Hora punta

Hora punta (English: Rush Hour) was a Spanish television talk show focused on contemporary issues and presented with a generally humorous tone. First broadcast on October 10, 2016, it aired Monday through Thursday during prime time on channel La 1 of Televisión Española. The show was cancelled in July 2018, amid concerns about sexism in its tone, and the quality of information presented.

Hora punta
Genre	Comedy Talk show
Presented by	Javier Cárdenas
Country of origin	Spain
Original language(s)	Spanish
Production
Producer(s)	RTVE
Running time	20-45 minutes
Release
Original network	La 1
Original release	October 10, 2016 – July 3, 2018

History

Hora punta premiered in October 2016, produced by Joue Consultants, the production company of Javier Cárdenas, who in addition to producing the program is also responsible for presenting it. Cárdenas was previously a well-known radio announcer who also had numerous television projects since the 1990s, when he participated in programs like Crónicas marcianas and Al ataque. In Hora punta, Cárdenas hosted the show and produced the primary interviews, while other segments of the program were presented by his team of collaborators, Alejandra Castelló, Tony Martínez, Alberto Peñarroya and Albert Lesán. Segments include humorous videos, magic tricks, unknown talents, paranormal phenomena, tests of difficulty and bets among the members of the program. In addition, Hora punta gradually incorporated other regular collaborators, such as Àlex Casademunt, Esmeralda Moya or Melani Olivares, who also often take part in interviews with celebrities (actors, journalists, sportsmen, singers, etc.) who visit the program. Hora punta competed with the last part of El Intermedio (laSexta), with First Dates (Cuatro) and with the most seen program of this time slot, El hormiguero of Antena 3.

After the program's first several months, the board of directors of RTVE gave a green light a new batch of episodes of Hora punta. The show, which started in October 2016 with an average share of 11.1%, then slid to around 8-9%, below the average for the network.[1] Despite the low audience figures, the board renewed the program for this time slot,[2] with votes against by councilors Miguel Ángel Sacaluga (PSOE), Teresa Aranguren (IU), while Óscar Pierre (CiU) abstained, while calling for changes to improve the program. The remaining councilors, all with the PP, supported the show, noting that some executives like network director Eladio Jareño, have shown their confidence in the product.

At the end of May 2018, the program was renewed for a new season as a weekly late night show instead of a daily show, while more than tripling budget from 40,000 to 150,000 euros, a renewal that received various criticisms.[3] On 28 August 2018 the management of TVE, after the change in the presidency of RTVE, cancelled of the program,[4][5] reporting that would be replaced by a new Raquel Sánchez-Silva family entertainment program.[6] Cárdenas announced that he was studying the possibility of taking legal actions over the cancellation.[7]

Criticism

Álvaro P. Ruiz of El País dismisses the program as "insufferable", adding that most of the "alleged news" they comment on is "vain, superficial, not interesting".[8]

On several occasions the program has given voice to both practitioners of false therapies, such as morphopsychology,[9] as well as to conspiracy theorists who associate autism with vaccination,[10] or the so-called chemtards - "chemtraileros", in Spanish, who assert that hurricanes are created and manipulated artificially to make them more destructive.[11][12]

The show has also been denounced on several occasions for sexist content in the control commission of RTVE of the Spanish Parliament, where it has been questioned whether it is an appropriate program for the broadcast of a public television.[13][14][15]

References

1. Javier Cárdenas se queda la producción de Hora punta, a 40.000 euros por programa en elmundo.es
2. TVE da luz verde a 'Lolita tiene un plan' y renueva 'MasterChef Celebrity' y 'Hora Punta' in vertele.com
3. "Las mujeres de RTVE estallan por la renovación de Cárdenas: "Nuestros sueldos se congelan..."". El Huffington Post (in Spanish). 29 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
4. TVE cancela 'Hora Punta', el programa de Javier Cárdenas en formulaTV.com
5. "Javier Cárdenas también cancelado en TVE". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
6. "TVE escoge a Raquel Sánchez Silva como sustituta de Javier Cárdenas" (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 September 2018.
7. "Javier Cárdenas estudia acciones legales contra TVE tras cancelar Hora punta". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 September 2018.
8. Telebasura punta en elpais.com
9. "Javier Cárdenas, criticado de nuevo por promocionar pseudociencias en la televisión pública". 22 June 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
10. "Los médicos acusan de "sensacionalismo alarmista" a Javier Cárdenas por su comentario sobre las vacunas". El Mundo. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
11. "Cárdenas vuelve a ser foco de las críticas por dar voz a teorías conspirativas sobre los huracanes". La Voz de Galicia. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
12. "Cárdenas, de nuevo en el punto de mira de las redes sociales". ABC. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
13. "Nueva polémica de Cárdenas: mujeres en body por arte de magia en la televisión pública". vertele (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2018.
14. Landín, Eva (25 November 2017). "TVE: el espectáculo ¿debe continuar?". elplural.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2018.
15. "El presidente de RTVE niega en el Congreso que los programas de Cárdenas y Herrera sean "telebasura"". vertele (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2018.