What do viewers on Tenerife need to do now?

Anyone watching TV by aerial on Tenerife should run a channel scan, as of Thursday 5 November. Reports on the TDT switchover say this applies from 08:00, so that all channels keep coming through.

The route usually runs through Settings, Channel setup and Automatic search. Menu names differ from one TV maker to another.

Customers of Movistar Plus+, Orange TV or Vodafone TV need to do nothing. These platforms manage their own signal.

It is not confirmed whether La Séptima can be received in the Canary Islands in the same way as on the mainland. No Canary Islands channel number and no note on a special arrangement for the islands have been published.

What is La Séptima and who is behind it?

La Séptima is a nationwide channel based in San Sebastián de los Reyes, near Madrid. Its schedule is meant to be fully live and home-made, with news, political debates and discussion panels.

The government granted the licence on 26 May 2026 to the company SIETE (Servicios Integrados de Entretenimiento Televisivo SL). The State Secretariat for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence published the decision.

Andrés Varela Entrecanales runs the company, which is linked to shareholders of the media group Prisa. The channel’s director is Javier Ruiz, previously a presenter at the state broadcaster RTVE.

José Miguel Contreras, who also co-founded laSexta, is named as a co-founder. The new channel wants to compete with Cuatro and laSexta for a younger, urban audience.

Viewers can watch for free. There is no sign-up.

What went wrong on launch day?

The picture on La Séptima failed twice on launch day. According to media reports, it vanished at 14:14 in the middle of the programme «El Pulso» and returned at 14:18 with adverts and channel promos.

A second blackout of 24 seconds followed at 14:21. Those reports say the channel offered no apology.

The channel took it with humour on X, writing in essence: “So far we have only gone to black twice.” Earlier, a bald member of staff had wandered into the camera shot by mistake.

The team reacted quickly with the line “We have made our first bald man live”. The joke spread online within seconds.

The logo caused trouble too. The red seven in the top right corner got lost in graphics dominated by red and turned white there.

Who appeared and where does the dispute lie?

Presenter Sarah Santaolalla welcomed the politician Gabriel Rufián to her afternoon show on launch day. Striking teachers joined them; days earlier they had been led out of the Telemadrid studio live on air while Christian Gálvez presented.

Critics call the channel “Sánchez’s television” and point to closeness to the government. This claim comes from media critical of the government and is not proven.

The logo also drew criticism, with some saying its colour is close to that of the governing PSOE party. The company colour is coral red, according to the channel, and Miguel Ángel Pérez designed the logo.

The right-wing party Vox lodged an appeal against the licence award on 27 July 2026 with the Audiencia Nacional (National Court). It accuses the government of breaching the principle of the award procedure; there is no ruling, and the launch date stayed unchanged.

What is still open and what comes next?

Several questions about reception were still open by Thursday. Reports contradict each other on whether La Séptima itself requires a new scan, so the advice is to run one in any case.

Picture quality is also unclear, as several reports say HD, not UHD.

The channel wants to finish its newsroom and weather system by the general election on 29 November. According to its plans, it expects full capacity only in around six months.

Ratings for the first day are not available. A surprise stunt announced for the launch came to nothing, according to the reports.