After another year of political uncertainty led by a minority government, the Portuguese were called to the polls once again in May 2025. In advance of that the ongoing political uncertainty continued to impact the media landscape, which remains beset by financial difficulties, job insecurity for journalists, and a lack of structural reform.

In October 2024, the now outgoing government presented a policy package of 30 measures aimed at supporting the media sector. It addressed issues such as economic sustainability and employment conditions, while also seeking to engage major digital platforms in efforts to ensure a more sustainable media ecosystem.

Plans included reforming the current outdated Press and Radio Laws into a new Media Code, along with the reform of RTP, the public service broadcaster, with a new contract. Also at stake were incentives to hire journalists and training in digital technology and AI, and the restructuring of Lusa – the national news agency partly owned by the state. One of the more contentious proposals – the gradual removal of advertising from RTP – which currently accounts for over 20% of their net commercial revenue – sparked political debate and was ultimately rejected during the 2025 national budget vote. In March 2025, RTP’s contract was renewed until 2031.

Economic pressures on media businesses remain acute. Two of the country’s major private media groups, Impresa and Global Media, have recently reported major losses. Global Media (owner of Diário de Notícias and Jornal de Notícias, both historic newspapers, as well as TSF radio) implemented wage cuts, failed to pay salaries on time, and carried out layoffs, raising fears about the financial sustainability of even the most established brands.

March 2024 marked a historical milestone when more than 40 Portuguese media organisations joined a general strike organised by the Portuguese Journalists Union (SINJOR), to protest against low salaries, precarious contracts, and worsening working conditions.

Amidst the challenges, there were signs of resilience. Medialivre (owner of Correio da Manhã, formerly known as Cofina group) and Media Capital Group (owner of TVI private TV broadcaster), both announced positive results in 2023. After a successful management buy-out, Cofina was sold to Medialivre, an entity built and owned by Cofina executives and with soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the investors. Media Capital sold its radio broadcasting business to Bauer Media Audio Portugal – the sale included national stations such as market leader Comercial, M80, and CidadeFM. On the public side, RTP also managed to deliver a profit for the 14th successive year in 2024.

In the TV sector, Medialivre launched a cable news TV channel (Now) aiming to challenge the dominance of the three 24-hour news channels owned by Impresa, Media Capital Group, and RTP. Of those who say TV is their main source for news, 40% point to 24-hour news channels as the main source, so one can understand why the new entrant sees grounds for optimism. In August, Media Capital Group also launched a new general channel (V+ TVI), in a rebranding strategy for their existing channel TVI Ficção.

As far as small, independent news brands are concerned, brands like Shifter, Fumaça, and Divergente continue to operate and offer niche, investigative journalism that diverges from the mass offering, but they have to fight to attract subscribers and ensure their survival.

Young people’s relationship with news is complex and shaped by their reliance on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, which weakens their connection to traditional media. They generally display lower trust in news, less concern about online disinformation, and feel that journalists and news brands may contribute to misinformation. In response, the government is implementing initiatives like free digital news subscriptions for 15–18-year-olds as part of broader media literacy efforts, aiming to foster the habit of news consumption and, at the same time, a culture of paying for digital news, which may in turn help the ailing media sector.

Following the rising popularity of podcasts among Portuguese audiences, in early 2025 market research firm Marktest launched the country’s first audited podcast ranking. The initiative is supported by the four major podcast publishers – Impresa, Grupo Renascença Multimedia, Observador, and Bauer Media Audio Portugal. Data gathered for the first month alone shows that Portuguese listeners downloaded a total 12.8 million podcast episodes and Marktest is aiming to include other publishers in the ranking, arguing that these impressive totals provide a compelling argument to attract advertisers.

Ana Pinto-Martinho, Miguel Paisana, and Gustavo Cardoso
Observatório da Comunicação and ISCTE, University Institute of Lisbon

Changing media

Although it has declined over the last decade, TV remains an important source of news for many Portuguese. Usage of online and social media for news has declined somewhat since 2022.

Trust figures reached their lowest point in the last decade with 54% claiming to trust news, a considerable decline compared to the 66% recorded in 2015, the first year Portugal became part of the Digital News Report. As in previous years, most brand trust scores are considerably higher, with public broadcaster RTP among the most trusted brands.