Andalusian TV releases video to apologize for New Year’s Eve blunder

Andalusian regional television station Canal Sur has released a two-minute video to apologize for a mistake that ruined its live coverage of the midnight celebrations on New Year’s Eve.

“Manolo, we got an order for another 20 kilograms of coal for Canal Sur,” begins the humorous spot, which features the network’s sales director, Manolo Casal, and Modesto Barragán, director of the program Andalucía Directo, taking down orders for coal, which is what bad children in Spain traditionally get on King’s Day. The orders are depicted as being placed by angry viewers.

Canal Sur’s apology video (in Spanish).

Nearly half-a-million Andalusians were thrown into confusion on New Year’s Eve when two commercials were aired just as the cathedral clock in Almería’s central square was striking 12.

This is the moment when Spaniards traditionally welcome in the new year by eating one grape for each of the 12 chimes of the clock. Nearly the entire nation is either out in the main squares of the country’s major cities celebrating in person, or glued to their television sets watching live.

While the most popular square to gather for “las campanadas” remains Puerta del Sol in Madrid, regional stations usually provide coverage from their own major cities.

The error forced a Canal Sur official, José Luis Pereñíguez, to resign

“Did we get any calls from Almería?” one of the men asks in the video. “We got 20,000 calls from Almería!” his colleague replies. “When you do things badly, you need to apologize.”

The error forced a Canal Sur official, José Luis Pereñíguez, to resign. The station has also opened an internal investigation into the affair.