La Séptima estrenará sus emisiones en la TDT nacional el jueves 5 de noviembre de 2026, a las 12:00, con una parrilla de nueve espacios: ocho en directo y un programa cinematográfico grabado. La cadena impulsada por José Miguel Contreras, con Javier Ruiz como director editorial, ya ha distribuido a sus presentadores entre la mañana, la sobremesa, la tarde y la noche, aunque todavía no ha facilitado la hora exacta de cada emisión.
Es la pieza que faltaba para entender su lanzamiento. La nueva televisión no intenta construir una programación generalista con concursos, ficción y magacines de variedades: ocupará casi toda su jornada con actualidad, entrevistas, debate y humor. Eso la coloca frente a Cuatro y laSexta, dos cadenas que llevan años disputándose precisamente esos hábitos de consumo, pero que combinan esa oferta con informativos, entretenimiento y cine.
The Nine Programs and Their Hosts
La parrilla comunicada el 30 de octubre distingue cinco espacios de lunes a viernes y cuatro durante el fin de semana, incluido el contenedor de cine del sábado. La información organiza los programas de esta forma:
- The Pulse, with Verónica Sanz: information and analysis in the weekday morning slot.
- On Line, with Sarah Santaolalla: current affairs and debate in the afternoon.
- On the Table, with Rocío Delgado: first block of the late afternoon.
- The Target, with Noor Ben Yessef: second block of the afternoon.
- The Latest, with Javier Ruiz: a weeknight late slot.
- Weekend, with Luján Argüelles: weekend morning magazine show.
- National Comedy, with Héctor de Miguel: current affairs satire in the weekend afternoon.
- Out of Control, with Alba Carrillo and Marta Márquez: weekend Saturday/Sunday afternoon program.
- The Seventh Screen: a movie without commercial breaks, followed by a discussion; Saturdays from 21:00, with rotating hosts.
The time slots are defined, but not the full schedules. It is not yet possible to turn that lineup into a minute-by-minute guide. There are, however, two firm data points for the viewer: the signal launch at noon on Thursday the 5th and the cinema appointment at 21:00 on Saturday.
Cuatro and laSexta: Where the Real Competition Lies
The comparison with Cuatro is particularly telling. In the schedule for Thursday, November 5, En boca de todos at 10:00, Todo es mentira at 15:30, and Horizonte at 21:10 appear. Among them, Cuatro keeps news, sports and Lo sabe, no lo sabe. La Séptima responds with five of its own blocks that link current affairs from noon through the night, without that alternation of genres.
Against laSexta, the clash takes a different form. Al Rojo Vivo dominates the morning information discourse of its offering; Más Vale Tarde does the same in the afternoon, and El Intermedio blends current affairs with humor as it reaches the peak viewing window. The new network aims to bring together in a single signal these editorial functions: interviews, discussion, commentary, and satire, with different hosts but a consistent tonal thread.
Therein lies the risk of the formula: the viewer will find current affairs at almost any hour, but fewer shifts in register. In Cuatro or laSexta, moving toward contests, entertainment or films can attract audiences not seeking a long-form talk. La Séptima appears to prefer that audiences immediately recognize what they will encounter each time they tune in.
A Studio for the Entire Day and a Cinematic Exception
The programs will share a multifunctional studio in San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid). The decision concentrates the deployment of the schedule in a single facility and makes it easier to swap between formats. It also makes live broadcasting the channel’s main identity. The only announced exception is The Seventh Screen, a weekly event featuring a film presentation and a post-film discussion, recalling the tradition of television cinema debates without becoming a conventional rerun.
Having Javier Ruiz placed in the night slot also represents a shift from the initial plan: the electoral advance had already altered the allocation of time blocks before the launch. With five daily programs compared to the large blocks of current affairs on its rivals, the competition will be fought as much on maintaining audience continuity as on the ability of each host to retain viewers once their segment ends.
To receive the new signal, La Séptima will use the identifier associated with Atreseries on some receivers. The technical reorganization of DTT may require certain households to perform an automatic channel search; it does not mean that everyone must do so. On November 5 at 12:00 the first real test of the schedule will arrive: afterward, it will be possible to compare its actual durations and performance with Cuatro and laSexta’s time blocks.
