It is the central and main transmission node of the terrestrial television and radio networks in the country as well as the station that covers the city and its metropolitan area.

[1] Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), Mediaset España, Atresmedia and PRISA, among others, broadcast their television channels and radio stations nationwide through Torrespaña.

[1] Torrespaña was built as part of the infrastructure works for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which allowed Televisión Española (TVE) –who held the monopoly on television broadcasting in the country and was in charge of producing the official live television feed of the event– to carry out a major modernization with the construction of the broadcasting tower and the production center at its foot.

[3] The production center, which served as the International Broadcast Centre during the World Cup, was occupied by TVE's central news services after it.

[4] On 19 May 1989, in response to the European Economic Community (EEC) requirement to separate the natural monopoly of infrastructure management from the competitive operations of running services, and with the imminent arrival of commercial television, RTVE's broadcasting network, including the Torrespaña tower, was transferred to Retevisión.

[5][6] TVE kept the production center at the foot of the tower where its master control room, its central newsroom, the 24 Horas news channel, Telediario and Informe Semanal studios are still located.