Prisa Media president Carlos Núñez resigns from his position in the midst of an internal battle over a television channel for the company

The current CEO of Prisa Media, Carlos Núñez , resigned from his position on Wednesday. The decision came after he positioned himself in favour of the group competing in the tender for a television channel, a move that did not have the support of the chairman of the board of directors , Joseph Oughourlian , who is also the largest shareholder with 29.6% of the company.

Following Núñez's resignation, Grupo Prisa has launched a selection process to fill his position, which was left behind by the resignation of Carlos Núñez. The company's first vice president, Pilar Gil, has assumed his duties on an interim basis . The internal clash has also resulted in the dismissal of José Miguel Contreras, the firm's Content Director, who was the driving force behind the television project.

This Wednesday, it was Oughourlian himself who gave an interview to the newspaper Expansión to reveal "the concern that exists in the board regarding the launch of a new free-to-air television channel, both from a strategic point of view, in the sense of what Prisa is doing now getting involved in a project from the last century, and concern from a financial angle", as well as stressing that "investing in a DTT channel in 2025 does not seem like a project for the future".

This was reflected by the group itself in a statement sent to the National Securities Market Commission ( CNMV ) on Tuesday, in which it explained that the board rejected the proposal presented by Núñez to launch a new TV channel. Less than 24 hours later, the company again turned to the CNMV to communicate the resignation of Núñez and his subsequent departure from the board, adopted in an extraordinary meeting early on Wednesday. A move, which Prisa has accompanied with a "restructuring" of the board, as well as a "simplification of the management model" of the group. In this line, the top management will submit at the next shareholders meeting a reduction in the number of directors from 15 to 11.

Núñez, for his part, leaves behind almost four years at the helm of Prisa Media. A period that the executive sees as "very intense and rewarding years" before considering that "it is time to face new professional challenges." Along the same lines, the board thanks Núñez in its farewell for the "dedication, outstanding contribution and professionalism" that he has shown during his tenure in the position.

On the financial front, Núñez leaves the reins of the media area after achieving a substantial improvement in revenues in 2024 that has led to reaching 57 million euros of Ebitda, 13% more than a year ago. In the operation, the company itself wants to highlight the deployment of the EL PAÍS subscription model, which has exceeded 400,000 subscribers; the development of Artificial Intelligence; the "absolute hegemony" in audiences of Cadena SER and music radio stations; the "leadership" of Prisa Audio in the Spanish-language podcast market; and the "growing competitiveness" of the quality programs of Prisa Vídeo, with more than 1,000 hours of live broadcasts per year and 2,000 hours of streaming.