“You will not be part of it, do not have the slightest doubt”

Veteran journalist Juan Carlos Rivero has taken the reins of ‘Estudio Estadio’, RTVE’s iconic sports programme, again, not without generating controversy. On Monday, 19 August, the situation became tense when Nerea Zusberro, a former contributor to the programme, announced her departure via a message on social media, stating that the programme “is taking a direction that I neither feel nor will be part of”. Rivero’s response was not long in coming, replying forcefully: “You will not be part of it, do not have the slightest doubt.”

Rivero’s response was not long in coming, replying forcefully: “You will not be part of it, do not have the slightest doubt.”

Internal tensions and changes

Rivero returns to ‘Estudio Estadio’

Rivero’s reaction, far from going unnoticed, has been seen by many as an example of the internal friction that could be shaking the ‘Estudio Estadio’ team. Zusberro, who had participated in the program for two years, thanked his former team, led by Paco Caro and Rubén Briones, but made clear his discontent with the new direction that the program has taken.

The controversy intensified when Paco Caro, who was displaced by Rivero as the presenter of the program, published and then deleted a message on social media that seemed to allude to the recent tensions: “About the difference between classy people and classes of people…” This comment, although brief, has been interpreted by many as an innuendo towards Rivero’s management and his way of handling the team.

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In the midst of this climate of tension, Juan Carlos Rivero has begun his new stage in ‘Estudio Estadio’ reaffirming his commitment to maintaining the essence of the programme, despite the changes in its format and collaborators. “It’s about telling them about the league matchday, which is what all the people who have been here for more than 50 years have been doing,” he said on his return to the set.

Under the direction of Rosana Romero and with the support of RTVE, Rivero is once again at the helm of the programme he directed for many years, surrounded by a renewed team, but not without leaving behind a trail of controversy that, for now, continues to resonate both inside and outside the Teledeporte studios.