The audiovisual co-regulation agreement for age ratings has been published

The Official State Gazette publishes in issue number 223, dated September 9, 2026, the Resolution of August 26, 2026, of the Undersecretariat of the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, which publicizes the Co-regulation Agreement for the rating of audiovisual programs and content provided for in article 98.2 of the Law 13/2022, of July 7, General Law on Audiovisual Communication (LGCA). The agreement was signed on July 13, 2026, by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), audiovisual authorities, sector operators, and social organizations, and enters into force the day following its publication.

The text, signed by Undersecretary Alberto Herrera Rodríguez, includes as an annex the full agreement and the Code of Conduct for the rating of audiovisual programs and content and descriptor system, promoted by twenty-four providers. Its objective is to assist in the fulfillment of the age rating and signaling obligations that the LGCA imposes on audiovisual communication services, whether linear, on-demand, or video-sharing platforms.

Signatories and Scope

The agreement brings together the CNMC, chaired by Cani Fernández Vicién; the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, with María González Veracruz; the audiovisual councils of Catalonia (Xevi Xirgo i Teixidor), Andalusia (José Francisco Domínguez del Postigo) and the Valencian Community (José María Vidal Beltrán); the Governments of Navarra (Víctor Goñi Ezcurra) and Castilla-La Mancha (Juan Alfonso Ruiz Molina); and entities such as AUTOCONTROL (Patricia Zabala Arroyo), the Communication Users Association (Alejandro Perales Albert), iCmedia (José Luis Colás Giraldos), the Childhood Organizations Platform (Ricardo Ibarra Roca) and FORTA (Fernando Rodríguez Ojea).

Among the adhering providers are:

• CRTVE (José Pablo López Sánchez), ATRESMEDIA (Francisco Javier Bardají Hernando) and Mediaset España (Mario Rodríguez Valderas).
• 13 TV (Lucía Fernández del Viso Morán), Telefónica Audiovisual Digital (Irene Benavides Zurera) and Canal Cosmopolitan Iberia (Almudena Ledo Linares-Rivas).
• The Walt Disney Company Iberia (Simon Anselem), Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia (Jorge Lezáun Valverde) and Multicanal Iberia (Antonio Ruiz Fernández).
• DAZN Spain (Oscar Javier Vilda Rubio), Comunidad Filmin (Juan Carlos Tous de la Prada), Rakuten TV Europe (Jorge Monclús Ruiz), NBC Universal Global Networks España (Gorka Villar Parras), Viacom International Media Networks España (Carlos Martínez Soto) and Ten Media (Javier Valero Ramos).

Rating and Governance System

The Code of Conduct establishes a unified age rating and signaling system with seven categories:

• Children’s: especially recommended for childhood.
• TP or 0: suitable for all audiences.
• 7, 12, 16, and 18: not recommended for those under these ages.
• X: X-rated program or movie.

Governance is organized around a Review Committee, with three sections depending on the nature of the service, and a Joint Monitoring Commission (CMS). The CNMC assumes the Secretariat of the Code and the CMS, while AUTOCONTROL handles prior inquiries and resolves, through its Jury, claims from the extrajudicial conflict resolution system, with binding results in accordance with Law 7/2017 on alternative dispute resolution in consumption.

Processing and Validity

The agreement is the result of a process initiated with the CNMC requirement of May 16, 2024, and two public consultations, launched on September 25, 2024, and October 28, 2025, with contributions from eleven regional audiovisual authorities. Its validity is four years, extendable by unanimous agreement for up to four additional years, and is finalized upon its registration in the State Registry of Public Sector Cooperation Bodies and Instruments.

The entry into force of this co-regulation mechanism provides viewers, and families in particular, with a homogeneous and verifiable system of age ratings and descriptors applicable to linear television, on-demand, and video platforms, reinforcing the protection of minors in the audiovisual environment and the legal certainty of operators.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 223, September 9, 2026, Sec. III, page 120550 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18871).