“The closure of Barça TV has been traumatic”

2023-07-08 06:54:33

BarcelonaThe second oldest contract of Barça TV was that of Sònia de Alba, one of the journalists who have most helped to build the personality of a television that lowered its shutters last June 30. During the last few years he has been the head of planning and organization of an exciting project that has always been more than a means of communication.

On the last day, she couldn’t hold back her tears.

— I consider myself strong, but I succumbed. I started crying during the last newscast. I don’t know how Llorenç Tarrés was able to withstand the pressure to go out in front of the entire staff and dismiss Barça TV without making a mistake, with dignity, in the most professional way possible, without disrespecting anyone. It was cute, but very exciting. It’s not just that there are people who go to the streets, which is already very hard, but with Barça TV you close a life. In my case it is 24 years. That project we created together is closed. We lived the last hours with a lot of emotion because you could see people’s faces and it was a mixture of pity, desolation and worry for the future.

The last few weeks must not have been easy.

— Since we had been informed of the decision two months before, it seemed that everyone had put up with it, but the last ten days were very hard. First, because we were in negotiations for compensation. When an agreement was reached 24 hours earlier, we realized that there was no going back. On the last day we were like in a cloud, with many media that came to support us. The next day, when people started to become aware of the situation, it was horrifying. It’s just work, but there’s a very beastly emotional component to it.

Why is Barça TV so important?

— We have had better and worse moments, but we have always tried to be very rigorous. We have never played with another team from another club. The editorial line has always been very professional, but we have added a great deal of personal involvement. In my case, it was my first and only job. When we started, people were still knocking on the walls of what was to be Barça TV at Camp Nou. Little by little the project grew and we all ended up making the television our own. Everyone gave 200% because we were like a family. It has been an incredible experience.

What are you missing without Barça TV?

— The club loses a very important communication platform. There are new communication channels, from thestreaming to social networks, but there are many Barça members who follow the club’s news through Barça TV. A strategic tool, a very important speaker, is lost. There are people who, due to their age, will be very difficult to redirect to other platforms. We understand that it is an economic decision, but the closure of Barça TV has been traumatic. There is some money that the club, right now, cannot afford, but in the medium term the transition will not be easy.

The club will not be able to continue creating the same audiovisual archive.

— All the documentary archive of Barça TV belongs to the club, but the problem is who will generate these images from now on. From July 2023 there will be many things that will not be documented audiovisually. There are moments that will remain orphans, there will be a void. Maybe in a few months it will be activated again, but for a period, not.

What are you most proud of?

— We have made a very professional product. We explained the club from the inside, giving prominence to the first football team, but also to the youth team and the sections. I stick with the personal treatment we have had with both the club workers and the athletes. The personal relationships that have been forged are very powerful. Seeing how the players and coaches have reacted to the closure of Barça TV has been exciting.

You were the first female journalist in the State to report on sports such as basketball.

— One of the things I’ve missed in recent years is doing more match narrations. Telling the facts live is one of the luxuries of our profession. I have been a journalist, I have spoken, I have directed… It has been a great personal growth. I like sports journalism and the diversity of a club like Barça, which is very rich socially and sportingly.

What do you think of the agreement reached with the workers?

— The compensation agreement is correct. The pact includes seven people who will join the club and seven more in functions that must be finalized. There are 14 people who will have jobs. Overall, we are happy.

Do you think it is possible that in the future there will be a new Barça TV again?

– I hope yes. The audiovisual world changes very quickly, but I trust that the club can return to a similar structure in the future. I don’t know if we will have to wait ten months or ten years, but it is important to be able to explain well the diversity of the club from the inside.