Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will be interviewed by Javier Ruiz on the new television channel La Séptima on Monday 9 November.
The broadcast is scheduled for the exact time that Vox leader Santiago Abascal will appear on La 1, visiting the public broadcaster's evening comedy and talk programme La Revuelta, hosted by David Broncano.
The simultaneous bookings create an immediate ratings battle between two rival political leaders on competing networks. Sánchez will present his political message on Spain's newest broadcast channel, while Abascal appears on the RTVE show that recently set national audience records with an appearance by the prime minister himself.
Television analysts see the Monday evening schedule as a significant moment for Spanish political broadcasting, pitting two opposing party chiefs against one another during an active pre-election period.
Head to head television clash
The interview on La última hora, the evening news and debate show presented by Ruiz, represents the highest profile political booking for La Séptima since it went on air. Securing the head of government is seen as a key step in establishing the fledgling station as a credible destination for current affairs.
La Séptima operates as a new commercial terrestrial channel in Spain, competing directly with established broadcasters for evening viewers. Ruiz, who leads the channel's late programming, is an experienced Spanish broadcast journalist known for his long career directing economic and political analysis programmes on national radio and television networks.
At the same time, Abascal's appearance on RTVE brings the leader of Spain's right-wing Vox party before one of the largest entertainment audiences in the country. La Revuelta has established itself as a major ratings force in Spanish television since debuting on the public network, frequently leading its time slot.
Launch ratings for La Séptima
The political contest follows closely on the heels of La Séptima's official launch on Thursday 5 November. Over its first full day on air, the new network achieved an average audience share of 2.8 percent and drew an average of 142,000 viewers.
Audience measurement data showed that 4.99 million unique viewers tuned in to the channel across the course of its opening broadcast day.
Ruiz's programme, La última hora, was the most watched broadcast on La Séptima during its debut. Airing between 21:00 and 01:00, the broadcast averaged 320,000 viewers and registered a 3.2 percent screen share.
The network also recorded positive numbers in its afternoon schedule with En línea, presented by Sarah Santaolalla, which attracted 274,000 viewers and a 3.1 percent share.
The single most watched broadcast of the network's opening day was an interview conducted by Ruiz with Carlos Cuerpo. That interview drew 473,000 viewers and achieved a 3.7 percent share, highlighting the channel's capacity to draw audiences with prominent economic and political figures.
Record audience for La Revuelta
Despite those early gains, La Séptima faces formidable competition on Monday night from RTVE. When Pedro Sánchez appeared on La Revuelta on 22 October, the broadcast produced historic audience numbers for Spanish television.
That appearance registered a 33.9 percent audience share and averaged 4.387 million viewers, marking the show's highest rating in its history. The broadcast reached 7.129 million unique viewers across the evening.
The transmission ranked as the most watched non-sporting broadcast in Spain for the entire year. It also became the most watched television interview with a political leader since 2009, as well as the highest audience share recorded for a political interview since 2004.
Monday's simultaneous broadcasts will test whether La Séptima can consolidate its early audience figures with the prime minister, or whether the established reach of La Revuelta will once again sweep the late evening ratings.
