The CCMA obtains a significant increase in public subsidies

The Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation (CCMA) closed the 2024 financial year with a heavy reliance on public funding, increased personnel expenses, and lower advertising revenue than initially targeted. This is evident from the consolidated annual report approved by the Governing Council, which also highlights the entity's delicate fiscal situation, with more than €108 million in open contingencies with the Tax Agency.

In 2024, the CCMA significantly increased the public funds it received. The initial budget provided for a transfer of €265.3 million from the Generalitat (Catalan Government), but during the year the budget was increased by an additional €71 million, to €336.3 million, following the signing of the new program contract with the Government for the period 2024-2027.

Ultimately, however, the total liquidation also exceeded the revised budget, reaching 359.7 million euros, 35% more (94 million euros) than the initial forecast. This additional contribution comes from several ministries, primarily the Presidency (87 million euros), but also Culture (6 million euros), Education (1 million euros), and Business (0.55 million euros).

Personnel expenses also far exceeded expectations. The initial budget was €193.7 million, which was increased to €205.7 million following a budget amendment. The final settlement, however, was even higher: €207.8 million, a deviation of more than €14 million from the initial estimates.

The Generalitat has ended up contributing 359.7 million euros compared to the 265.3 million initially planned.

Adding to this is a compromised fiscal situation. According to the report, the CCMA has three open cases with the Tax Agency that could entail the payment of up to €108.5 million, related to VAT audits and investigations. The first case, already confirmed on March 24, 2025, by the Central Economic and Administrative Court (TEAC), refers to the 2015-2017 period and represents a debt of €58.1 million. The second, covering the 2017-2020 period, amounts to €26.5 million and is pending resolution by the National Court, after the TEAC dismissed the CCMA's appeal in June 2024. The third, relating to the 2021-2023 financial years, totals €23.8 million and is currently before the same TEAC, which has not yet issued a ruling.

None of these amounts have been provisioned in the accounts, nor is there any funding forecast to cover them, unless the Generalitat de Catalunya makes another extraordinary contribution to cover these contingencies.

In this context, and despite the increase in public subsidies, the CCMA has had to resort to a credit policy signed with the Generalitat for a maximum of 24.2 million euros, of which 13.8 million had already been used by the end of the year.