Portugal ended 2023 with 4.6 million pay-TV subscribers, an increase of 96,000 (2.1 per cent) on the previous year, marking the lowest annual growth rate since 2013.

The penetration rate for pay-TV services amounted to 98.3 per cent, up 1.6 per cent on 202, according to data published by the National Communications Authority (Anacom).

Subscriber growth was primarily driven by FTTH/B technology, which accounted for 2.9 million subscribers, a 7.2 per cent year-on-year growth, but the lowest growth rate since its introduction in 2007.

Since 2018, FTTH/B has been the dominant method for accessing pay-TV, representing 63.9 per cent of total subscribers by the end of 2023, followed by cable TV (26.9 per cent), satellite/DTH (7.1 per cent), and ADSL (2.1 per cent).

Meo maintained its position as the pay-TV market leader in the country with 41.5 per cent of total subscribers, followed by NOS Group (36.4 per cent), Vodafone (19.2 per cent) and Nowo (2.7 per cent).

While Meo (+0.5 per cent) and Vodafone (0.4 per cent) both registered growth, NOS Group (-0.7 per cent) and Nowo (-0.2 per cent) saw a decrease in market share.

Meanwhile, Portuguese media group Medialivre, owner of CMTV -the most watched cable TV channel in Portugal – is planning to launch a news channel that will compete with established players such as SIC Noticias and CNN Portugal According to Economia Online, the launch has not yet been confirmed by the group but is being planned internally.