Javier Ruiz and Contreras: the tandem with which La Séptima will revolutionize television starting November 5

Spanish television is about to add a new player and La Séptima does not seem willing to arrive on tiptoes. The channel, promoted by José Miguel Contreras, is preparing its landing on DTT for next November 5 with an ambitious bet: to compete for its own space against consolidated channels such as Cuatro and laSexta and to do so with programming marked by current affairs, live broadcasts, and big names. The project contemplates an investment of between 20 and 25 million euros during its first years.

But if there is one name that has further raised expectations around La Séptima, it is Javier Ruiz. The journalist left RTVE after a particularly strong period at the helm of Mañaneros 360 to join the new channel as editorial director, in addition to taking on a leading role in front of the cameras. He does not arrive, therefore, only as a presenter: he will also have a decisive role in the construction of the project and in the informative identity of the new channel.

His signing makes sense given the professional moment he comes from. Ruiz has managed to turn Mañaneros 360 into one of the great recent successes of La 1's mornings, with a format that reinforced its informative and political weight and even became a leader in its time slot. In its last season, the program reached a 15.9% share, consolidating an evolution that practically doubled its ratings compared to the previous period. Now, all that television muscle is transferred to a project that is still under construction.

And behind that project is José Miguel Contreras, one of the names with the most experience in the Spanish audiovisual industry and a key figure in the birth of initiatives such as laSexta. The producer is once again betting on building a television from scratch and he does so with a clear idea: to create a generalist channel capable of generating conversation and competing for a commercial and urban audience. Contreras himself has explained that La Séptima aspires to occupy a space that is currently not sufficiently covered on Spanish television.

The proposal, furthermore, is born looking beyond the television set. La Séptima has presented its identity with the promise of offering news every day and live, but also with a presence on mobile, computer, and tablet. It is a declaration of intent for a television that aims to combine the power of linear broadcasting with new audiovisual consumption habits.

Therein may lie one of the keys to its arrival. La Séptima does not start from scratch in terms of expectation: even before broadcasting, it has already managed to place its name in the television conversation thanks to its premiere date, the figure of Contreras, and, above all, the signing of Javier Ruiz. The incorporation of the journalist has also caused a significant reorganization in RTVE, with new movements in Mañaneros 360 and other public spaces.

The challenge will now be to convert that expectation into audience. Competing against channels that have been installed on the remote control for decades requires much more than good names: it takes a recognizable schedule, production capacity, and an identity capable of building viewer loyalty. La Séptima seems to have taken on that challenge from the beginning, betting on a significant investment and programming that will have news and live broadcasting as two of its main pillars.

On November 5, the definitive test will arrive. That day a new signal will be turned on in DTT and an adventure will begin that has behind it business experience, economic ambition, and a television face that has just shown that he knows how to grow a time slot. Contreras provides the project and Javier Ruiz leads its editorial line; now it remains to be seen if La Séptima manages to convert all this prior buzz into one of the great television phenomena of the season, which it certainly looks like it will.