Why Is Carlos Núñez Resigning as President of Prisa Media?

Prisa's President, Joseph Oughourlian, Has Announced the Dismissal of Carlos Núñez as President of Prisa Media. Internal sources indicate that, although it will be presented as a resignation, it is a forced dismissal.

Additionally, the dismissal of José Miguel Contreras, the group's editorial chief, is being prepared. The person who replaces Núñez will be the one to carry out this dismissal. The trigger for this crisis has been the decision of Prisa's Spanish shareholders to participate in the open competition by the Government for a free-to-air television channel.

Oughourlian is strongly opposed and forced a vote in the board on Tuesday to reject Prisa's participation in this project, controlling 11 of the group's 15 directors. Núñez defended in a recent interview the advisability of Prisa developing a television channel.

In the board meeting on Tuesday, Núñez presented the channel project, which was rejected by Oughourlian. The French investor of Armenian origin considered this a betrayal and acted drastically. Oughourlian seeks to protect his 300 million euro investment, which has lost value due to the company's stock market collapse.

The second could be the dismissal of Contreras as head of the content area. These changes will only increase the confrontation among the shareholders.

Carlos Núñez Joined Prisa in 2021 from Grupo Henneo. His resignation comes after a meeting with Joseph Oughourlian early in the morning.

The board meeting on Tuesday highlighted the clash between the two over the television project. The failure of the free-to-air television project promoted by several Prisa executives close to the Government.

Additionally, rejected yesterday by the group's Board, it will entail responsibilities. This is assured by Prisa's President, Joseph Oughourlian, in an interview with Expansión. In which he stated that "people who do not comply or do not develop the product will have to find this position".

Carlos Núñez landed at Grupo Prisa two years ago to boost the audiovisual part. The executive came from Henneo and has been one of the ideologues of free-to-air TV. It is worth remembering that last week several meetings took place between the main executives and section heads to indicate the situation and timing of the television launch.

 They indicate that Joseph Oughourlian has pressured for the departure of executives close to the PSOE. Everything indicated that both José Miguel Contreras and Carlos Núñez had their days numbered within the Gran Vía 28 headquarters. But they expected that "their departures would be announced days before the shareholders' meeting".