Portugal: Impresa launching new TV channel
September 26, 2024
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Portuguese media group Impresa SIC will launch its new thematic channel, SIC Novelas, on October 1st. The channel will be dedicated to soap operas and telenovelas – a genre in which SIC already has a substantial catalogue.
Heading the project will be Aida Pinto, who has been with SIC since 1996, and has worked on projects such as SIC Internacional. She will now oversee both SIC Novelas and SIC Internacional, while also continuing her duties as SIC’s Programming Management Director.
SIC Novelas will be distributed by Portugal’s top pay-TV operators including Meo (Altice Portugal), Nos and Vodafone, occupying channels 14, 131, and 69 respectively.
The new channel is also already available on the OPTO SIC streaming platform, together with the SIC Replay and SIC Alta Definição channels.
With the launch of SIC Novelas, Impresa will have six TV channels on cable, namely SIC Notícias, SIC Mulher, SIC Radical, SIC Caras and SIC K. The group also owns general entertainment channel SIC, distributed via cable and digital terrestrial, Portugal’s second most-watched TV channel after rival TVI.
SIC’s thematic channels collectively held a 4.1 per cent market share in August, with SIC Notícias leading the pack at 1.8 per cent.
The cable TV channel segment in Portugal has seen a significant increase in advertising revenue, growing by 16.2 per cent year-over-year from January to August.