In the context of media and Information Society policies, there has been profound controversy in Europe with respect to the legitimate use of new technologies by public service media. Through qualitative interviews and policy documents analysis with a case study, this article illustrates how three Spanish public service media organizations apply technological innovations in order to successfully achieve their public service remit; the article thereby provides one of the first studies of innovation management in this field. Lessons from this paper include the difficult accountability of innovation, the non-formal nature of its practice, the central role of techno-enthusiasts and the bureaucratic problems of developing open innovation practices.