It is the corporation's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting cultural and public service programming, including documentaries, concerts, theatre and independent, Ibero-American and classic cinema.

[1] On 1 January 1965, TVE's second television service was launched in Madrid as a test broadcast,[2] with programming limited to 4 hours at night that consisted of musical slots and re-airings of TV shows from Primera Cadena, mostly Telediario newscasts and Estudio 1.

In its first years, the channel could only be received in Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona,[2] cities in which the UHF technology was implemented; it only aired at night and not all TV sets could tune in.

In January 1976 debuted the program of debate La Clave (1976-1985), which addressed current issues from different points of view, something very complicated during the Francoism, preceded by a film related to the subject.

[8] Another important program was A fondo (In depth) (1976-1981), a talk show presented by Joaquín Soler Serrano which discussed with personalities from the artistic, literary and scientific fields of the time.

In the midst of the Movida Madrileña phenomenon, it premiered La Edad de Oro (The Golden Age) (1983), directed and presented by Paloma Chamorro [es], that with time it turned into a cult classic.

[13] The 1980s also marked the premiere of emblematic programs such as the cultural magazine Metropoli (1985),[13] the game show El tiempo es oro (Time is money) (1987) presented by Constantino Romero[14] and Con las manos en la masa (Hands on the bat) (1984), directed and presented by Elena Santonja, considered the first cooking show in Spanish television history.

In addition, TVE promoted an alternative newsletter to Telediario with the creation of La 2 Noticias, specialized in the news of human, social, and ecological interest in exchange for reducing the weight of the policy in the blocks.

In 1996 began the space of scientific disclosure Redes, directed by Eduard Punset, and in 1997 premiered Saber y ganar, presented by Jordi Hurtado, who became the longest-running game show in Spanish television.

[22] Other important spaces were La noche temática (The thematic night) (documentary block of the pan-European channel Arte), the literary space Negro sobre blanco (Black on white), the informative Escuela del deporte (School of sport) and the containers of infantile programming, among them Con mucha marcha (With a lot of march), TPH Club, Hyakutake and Los Lunnis, the latter one of his greatest commercial successes.

[24] The new direction redirects the offer to the young public, with the advance of primetime at 9:30 p.m.,[25] the gradual disappearance of regional programming (except for a few blocks in Catalonia and Canary Islands) and the entry of series American as Six Feet Under, Two and a Half Men, The OC or Gilmore Girls.

[26] In addition, an address was created for the channel, and its management was moved from Torrespaña to the center of TVE Cataluña in San Cugat del Vallés, Barcelona.