Celebrated by a VIP evening event at Lisbon’s imposing Jerónimos Monastery, CNN and partner Media Capital will bow CNN Portugal today at 21:00 GMT, marking the biggest news launch for many years in Portugal.
A 24-hour Portuguese-language channel, CNN Portugal will be run by Media Capital, Portugal’s largest media conglomerate which also owns top broadcast network TVI and Plural Entertainment, one of the country’s biggest production entities.
Media Capital has acquired the CNN brand license from CNN International Commercial. They have access to all CNN programming and content. CNN Portugal has been working closely with CNN to provide infrastructure, training, and consulting in areas like content production and newsroom standards.
CNN’s brand licensing follows on similar agreements with other partners around the world, such as in Indonesia and Brazil, to develop CNN brands in TV channels, websites and radio beyond its owned and operated platforms such as CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Arabic.
CNN Portugal will be available via pay TV in 4.3 million Portuguese homes, in a country that has high subscription TV penetration.
Media Capital is making a big digital push as news junkies stream more of their news. They launched a dedicated website.CNNPortugal.ptAs early as July
CNNIC called this deal a game changer. “a new brand of journalism debuts in Portugal.”
“In a world that is increasingly awash with half-truths and disinformation, CNN has always endeavored to provide quality journalism built on fast and accurate information,” said Rani Raad, president, CNN Worldwide Commercial.
“In Media Capital, we have a partner who shares these values. With this partnership, we look forward to increasing our presence in one of Europe’s fastest growing markets as well as expanding further into a language spoken by over 250 million people around the world.”
“Today we make history,”CNN Portugal declared on its Twitter page.
Media Capital for its part is taking the launch very seriously. It has tapped a swathe of the best known faces in Portuguese TV news and journalism, including iconic RTP and then TVI reporters and anchors Judite Sousa and Júlio Magalhães.
Media Capital’s CNN Portugal project is also a sign of its modern global ambitions. Portugal is now looking beyond its own market and the OTT revolution and escalating internationalization of consumer habits allow it to dream of a bigger projection in Portuguese-speaking Brazil.
This larger world view is likely the dominant theme of ONSeries Lisbon’s inaugural edition. The inaugural edition will explore international partnerships and opportunities later this week, Nov. 25-26.
“The arrival of CNN Portugal proves the importance of Portuguese media in the world and, we are certain, will contribute to increase the diversity of perspectives and, therefore, to broaden the democratization of information,”Mario Ferreira is chairman of Media Capital. “With this partnership, Grupo Media Capital is accelerating and transforming the journalistic universe in the Portuguese language.”