I'm not sure if CNN+ is the same than CNN Español, maybe CNN Español is southamerican.
Curious, In Canada was denied TVEI but was aproved Canal Sur, is the tv channel of Andalucia.

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/NEWS/RELEASES/2004/r040715.htm

Well, reading this discussion (and you said there wouldn't be so much, MM!) I see that several points have been raised...
I understand that for MM, who is in love with Spain and Madrid, watching TVEi must be a blissful experience.
But I have to agree: Spanish TV sucks. An awful lot.
It's all about 'rosa' information, what the (suposed) stars do, where they eat, what they buy and who they sleep with (of course).
Spaniards watch 3 hours of TV a day. You say that it's not too much, but i think it's too much for this kind of garbage.
I don't have TVEi, but I hope that they filter the garbage and show a decent part of the shows to foreign lands.
Is it so, MM? you know how the REAL TV is in Spain. Is TVEi any better?

Yes. In many ways I'm simply thrilled to have access to it. "A broken mirror" is better than no mirror at all." (oh-brother! I just made that up. ) I've watched a fair amount of Spanish TV while in Spain, mainly in the evenings, but TVEi doesn't have any Operación Triumfo or Big Brother coverage whatsoever (thank god!). I suppose, maybe, because those shows are on different channels/networks. Isn't TVE the state-run (goverment operated) TV station in Spain?

I don't care much for the sports or even the celebrity coverage (too much of both, in my opinion - you get tired of seeing chic-sunglasses-wearing so-called celebritites walking through Madrid Barajas Airport). What I DO love are the nicely-produced regional, informational segments, showing sweeping landscapes and tiny villages and more-or-less in-depth explanation of the different regions in Spain. I also like the Spain News coverage. This is where I saw video of the blazing fire across from the Prado Museum in Huertas a few hours after it happened.

And no commercials except for the occasional "the program is sponsored by....."-type advertisements.

I also wish they had more movies and that the posted schedule held true-to-form. I was disappointed to tune-in at the posted MIAMI TIME (my time zone) to watch the movie Kilometer 0 only to find a show on cooking or something.

Saludos, MadridMan

I agree with you, MM. After all, it's a matter of choice, and if you choose the shows you watch, you can enjoy the experience a lot.
I see that TVEi is much cleaner than the 'real' TVE. News and documentaries are the best parts of TVE, the news are just OK and the documentaries are great (may be not like BBC or Natnl. Geographic, but close).
You say that you watch landscapes, news and sports... mmmmmm, it sounds like most of the TVEi contents are taken from 'La 2', TVE's second chanel which is a minoritary but awesome one.

What....no Pasa Palabra or game or gossip shows? How can that be Spanish?

Trust me! They have PUH-lenty of gossip shows and at least one game show ("Saber y Ganar") so yes, those "bases" are well covered on TVEi. There are also cooking shows, (at least) one children's show about Spanish language (perfect for me!! ), one about home-decoration, one about owning pets, and so on.

Saludos, MadridMan

Right now I'm watching the game show Grand Prix. Here, you have the blue team and the yellow team and they have strange, physical competitions. I just witnessed an on-studio bullring with two soccer teams (one blue and one yellow) who were trying to kick an oversized ball into the other teams' goal while wearing oversized shoes. And all the while, two young, small-sized, horn-covered bulls ran about the ring knocking down the contestants as they attempted to 'play' the soccer-like game.

I tuned in at 8:30pm hoping to find the ADVERTISED 8:30 pm 2000 movie (advertised both on the TVEi network AND on my live, on-screen index), "Me Da Igual", but alas it's not on. Oh, brother. Another case of poor coordination between the network and the cable company carrying the feed. Ugh.

Saludos, MadridMan

I'm NOW watching Cine del Barrio where Carmen Sevilla et. al. introduce old movies.

Today's movie is the 1967 movie "40 Grados a la Sombra" on TVEi. According to IMDB.com HERE , it was an Argentinian movie but filmed totally in Spain. The dubbed voices (as they so often were then) are in castillian, however.

Of course, I've never heard of it but it's REALLY cool to watch and see those old cars in Madrid. It was filmed in the following places:

Benidorm, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Navacerrada, Madrid, Spain
Villalba, Madrid, Spain

Sure, it's a silly movie about a middle-aged man whose wife and kids goe on vacation so he can stay home in Madrid and surroundings to be a playboy.. But what a special glimpse (for me) into the 1960s Spain. I undestand it's like the Hollywood movies but watching this movies it's hard to imagine that at that time Spain was under a dictatorship.

But what treat. Whether or not TVEi sucks, I like it. How coooool!!!

Saludos, MadridMan
(drinking Portuguese white wine)

While working on the message board maintenance I was watching another wonderful GALICIA-focused spotlight of the region. This time they showed Sanxenxo, Pontevedra, El Grove. Before that program they were showing several of the valleys of Cantabria. Coooool! I can't get enough of my TVEi!

Saludos, MadridMan

MM, you make me want to cry! By the way, did you perchance tape this program?