State-financed broadcaster RTVE said it would screen a bullfight from the city of Valladolid on September 5, overturning a ban imposed under the previous socialist government.
In 2006, guidelines prohibited the showing of live bullfights because the "violent images" were unsuitable to be broadcast between 6 and 8 pm, during hours when children were most likely to be watching.
The policy change comes under the new conservative Popular Party government of Mariano Rajoy which is widely seen as opposed to all attempts to curtail the national fiesta in Spain.
The move immediately provoked anger from animal rights activists, who felt they were making headway against the spectacle after Catalonia banned bullfighting within its region last year on animal welfare grounds.
"It is clearly a backward step for the welfare of animals in this country," said Silvia Barquero, spokesman for the animal defence lobby group