Credits
News
© TVE
Numbers still high
Spain: Viewing figures drop by 4 million
Last year, expectation arose in Spain with Rodolfo Chikilicuatre being the country's representative. The viewing figures back then were overwhelmingly high: 9.3 million and a market share of 59.3%.
This year, the figures, although still high for a Saturday evening, were clearly lower than last year: 5.1 million people tuned in to TVE1 to follow the contest, which means 35.9% of the TV cake.
Below you can see the viewing figures registered by the Eurovision Song Contest in Spain since 2001:
- 2009. Soraya Arnelas - La noche es para mí (24th). 5,122,000 - 35.9%
- 2008. Rodolfo Chikilicuatre - Baila el chiki chiki (16th). 9,336,000 - 59.3%
- 2007. D'Nash - I love you mi vida (20th). 3,373,000 - 28%
- 2006. Las Ketchup - Bloody Mary (21st). 4,892,000 - 38.9%
- 2005. Son de Sol - Brujería (21st). 4,712,000 - 35.5%
- 2004. Ramón - Para llenarme de ti (10th). 6,826,000 - 50.1%
- 2003. Beth - Dime (8th). 8,790,000 - 58.4%
- 2002. Rosa - Europe's living a celebration (7th). 12,755,000 - 80.4%
- 2001. David Civera - Dile que la quiero (6th). 5,614,000 - 45.7%
Related polls
- Norway: Vote for your favourite song in the final of Melodi Grand Prix
- Azerbaijan: Vote for your favourite act in the final of Milli Seçim Turu
- Hungary: Vote for your favourite act in the final of A Dal
- Iceland: Vote for your favourite song in the final of Songvakeppni Sjonvarpsins
- Malta: Vote for your favourite act in the final of Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2012
- Hungary: Vote for your favourite act in the second semifinal of A Dal
- Norway: Vote for your favourite song in the third semifinal of Melodi Grand Prix
- Sweden: Vote for your favourite act in the first semifinal of Melodifestivalen
- Malta: Vote for your favourite act in the semifinal of Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2012
- Bulgaria: Vote for your favourite act in the Bulgarian national final 2012
- Latvia: Vote for your favourite act in the final of Eirodziesma 2012
- Belarus: Vote for your favourite act in the final of EuroFest 2012
Go directly to the reactions
Recent news about Spain
Spain: Song Selection Show on March 3rd 35
Spain: Pastora tours from Miami to Málaga! 31
Spain: Pastora Soler in duet with Sergio Dalma 19
Spain: Pastora prefers to sing a ballad or pop song 78
Spain: Televised song selection show in February 20
Reactions
When reacting to a news item, please stick to the topic. Inappropriate messages (swearing, racism, hate, etc.), messages in other languages than English and spam (which includes URL advertising) will be deleted and you risk your account being removed. Reacting on newsitems is only possible when logged in as a member. Still don't have member account?
Click here to react Click here to become a member (free!)
Urgent message to all Spanish artists: don't join TVE in ESC masquerade.
You will be digging your own grave.
Soraya, you have made us proud.
Your performance was outstanding.
Let's have a ESC break.
Let's join Italy.
Bye bye ESC
I agree with Scotty E,
Spain should stay in ESC, but not with TVE. For disgrace of all spanish, TVE is the public broadcaster... so, I hope next year TVE won't send any song. It will be better. Maybe with 5 or 10 years of absence, Europe would love us more... as happened to Italy.
Indeed around 5m viewers for a Saturday is fairly good here in Spain, apart from football matches but obviously will never reach the viewing figures again for Rosa (2nd most watched TV programme in Spain of all time after 2002 OT final). As for Soraya, it's not really her fault in the end, she tried her best but going last really backfired for her and that Operacion Triunfo style stage act was just too much! (doesn't Spanish TV ever get that "less is sometmes more?" u can watch such tacky routines on every channel here), besides TVE's whole approach was a complete disaster so they are the biggest culprits..even the pre-contest show was cancelled (may have attracted some more viewers) due to ...yes...tennis match...LOL! and Alaska and the "expert jury" had about 15 minutes airtime after the contest to give their "expert" opinion a quote from which I'll leave the rest of Europe to contemplate: "Well, obviously Norway won thanks to the popularity of "High School Musical""...er..no tengo palabras...words fail me...
Personally i don't want Spain to withdraw, ok so it wasn't the strongest Spanish entry, but our recent songs (from the UK ) were even worse. No one hates anyone in Europe, it's just that there were some very good entries this year. I ,ve not heard of Belgium or Netherlands or Germany thinking of pulling out, and they all had good songs. It's Ireland and Andorra i feel sorry for.
To the Spanish people, just take it on the chin, forget about 2009 and send a good quality song to Oslo next year. Your a proud country and you will bounce back.
I think Soraya sung well as she always does, the problem was the awful song and the tacky and out of tune backing singers. In addition, she cheated when she won the national final, because the backing voices were prerecorded; and when singing live they spoiled the whole thing as they would have done in the final before the audience voted this song massivily.
@ lucio
Why don't u also say about:
Turkey - Azerbaijan, Iceland - Denmark - Sweden - Finland - Norway, Estonia -Finland, Russia - Belarus, Spain - Andora, Portugal - Spain, Serbia - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Croatia, FYROMacedonia - Turkey, Modlova - Romania voting patern?
As far as I´m concerned Spain failed because the song just wasn´t good enough. I knew immediatly they would do badly after I heard the performance.
When put up against the rest of the up-tempo songs in the final, I can totally see why people would find it forgetable, I know I did. Even though it was the last song.
Anyway, I hope Spain will keep trying, and not let this get them down. 
One thing we can be sure now... next year Spain will join Italy.
I m tired to ear since ´70s, Greece < 12 points > Cyprus
Did SPain actually show the final on time?? wow, that's a first
Well maybe their ratings would get higher if they treated it better instead of that mess lately.
I am very sorry for Soraya. She was in my top 5 tonight. But I have to say she did not sing very well in the final. And I also admit that I didnt like the song very much the first time I heard it - and for most voters her presentation on the 16th was their first time.
Europe doesnt hate Spain, and Europe doesnt hate the big 4. France and UK came in top 10!
And remember - lots of the really bad entries are already eleminated in the semis. So even a decent song can fall out of top 10.
And yes, it helps having neighbours. But Norway got 12 p from 16 countries - (3 fellow scandinavian countries). Norway would have won even without a single point from the other scandinavian countries. And last year the "east" voted more for our entry "hold on be strong" than the traditional "western" countries.
So - it is FULLY possible for every country to get a good placing.
@Xelx Axa,
Something strange happened in 2003 aswell.... You know Belgium was very close to winning that year. In Sweden in the morning paper before Saterday, they wrote that Belgium would be the winner....and surprise surprise, who did not give a single point to Belgium....Sweden. But he that's Eurovision. But like I said I onlyt have it from some friends, but if that's true... it would say a lot about the Greek mantality....
The Spanish entry was very disappointing this year, next year better, maybe should not be in the final immediately. So if they do not qualify in the semy's they save themselves a disappointing last place.
I think Soraya at least deserved better position than Rodolfo last year for Spain, but that didn't happen! 
Well for me the Spanish song was a nightmare and so was the choreography. Soraya was a million times better than that song. That said even with the song she deserved higher than Albania. Romania, Moldova all these types of songs
I think its time for TVE to stands aside. I hate their attitude. The semi fiasco, and then their own NF nightmare. Give it to a channel that cares. I dont want Spain to quit, just TVE!
@ Axel Kears,
That's really low from the Greek commentators if true, but we already saw something similar in Spain in 2002, in the middle of the Rosamania we had that year. In the special Eurovision shows there were calls from some people not to vote for Sweden and Germany, the early favourites. In the end we did give some points to those countries anyway, and we gave our 12 to Latvia (the eventual winner) and 10 to Malta (the eventual runner up). It was the last time we gave 12 to the eventual winner, until this year with our 12 to Norway. In 2002 we used the 50/50 system too.
But "La noche es para mi" is popular, that's the most important! 
Maybe Soraya really deserved better position, she worked hard about her performance in final, but with this year voting,I'm not surprised at all!! 
Btw I don't know if it's true, but Greek friends of mine told me on sunday that the tv commentators applied to the GReek nation NOT to vote for Norway as it was Sakis biggest rival... and as always for the Greek, there is only 1 entry good enough to win, their own.... all the rest is sh.... Guys please take a few minutes and read Oikotimes, when they commend on the songs.... everything is bad except Sakis. It's rediculous. I am really happy that Sakis did not gor any higher than a 7th place.
THE CHOICE OF THE JURIES WERE FINLAND AND CROATIE
THESE NEWS CAN BE READ : www.bonsoirparis.com
@WG,
"....every country west from Poland is still strugling : Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands ,...." I'm sorry my friend but all of those countries you name (except Andorra) were medicre to very bad..... 2009 is for a long time, the best Eurovision.... Very fair, and let's face it it's all about the first place... So what difference does 25th or 15th make..... Nothing at all.... thank God we have the juries or pearls like Iceland, UK and FRance woul probaly not even be in top 10. While Ukraine, Greece, Turkey and Armenia would be top 5...
Prior to the contest, I though Spain would do better, not near the top but around the middle. I'm sorry to say that when I heard it on Saturday, I thought Soraya's voice sounded very flat. If anything, I thought the gimmick would have lost votes, I think people are getting tired of gimmicks and this did come after the mega gimmicky performances from Greece and Ukraine.
80% for rosa? wow i forgot how big esc used to be in big countries.. now it's good enough if they make it to 30%
maybe not the best of songs ... but quite ok .... I was also very surprised by the low scoring. nevertheless spain (TVE) had one of the best selection-shows and the most amount of good songs this year ... sorry to hear that the terrible song of chikilicuatre had so many more viewers.
I can believe the song was not the best, but for the 24th... I don't think so
Anyway, I'm a big Soraya fan for 4 years now, and LNEPM has NOTHING to do with the typo of music she does. That's the truth. If only she had gone to ESC with some dance song... Because I know, and most of you would agree that the problem of Spain was the SONG and not the singer.
For those interested, SORAYA has just announced in her Facebook that CAMINARÉ, FT. KATE RYAN is officialy her NEW SINGLE!!!!! They will be performing the song this Wednesday at Operación Triunfo in Tele 5.
Hope they film the video soon and release the single overseas.
The list of 92 reactions is divided into 4 pages. Choose a page:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
React yourself
This news article is older than one week. Reacting to articles is only possible in the first week after publication.
