting!!!!!!!!!!!!! So he already knew that the show wasn't to be broadcasted live.
Do you really think Soraya must dq?After all the hard work she's been doing and her effort? NO WAY. Tve must be punished,not Soraya...
LAST YEAR TVE don't broadcast 2nd semi-final cause Spain vote in first...lol
EBU HAD BETTER DESQUALIFY SPAIN FOR 2010
LAST YEAR TVE DIDN'T BROADCAST THE 2ND SEMIFINAL AND THIS YEAR THEY'VE DONE THIS
I'M SPANISH AND I THINK TVE SHOULD BE PUNISHED BECAUSE OF THIS
I am not angry. I am more than that. Please Soraya, resign. It will be the best slap to TVE.
Disqualify Spain.
On Tuesday they didn't show the first semi final live because on one of their channels they were showing the Debate sobre la Nación, an important political debate. On the other they were showing Los Mejores Años, a show about the history of Eurovision!
Now, surely anybody who wants to sit through three hours of a programme about Eurovison history would prefer to watch the live semi final of the 2009 event, but that goes to show how pathetically incompetent TVE is.
And then they show the second semi final an hour in delay, with some pathetic excuse about technical problems, while they show a tennis match that nobody is in the slightest bit interested in, but happpens to be the Madrid Open. If it had been a 3rd division football match they would not have had the same problem that's for sure.
But if you were to live in Spain, you would be used to this. They make up television schedules as they go along, and no programme EVER starts at the time it is actually supposed to. Even football matches, the only thing this country takes seriously, don't know when they will kick off until a week before.
What they have done tonight is typical of the sheer incompetence of TVE, and they deserve to lose their place in the Eurovision final tomorrow. Soraya never stood a chance anyway. Let it be a wake up call to TVE to get their act sorted out, and stop thinking they can get away with lies - and all of this comes on the back of the fracas of the national anthem in the Copa del Rey final yesterday. Basta de la chapuza de mierda que es la televisión estatal de este país.
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