Today, Monday, September 7, marks the return of the school year, and also the beginning of a new television season. David Broncano will start his third year at La1, this time from the Albéniz Theater, while Pablo Motos will once again open the doors of “El Hormiguero”. Mediaset, for its part, trusts in figures such as Josep Pedrerol or Carlos Sobera to try to recover the positioning lost in recent years.

Telecinco, Cuatro, Energy and the group’s other networks face a new year with the intention of improving the poor results they have obtained in recent times. Since Telecinco lost audience leadership at the end of 2021, Mediaset’s flagship network has been falling in audience share until reaching historical minimum figures.

According to Barlovento’s annual television audience report, it closed the 2025-2026 season with 8.9% of the share, losing -0.8% compared to the previous season, and being surpassed by all regional television stations. It would be the worst data recorded by the chain since its launch. Last July, it was even surpassed in audience by Cuatro, and recently had its worst August, with an average share of 7.8%.

The data is, in part, the result of a strategic reorientation of the group towards a more familiar and friendly approach to seeking new audiences. One of the main materializations of this change was the end of “Sálvame” in the summer of 2023 after 14 years on the air. Telecinco had built an entire television model around the transgressive show of the heart and the tabloids and since then it has found difficulties in finding its own identity and programming attractive enough to gain the loyalty of the audience.

However, it aims to reverse the trend with new and notable additions, both in terms of personalities and new formats; and reinforcing their trust in faces and titles, such as Ana Rosa Quintana or “The Island of Temptations”, which have managed to maintain attention and success.

“Roll the letter” on Telecinco

Telecinco’s main bet for this season is “Rueda la Letra”, which premieres today at 7 p.m. with Carlos Sobera at the helm. The contest seeks to stand up to Antena 3 in the afternoons and compete directly with “Pasapalabra”, and relies to do so on the audience’s interest in the popular “El Rosco” test, which until the end of May was part of the Atresmedia universe.

The network has developed a new format together with Bulldog TV around “El Rosco”, and it seems that it will maintain the dynamic to which the viewer is accustomed. The “Rueda la Letra” competition starts with a selection test that will determine who becomes a contestant on the program. From there, rounds of various games based on words, syllables, music or famous phrases will award points until reaching the final test, which on this occasion is called “The Wheel.” The two contestants will individually face the 25 words of the test with the time achieved by their respective teams in the previous rounds.

“Rueda la letra” hopes to make a place for itself in the entertainment habits of the television audience with the help of two of the most prominent contestants of “Pasapalabra”: Lilit Manukyan and Fran González. Both have been winners of the jackpot at different stages: she in 2014, when she won 318,000 euros, he in 2022, when he won more than 1.5 million euros.
In addition, Samantha Vallejo-Nájera, Miguel Ángel Muñoz and Iván Sánchez and Laura Sánchez will be the first celebrities to take part in the contest.

The new space is born from Mediaset’s ownership of the rights to “El Rosco”, something that was announced shortly after the Supreme Court ruling that established that Antena 3 could not continue offering the proof by confirming that the rights belonged to the Dutch company MC&F, as it was based on the original “21×100” format.

Telecinco’s afternoons will also include the magazine show “Autumn moves”; presented by Ion Aramendi; and “Jorge’s Diary”, which begins a new season with Jorge Javier Vázquez at the controls. And after “Roll the letter”, the final stretch of the afternoon will be in the hands of Juanra Bonet and “Allá tú!”.

In addition, Telecinco seeks to conquer prime time by resorting to its star format, the reality show. Thus, it has in its chamber the eleventh edition of “The Island of Temptations”, which will once again be presented by Sandra Barneda; as well as the third of ‘Survivors All Stars’, which brings back some of the most notable contestants who have previously been on the program.

Josep Pedrerol at Energy and Cuatro

One of the star signings of the Mediaset ecosystem for this year is the sports journalist Josep Pedrerol and his format “El Chiringuito”, which also makes the leap from Atresmedia. After ending its broadcast on Mega in July, the program has joined the Energy grid, with its usual vision of sports news and team of collaborators. The program is broadcast from Monday to Thursday at 11:45 p.m. and on Sundays on Cuatro (00:00 a.m.). In addition, there is a second broadcast window in the mornings of Cuatro, from Monday to Friday at 08:15 a.m.

His arrival at Mediaset seems to have borne fruit. The show premiered on Energy with a 5.1% audience share and an average of 175,000 viewers, data that improved slightly on its second night. Its effect was also noted in the mornings of Cuatro, where the revival registered a 4% share and 65,000 viewers, figures notably higher than the content that until now occupied that slot, the series “Alerta Cobra.”

The new season of Boing

Boing, the leading network for audiences between 4 and 12 years old, also starts the year with new features. Among them, the new chapters of the animated series “Doraemon”, “Beyblade or the premiere of the series “The Thunderman: The Departed.” In addition, it will celebrate a new edition of the special “Batman Day”; with content starring the superhero.

On the other hand, it will also update its application with new entertainment proposals, mainly games, such as “Bugs Bunny: Get to work!: Turbo Tennis” or “Common Stories: Sidereal Escape.” It will also hold contests to raffle tickets to the premiere of animated films or events.