Month: November 2025

5,300 layoffs in its four subsidiaries

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Although there was already announced his plans Last week, Telefónica waited until today to put on the table an Employment Regulation File that could affect some 5,300 employees of the Telefónica de España workforce and its three subsidiaries (Telefónica España, Móviles y Soluciones), as well as the Movistar+ platform. The announcement was no surprise since the ERE, of which more details are now known, is part of the strategic plan Transform & Grow 2030which seeks to reorganize the company and a reduction of 1,510 million in operating costs A blow to the Telefónica workforce Telefónica has presented its plan to the unions with the greatest representation in its workforce (UGT, CCOO and Sumados-Fetico) to carry out a collective dismissal justified by “organizational, technical and production causes”, which will affect a total of 5,319 jobs distributed among Telefónica de España, Telefónica Móviles, Telefónica Soluciones and Movistar+. In the case of Telefónica de España, the proposed cut affects 3,649 people out of a total of 8,892 employees that currently make up its workforce. This means that 41.04% of the operator’s workers would be affected by the ERE. In its subsidiary Telefónica Móviles, the adjustment would affect 1,124 workers out of a workforce of 3,587 employees (31.34% of employees), while in Telefónica Soluciones 267 people would be dispensed with out of a total of 1,118 employees (23.89%). Similarly, the negotiation table has been established for the ERE of Movistar+, the operator’s pay television platform, which would dispense with 279 employees of the 860 workers that make up its workforce (32.45% of the total). Despite several thousand employees already affected by this ERE, Telefónica has not yet completed the total estimate of layoffs since until tomorrow the impact that the employment regulation file will have on its three remaining divisions will not be known: Telefónica’s parent company, Telefónica Global Solutions, Telefónica Digital Innovation, etc. as I pointed out The Country. Altogether, the ERE is expected to affect between 6,000 and 7,000 employees of the different subsidiaries. Unions opt for voluntary departures The company and the unions have set up specific negotiating tables for each affected company, with a period of approximately one month to close the agreements, which places the signing of the possible agreements around the end of the year or the beginning of the next. The layoff figures that have been put on the table are an estimate and the final figure will be known after negotiation with union representatives. In the previous ERE presented by the company, the initial estimate It was about 5,124 layoffs, of which 3,421 were finally carried out after the negotiation. The company’s intention is that the cost of the ERE can be recorded in the accounts for the year 2025 and that the conditions adjust to the new strategic plansomething that union organizations want to link to an extension of collective agreements and guarantees of job stability until 2030. The unions with the greatest representation in Telefónica have demanded that any departure be articulated voluntarily and that the bulk of the adjustment be based on early retirements and voluntary departures, following the model of the previous ERE of the company. According what was published by The Worldamong the conditions that union representatives are considering is staggering the impact of the different ERE on workers born between 1969 and 1971, who will turn 55 in 2026, thus consolidating their path towards early retirement. This measure continues the policy agreed upon in the previous negotiation, which set its final limit on employees born before 1968. In Xataka | Telefónica proposes the end of its era as a “cash cow”: it considers sacrificing the historic dividend to create a European champion Image | Telephone

Spain has never been a land of skyscrapers. Now someone wants to build one for luxury tourists in Malaga

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Malaga is known for the Alcazaba, Gibralfaro or its Cathedral. If Hesperia and the Qatari fund Al Alfia manage to move forward with their plans, in not too long it will also be for another building, one that will also mark their skyline: the Port Tower. The project is not new (it has years on the table) and has generated considerable controversy in the city, but its promoters have just made it clear that they are not giving up: after receiving green light of the Port, the companies that are trying to move it forward have organized an event to share dates, data and investments. Their objective is to demonstrate that they are still committed to building a 144-meter tower in a country, Spain, that stands out for its little hobby by the skyscrapers. What is the Port Tower? A megaproject which has been in the offices of administrations for almost a decade and (above all) generating debate in Malaga. And the “mega” thing is more than justified in this case. At least if we pay attention to the latest data broken down by their promoters. The idea is to build a skyscraper 144 meters high, 59 meters wide and 19 meters wide at the end of the Levante dock, in the middle of the port, near the maritime station where the cruise ships dock. The tower will act as a huge hotel 382 roomsbut its promoters they insist in which it will arrive accompanied by a much more ambitious and useful infrastructure for the city that will cover, in total, 54,000 square meters. “The hotel will be located in a currently depressed area, where there is nothing, and we are going to recover that environment for the city and the citizens,” slide from Hesperia, a fundamental piece in its promotion together with the Qatari fund Al Alfia. Is more information known? Yes. Both about the hotel itself and the urban development that will accompany it. The icing on the cake will be the skyscraper: 144 meters high whose centerpiece will be accommodation focused on the high-net-worth clientele that comes to Malaga. The objective, in fact, is for it to operate as a five-star Grand Luxury hotel and be managed by an international chain (there are already interested parties). Beyond the hotel, the complex will include a 2,500 m2 auditorium, underground parking, a restaurant, a plaza and a 1.3 km boulevard with viewpoints, a bike path, green areas… The development companies in fact calculate that the complex will cover around 54,000 m2. “It is not a speculative project, it will have a return for the developer, but above all for the city because it creates many public spaces,” investors claim in The Opinion of Malaga. How much will it cost? There is talk of an investment of about 200 million eurosalthough initially the figure was quite inferior. This high amount (along with the special status of the land) explains why the promoters insist on the “transformative” and social dimension of the project and the return it will have for Malaga. The reason? To begin with because the promoters they do not rule out qualify for European funds and have support from the administrations. Before even thinking about financing, the project must nevertheless get its future cleared by the Council of Ministers, for which it is key that its public utility be demonstrated. Why is it news? The initiative is by no means new. A quick search in the newspaper archive arrives to verify that he has been chaining procedures for years, a complex path during which he even changed his star architect: the Valencian José Seguí He moved not long ago to the Londoner David Chipperfielwinner of the Pritzker Prize (the Nobel Prize for architects) in 2023. In recent weeks, however, the tower has been in the news again for two reasons. The first came in October, when the Port Authority gave the green light to the complex and allowed him to move on to the next stop in his processing: the State Ports table. There they must study it in depth before it reaches the Council of Ministers, which must rule on whether the hotel complex fits into the Levante dike. That is, whether or not it authorizes the hotel use of that space. The second reason why the tower is being talked about these days is because its promoters, Hesperia and Al Alfia, have organized an act to emphasize that they are not giving up. In fact, the quote served to explain details of the Chipperfield project and outline the schedule managed by the companies: their objective is to resolve the pending issues “in the medium term” to start the works as early as 2026. According to their estimates, the work will last about three years. Will that be possible? First, the project must overcome certain obstacles. And not all of them have to do with financing. The project needs the green light from the Council of Ministers and Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, since has warned that the Executive will not move until it knows the judicial resolution to the appeals presented by the Defendamos Nuestro Horizonte platform and the Academy of Fine Arts of San Telmo, critical of some aspects of the project. They are not the only ones. ICOMOS, linked to UNESCO, has warned also the landscape impact of the tower. Spain, country of skyscrapers? Although in Spain there are skyscrapers like the Crystal Towerin Madrid, of 249 m, and in Andalusia itself we find the Seville Tower (180.5 m), the truth is that our country does not exactly stand out for its large buildings. Some time ago Skyscrapercenter made a ranking with the nations with the highest number of towers that exceed 150 meters and Spain occupies 32nd place, behind other European countries, such as Germany, France or the United Kingdom. The Malaga tower is a reminder of one of the controversies generated by this type of structures: its impact on the landscape … Read more

we are saying goodbye to the black monolith

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If anyone wants to know what the future of our SmartTVs is, they would do well to look into the Xataka NordVPN Awards 2025. Our big annual technology party named its winner this year in the super high-end television category, the LG OLED Signature AI T4, and with it and its podium companions it became clear where the shots can go in a market that is constantly evolving. The super high range as a crazy testing laboratory. Super high-end TVs are certainly a niche market, but one that has become a fantastic way for manufacturers to experiment without fear of commercial failure. It’s a bit like Formula 1 with respect to street cars, a crazy testing laboratory where cost doesn’t matter, what matters is innovation. Fighting the black rectangle. Both LG and its competitors seek to solve the biggest television design problem of the 21st century: what do we do with the screen when it is off? The award that this manufacturer won is not only for a beautiful or innovative TV, but also validation that the future of the television may be to stop looking like a television. Or at least, pretend that it is. When your TV doesn’t look like a TV. Samsung knows a lot about trying to make your TV not look like a TV. Frame Art Galleries They already surprised us in 2017and shortly after They introduced their Ambient Mode for camouflage even more that black rectangle. This and other manufacturers have turned these devices into ways of representing family photos and artworkbut it is no longer enough to use special frames or image modes: they now want to transform the design of the televisions themselves, and LG has experimented a lot in this regard, very crazy. Rollable? Transparent? Ask for that little mouth. The evolution proposed by LG is much more physical than digital. He demonstrated it with his LG Signature Ra roll-up television that allowed the screen to be physically hidden, although the solution was mechanically complex and very expensive. The present is transparency. The TV becomes a kind of fish tank or glass that integrates with the wallpaper with that shelf in the back of your house. This transparency is a contrast filter that adjusts to our taste and according to the content, and represents one more way to propose the end of that black monolith that is usually our TV. Look mom, a wireless TV. We are used to the back of our televisions contributing to the tangle of cables to which consoles, sound equipment, connectivity and more are added. Manufacturers want to avoid this problem or mitigate it, and have begun to propose external connection boxes. LG’s Zero Connect Box is a good example: it is not streaming that compresses, it is lossless wireless transmission of audio and video with proprietary wireless technology. Samsung does the same in its 8K ranges (like the QN900D with the Slim One Connect). These boxes do not avoid cables, but they allow them to be moved to another area of ​​the living room or room where we have the TV. Again the objective is the same: to make the TV look a little less like a TV with so much cable. LG’s Zero Connect Box allows you to move connections elsewhere and stream lossless content wirelessly. (Almost) wireless TV is possible. The image laboratory. And of course we have innovation in imaging technology and a constant search to have the image and the “perfect light.” Samsung democratized color with QLED and that converged with OLED to create QD-OLED, the best of both worlds. The current leap of Tandem OLED It allows two layers of OLED to be stacked to maintain a very high brightness delivery while consuming less energy. There are other equally interesting alternatives such as RGB MiniLED or the promising MicroLED invisible audio. Given a possible future with transparent TVs, where do you put the speakers? That’s where both LG and Sony are managing to use the screen itself as a speaker (Cinematic Sound OLED, Acoustic Surface). Actuators behind the panel vibrate the glass/plastic to generate sound, and again contribute to that idea of ​​minimalism, also eliminating the physical sound bar or combining it in different and striking ways. Samsung has its Q-Symphony and LG also enhances that facet with WOW Orchestra. Processors with AI. Televisions like the award-winning LG T4 have that last name “AI” in the name for a reason: for the transparent TV to look good, the processor must separate by layers what is “background” from what is “main object” in real time to apply depth effects. Not only that: we are getting closer and closer to that moment in which controlling the TV with the remote may no longer make much sense if AI assistants – like Gemini, which Google is already beginning to “infiltrate” in this segment—allow us to “chat” with our television. Everything is very expensive now, but it won’t always be. All these new technologies are reserved for exclusive models that have exorbitant prices, but it is normal. Not all of those crazy ideas end up reaching the mass market, but those that do precisely allow us to access all those functions in an increasingly accessible way. Innovation ends up becoming democratized, and that will also happen with the television segment. In Xataka | I have thoroughly tested Samsung’s most advanced QD-OLED TV and one thing is clear: it has the best OLED panel out there

The DGT assumes that something has failed in the arrival of the V-16 beacons

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The DGT’s V-16 beacons will replace the emergency triangles in 2026. The DGT confirmed just a few days ago that there will be no extensions or delays of any kind. It is something that was already approved in 2021 and that we should all have in our cars. Or, at least, that was the idea. Because the DGT itself assumes that the communication has not been correct. The V-16 beacons. They will be mandatory starting January 1, 2026. As we have been telling you in Xatakathis device will be in charge of signaling our breakdowns or accidents on the road starting next year. In fact, it will be prohibited to use triangles as it is understood that they pose a risk of being run over when installing them. Despite the criticism, Pere Navarro, director of the DGT, confirmed that there will be no valid extensions. The only future from January 1, 2026 is that we all carry a connected V-16 beacon in our car (because not all of them are valid). Their defense is that it is something that has been approved for almost five years so it should not take us by surprise. However, there are voices within Traffic that sing the mea culpa. “Nor we have done the job well”. The words are from Montserrat Estaca, head of the Telematics Area of ​​the DGT, in an interview with 20Minutes. Estaca thus responded to a question that focused on how the imposition of the connected V-16 beacon has caught many drivers by surprise: “Well, look, we have been around since 2021-2022, but it is true that there are many, many citizens who are unaware that the V16 beacon is going to be mandatory from 01/01/2026. You ask people, your acquaintances, and it is true that there are many people who do not, therefore, “We should sing a little mea culpa that we have not done the job well or we have not sufficiently informed citizens of this new measure” By the media. Until now, the only way in which the DGT has contacted drivers has been through the media. And it is only with the publication of the news or the interviews that those responsible have been giving that those affected have been able to find out about the obligation to carry a connected V-16 beacon from the first day of 2026. And the DGT has not issued any direct communication to drivers. It is one of the criticisms that has taken the most force. Traffic has not sent a letter explaining the new obligation as it did, for example, when environmental labeling was activated. The head of the Telematics Area of ​​the DGT also recognizes 20Minutes who has no knowledge that this is going to occur. “Three or four euros”. It is another point where Estaca has placed emphasis. The V-16 connected light, which is sold mostly between 40 and 50 eurosthey are not expensive. For the DGT, it must be taken into account that it is a device that has guaranteed connectivity for at least 12 years. If the money from a first payment is amortized over more than a decade, the annual expense is very low, according to the DGT. “If it is divided by 12 years (the purchase expense), it comes out to 3-4 euros per year and if you look at the expense of maintaining a car (insurance, gasoline, ITV…) it is not that much. Since, the DGT guarantees the connectivity of the V16 for 12 years, in addition, if you change vehicles, you can take the beacon from one vehicle to another as you could do with the triangles” 80 euros if you don’t want. Estaca has also not confirmed whether there will be a grace period before Traffic officers begin to fine for the absence of this V-16 beacon connected to our cars. And anyone who lacks it faces a fine of 80 euros, the same one that is currently imposed if a driver does not have the triangles. Furthermore, it must be remembered that the use of triangles will be prohibited and that a driver who installs them may be fined for it. The DGT insists that the risk of being run over is very high and has already changed the traffic protocols. what should we do in case we have to report a fault. Sometimes, It is now mandatory to stay inside the car to wait for the requested help. “When they work at their worst”. Estaca also accepts that daylight is not something that suits the V-16 beacons that will be mandatory next year. “In natural light, at least it reaches the same as a triangle, that is, 50 meters. It’s like the turn signals, you see them from a certain distance, therefore, that is the minimum that the V16 has, the turn signal light and from there on up. (…) Yes, the V16, in more critical conditions, are more visible, when they work the worst they are in daylight” This, precisely, was one of the criticisms that experts in road safety have been carrying out on these connected V-16 lights. The visibility generated with such a light when weather conditions are good is nothing short of questionable. Also in changes in grade or sharp curves, but from Traffic they cling to the connectivity of the beacon and the idea that this product expands the visibility of a breakdown to the digital spectrum through the car’s navigator. Photo | Shen Liu and DGT In Xataka | The “made in China” business of the DGT’s V-16 beacons: homologating the same product 24 times and selling it under different brands

this is what is known

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If you’ve opened a social network in the last 72 hours, chances are the rumor that Donald Trump is about to confirm the existence of biological life outside of Earth has blown up in your face. The truth behind this news could be very cinematic, in the most earthly sense possible. The seed of the rumor. This news cycle is not born from a leak from the Pentagon, nor from a casual chat at Mar-a-Lago. The exact origin is an interview published by Entertainment Weekly on November 21, 2025. The protagonist of the article is Dan Farah, director of the documentary ‘The Age of Disclosure’, which brings together dozens of former senior US military, intelligence and political officials stating that there is “non-human intelligence”, and that the government has been hiding it for about eight decades. Coincidentally, it was released in theaters and Prime Video this very weekend. What exactly did he say? “I think it’s only a matter of time before the release of this film is followed by a sitting president taking the lectern to tell the world, ‘We are not alone in the universe.’” Farah said Trump had been briefed on the “basic facts” and that, according to his sources, the documentary was “100% on his radar.” However, he only expressed one belief that his film would catalyze an announcement, not a confirmation that the White House had a press conference scheduled. The broken phone. The nuance was lost in the subsequent media coverage. YouTube channels and TikTok and Instagram accounts changed the narrative from “Trump is aware of the documentary” to “Trump knows the truth,” “Trump will break the silence,” and “Trump will make the files public.” The documentary. The film that gave rise to all this, ‘The Age of Disclosure’ interviews 34 US government and intelligence officials. The most prominent names are Senator Marco Rubio, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Together they allege a cover-up of 80 years of history of non-human intelligence, uncovering a secret reverse engineering race to understand alleged alien ships. Just the trailer It had more than 20 million viewswhich demonstrates the public’s hunger for this issue and explains the media coverage of Farah’s statements. Trump doesn’t believe in aliens. There are reasons for skepticism, beyond the promotion of the documentary. In one interview with Logan PaulDonald Trump defined himself as a “non-believer” in ufology. However, he admitted to speaking to “serious” pilots who have seen strange things (“round, flying four times faster than our fighters”) and promised “radical transparency” and declassifying related documents. What would be for another debate: there is a big difference between investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) and announcing extraterrestrial life. Image | rawpixel In Xataka | Perseverance has possible proof of extraterrestrial life stored in a tube. We need to find a way to go for it.

A technical adjustment was enough to sink eDreams by 40% in one day

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Last week, eDreams shares plummeted more than 40% on the stock market in a single day. The cause was not a tourism crisis or another pandemic, but a technical change: Ryanair has raised a digital wall that prevents eDreams robots from accessing its tickets, sinking the airline’s reservations by 80% since September. Why is it important. It is the most violent chapter in the battle for control of the client, a war that comes from far away. Ryanair wants to eliminate intermediaries that charge extra commissions (“pirate OTAs”, according to them). Thus forcing users to buy on its official website. eDreams is the last great fortress that refuses to give up. The “cat and mouse game”. Dana Dunne, CEO of eDreams, has used this metaphor to describe your historical relationship with the airline: The mouse (eDreams): use a technique called screen scraping (robots that read the Ryanair website) to read the prices and sell them on their platform. The cat (Ryanair)– Implement technological blocks to prevent this. The current result: the cat has set a new trap and the mouse cannot escape. The lockdowns have intensified so much that eDreams has had to cut its profit forecasts by 2026. The map. Ryanair has managed to divide its enemies. While eDreams resists, other giants have already capitulated and signed “peace”: The allies (verified): Booking, Kiwi, Expedia and El Corte Inglés have signed agreements. They agree not to inflate ticket prices and share actual customer data with Ryanair. In exchange, they have direct access to the system, without blockages. The rebel: eDreams refuses to sign. They argue that they stand for “shareholder value” and customer experience. Although They won a court battle for unfair competition in Barcelona This summer, they are now losing the trade war. The offline front. Neighborhood agencies. Because the pressure is not just digital. Ryanair has eliminated paper boarding passesforcing everyone to use your app. The problem is that traditional agencies (represented by AVIBA) feared they would be left out of the game if they could not give the printed ticket to their clients (many of them older). There is a truce: Ryanair allows agents to continue managing boarding, but forces them to do it digitally (capturing QRs and sending them to the customer’s mobile phone). It’s more manual work, but it allows them to survive. What the sides say: Ryanair: “eDreams should recognize that it is now the only major OTA that does not follow price transparency standards (…) and continues to overcharge customers.” eDreams: “They try to prevent us from accessing the content and we overcome the obstacles they put in front of us. (…) There is a possibility that we will be able to overcome those obstacles, as we have done before.” In summary. Ryanair is winning by suffocation. By improving your technology anti-scraping and signing individual agreements with the competition (Booking, Expedia and company), has left eDreams isolated and vulnerable, demonstrating that in the low-costwhoever has the planes has the power. In Xataka | Now we know why Ryanair charges its passengers for everything: it is the key to having a profit of 2,540 million euros Featured image | Nejc SokličMockuuups Studio, eDreams

This is Flexispot’s Black Friday for the fastest. There are also discounts for your entire store

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This Black Friday We are seeing many powerful offers to renew a mobile phone, console or television, among other things. Now, it is also an ideal time to find deals on lift-up chairs or desks, possibly being Flexispot who has the most powerful promotion: if we are fast, we can take a 100% refund of our orderalthough it is a promo that has much more. We tell you everything about her. Refunds for the fastest and discounts for the entire website As we say, we have a very good opportunity to take home a lift-up desk or a chair completely free (among other things). Flexispot returns once again with one of its best promos, thanks to which we can get a 100% refund on our order (maximum order of 1,000 euros). Of course: not everyone can access it, since it is available only for the fastest. This promo will only be active for 4 days, although it will not be identical in all of them. We will have the first opportunity on Friday, November 28 at 00:00, at which time The first 40 orders will benefit from a 100% refund. On the 29th and 30th, starting at 9 in the morning, there will only be the first 5 orders. On the last day, December 1st starting at 9 in the morning, there will be an opportunity for the first 20 orders. What if all these days get ahead of us? Just because we can’t access this promo doesn’t mean we can’t save at Flexispot. In fact, we have a 10% discount code available that we can use throughout the website. If we use the same one, the code FSBF10we can receive a good discount no matter what we buy. 300 euros discount on the new Flexispot elevating desk In addition to all of the above, it should be noted that, if we are looking for a new elevating desk, we cannot lose sight of the new member of the Flexispot family. We are referring to the E7 Flow, a comfortable desk, with a good system for collecting cables and that fits perfectly in any type of room. Its starting price is 799.99 euros, but by registering with our email we will obtain a discount of 300 eurosso you are left alone 499.99 euros. E7 Flow Lifting Desk The price could vary. We earn commission from these links What does the E7 Flow offer? It is one of the best options in the entire Flexispot catalog. It’s your strongest desk eversince it is capable of supporting up to 180 kg, a figure more than enough even if we want to mount several monitors. In addition, it has improved dual motors, offering a lifting speed of 50 millimeters per second. Another interesting point about it is that its legs are C-shaped, an arrangement that increases its stability. This way, even if our setup is bulky, we won’t suffer those annoying shakes that can appear on this type of desk. All without forgetting that its panel has a beveled edge, ideal for not hurting our wrists. To all of the above we must add its cable management system, which allows you to hide them to have a clean and safer setup (something vital if, for example, we have pets at home). In fact, includes an integrated power strip with 6 portswhich makes this management much easier. For all the above, at the price of 499.99 eurosan excellent option to renew our setup with a large elevating desk. We can’t lose sight of the E7 and E7 Pro desktops As an alternative to the previous one, we have the E7 2026 and E7 Pro 2026 desktops. These improve the performance of the previous models, but they do so at exactly the same cost as the previous ones. As the main novelty, both models come with an improved maximum load, as well as a higher ascent/descent speed. We have the E7 version available for 299 euros only for a few days (its original price is 429.99 euros). The price could vary. We earn commission from these links If we look a little more, we have its Pro version. With it we will take a leap in quality, since it has a greater maximum load and speed, although it is not the only difference. It also has a “C” shaped leg designwhich gives us more space between our legs. This has a launch price of 499.99 euros, but we can get it for 319.99 euros between November 28 and December 1 with the discount code FSBFE7P. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Flexispot In Xataka | Best lift-up desks. Which one to buy and six recommended models from 195 euros In Xataka | This is the office chair I would buy. Tips and models recommended by ergonomics experts for teleworking and studying

the format is absolutely doomed

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There are twenty editions of one of the most successful shows in television history and still today a touchstone of everything that the subgenre reality has given later. In hits like ‘The island of temptations‘We can detect the DNA of ‘Big Brother’, but the father of the format is not doing well at all. at some very low audiences In its new edition there is a rebellion from the public, who are asking for changes on social networks. #Zeppelinifyouarenominated: The followers of reality They have expressed with that hashtag their frustration with Zeppelin TV, the producer of the program, accusing it of denaturalizing the essence of the program. Through it they have recovered moments that consider memorable of old editions. The most visible complaint came through an open letterwhich summed up the widespread feeling: “What we currently see on screen is no longer Big Brother. It is another program, with its name, but without its essence.” What are they complaining about? Among other protestsare the elimination of iconic moments from the program such as the interview with those expelled or their farewell to the rest of their colleagues from the studio. And the incorporation of mechanics foreign to the original format is rejected (“birdhouses” and “oasis” where contestants are isolated, “applicant” systems that delay entry to the house), all imported from ‘Secret Story’, the reality show that Zeppelin produced in 2021. Low audiences. The audience figures for the twentieth edition have established unprecedented negative marks for the format. In mid-November 2025, the program reached a all-time low of 11.3% of share with just 636,000 viewers. He format decline It is devastating: in 2002 the premiere of the third season registered a 38.7% share, but the premiere of ‘GH19’ in September 2024 barely reached 17.4% with 1 million viewers. But it is the latest edition that is being made historic lows in spectatorseven infecting ‘Temptation Island’. The reality show has been relegated to fifth position in its time slot. All over the world. The Spanish debacle is part of an international collapse of this format created in Holland 25 years ago. In the United Kingdom, the launch of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ in April 2025 had almost a million viewers less than the previous year. The 2024 British edition of anonymous contestants also set its own negative record with the worst inaugural data in history of the program. In the US in 2025, it has suffered a spectacular fall too. The diagnosis is universal: the format has exhausted its capacity to surprise. Mediaset in trouble. The failure of ‘Big Brother 20’ is part of a broader corporate debacle. In August 2025, Telecinco registered an 8% screen share, its worst month in 35 years of history. The advertising hemorrhage is equally alarming: revenue plummeted from 450 million euros in 2019 to 316 million in the first half of 2025, a drop of 9.4% according to Infoadex data. The bleeding has forced the closure of production companies such as Fénix Media, responsible for ‘Socialité’, which has started a complete ERE. All of this has ended up precipitating a fall in five points of share in five years while Antena 3 accumulates 13 consecutive months as leader. In Xataka | ‘The one that is coming’ has a channel dedicated to it almost 24 hours a day. It is the best proof of Montepinar’s hegemony

more and more people buy alone

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The Spanish housing market emits signals that lend themselves to curious reading. In full price escalationwith the residential square meter (m2) fooling around with values Prior to the real estate bubble, more and more people chose to buy a house alone. Without sharing the burden of the mortgage with a partner. There are three indicators that point in that direction. The first is the clear increase in single-person households in Spain, which are on their way to representing 33% of the total. The second, the increasing weight of singles in the real estate market. And third, the ever increasing number of buyers who sign their mortgages alone. All this while increases the single population of the country, which is already around 15 million people. More singles in agencies? Exact. It reflects it clearly the latest study from Fotocasa Research on the Spanish real estate market: if in 2023 singles represented 25% of applicants looking to buy a home, in 2024 the percentage had risen to 31%. Now it is around 32%. Curiously, the trend has been much more hesitant in the rental market. According to FotocasaAfter the pandemic, the proportion of tenants living alone shot up several points, from 15% in 2021 to 18% in 2023. Since then, this increase has slowed and reversed, falling again to 16%. Is there more data? Yes. Recently The Country public the detailed results of the Fotocasa study, in which the trend is seen more clearly. Their graphs reflect that in 2018 only 23% of the “buyers and demanders” of home ownership were single. Today that percentage is around 38%. The percentage is slightly higher than the 32% in the original Fotocasa Research study because it includes both those who have already formalized the purchase of a home and those who are considering doing so. In your analysis, The Country It also speaks interchangeably of the ‘single’ population and people who ‘live alone’. If we focus on married people and de facto or cohabiting couples, the trend is opposite: in 2018 they represented 70% of the demand for home ownership. Today that shadow has been reduced to around 51%. What about mortgages? It is another key indicator that something is changing in the Spanish real estate market. Although it may attract attention in view of the rising cost of housing, more and more people choose to sign their loans on their own, without the help of a partner with whom to share expenses. It reflects it clearly the firm iAhorro, which has confirmed how the percentage of people who take out mortgages alone has increased 7.5 percentage points in a matter of a few years. From representing 37.5% in 2022, they have risen to just over 45%. The percentages are based on the data recorded by iAhorro itself, so they must be handled with caution, but they are still revealing. Do more people live alone? Yes. It’s not exactly a noveltybut still the data is eloquent. The INE calculates that at the beginning of last year there were 5.4 million households in Spain made up of a single person. If current trends do not change, in 2039 there will be more than 7.7 million, which means that the single-person household is the type of household that will register the greatest growth in the next decade and a half, both in absolute and relative values. In fact, by the end of the 2030s it would already represent a third of all households in the country. “We are witnessing a profound transformation of the social model. In a decade, the number of people living alone has doubled,” recognizes María Matosspokesperson for Fotocasa. “This change has a direct reflection on the housing market, since it multiplies the demand for smaller apartments and increases pressure on supply.” The phenomenon coincides with a evident increase of the single population in the country, which has gone from 14 million at the beginning of 2021 to 14.9 at the end of 20236.5% more. During the same period the number of married people has barely fluctuated, going from 20 million to 20.12, 0.5% more. Is it just housing? No. The real estate market is a reflection of society. More people buy homes alone because life approaches have changed over the decades. “It is nothing new that there are more and more people living their lives alone. It has been happening for the last 20 or 30 years, which is why many have now left their fears behind and have embarked on this adventure,” explains to The Country Antonio Cano, professor of Psychology. The increase in purchases among singles also coincides with two other relevant trends: a reduction in price of new mortgages that are already tending to stabilize and the attractiveness of housing for investors in the midst of rising prices, which is motivating even express purchases via Telegram. Who buys? In view of the previous data, the question is obvious: Who buys a home alone right now in Spain? Who chooses to sign a mortgage alone? “We are talking about people with high purchasing power, young people and with a clear preference for quick, simple and 100% online processes,” explains the general director of Trioteca, a mortgage comparator, who recalls that this independence allows them to sign mortgages with much greater agility. The photo is similar to the one provided by iAhorro. According to your recordssingles who are applying for mortgages right now in Spain are on average 38.2 years old, have a permanent contract, have more than seven years of seniority in their companies and have a monthly net salary that slightly exceeds 3,000 euros. They also come to the market with a solid cushion of more than 80,000 euros. The vast majority focuses their attention on second-hand homes with an average price of 234,000 euros. Images | Ansar Naib (Unsplash) and INE In Xataka | For years, motorhomes were a luxury. Now they are something else: the last stronghold against the housing crisis

There are so many English people living in Alicante that the largest British pub chain has decided something: open there

by

The millions of British tourists who land in the province of Alicante each year will now have a piece of their country just before they leave. As if Benidorm, Torrevieja or the entire Costa Blanca had not been enough, next January the first Wetherspoon in all of continental Europe will open at the Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández airport. A “100 Montaditos British style”, but installed in the boarding area and designed, paradoxically, for those who are already queuing to return to the United Kingdom. The very British landing. According to The Guardianthe chain has confirmed that its premiere outside the United Kingdom and Ireland will be in Alicante, where it will open a newly built pub called Castell de Santa Bàrbera (when in Valencian it would be Castell de Santa Bàrbara), in “homage” to the fortress that crowns the city. This is a striking move for the company founded by Tim Martin more than four decades ago and which had never operated on continental European territory. For its part, as The Independent has detailedthe store will open every day from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will be located in the departures area, aimed mainly at British people returning from vacation. The space will be about 93 square meters and will have an outdoor terrace. In addition, the menu will replicate 90% of the typical Wetherspoon pub menu: full English breakfasts, fish and chips, burgers and pizzas. Even so, it will also incorporate some typical Spanish dish such as garlic prawns or Spanish tortilla, an adaptation that the company has already confirmed. The choice is not accidental. British tourism in the province of Alicante is one of the most important in the region; Benidorm is well known for this. According to data collected by La Vanguardiaalmost 90% of English people choose the province as their favorite destination. Although a decade ago the owner publicly celebrated Brexitthe chain has recently experienced slowing growth in the UK: like-for-like sales of 3.7% in the first 14 weeks of the financial year, lower than in previous years. According to The Telegraphthe company is suffering from the increase in labor, energy and tax costs, which has led its president to explore new markets, and hence its strategy focused on airports: places where traffic is guaranteed and the clientele is usually predisposed to consume, even at times when most bars would not open. A British icon, almost invisible for Alicante. Despite the commotion that the news has generated in the province, the truth is that this first Wetherspoon on the European continent will be out of reach of the general public. It will be necessary to pass security control to access, which makes it a rarity: a British icon installed in Alicante, but almost invisible to the people of Alicante. Although Alicante will be the first, it will not be the only one. Tim Martin has reiterated in different British media that his intention is to open “several pubs abroad in the coming months and years, including some in airports”. The new location at Alicante airport will, therefore, be a test by fire. One last drink before heading home. Alicante can now boast of having the first Wetherspoon on the continent, although only travelers who fly will be able to enjoy it. For British tourists, it will be the last sip of home before returning; For the province, further proof of the weight that this market has in its economy. Time will tell if this little pub next to the departure gates is the start of a new European conquest or simply a last pint in the sun before heading home. Image | FreePik Xataka | Years ago Alicante thought it was a good idea to build an artificial island with a luxurious restaurant. It didn’t turn out as I expected

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