Porto Canal is a Portuguese

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

channel broadcasting from northern Portugal based in

Matosinhos Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...

. Launched on 29 September 2006, it replaced former NTV (from Porto TV, based in

Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...

) which transformed into RTPN, Radiotelevisão Portuguesa's news channel. In July 2010, Porto Canal launched three new delegations in

Mirandela Mirandela () is a city and a municipality in northeastern Portugal. The city itself has a population of about 15,000. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 23,850, in an area of 658.96 km². Mirandela is famous for its cuisine, par ...

Arcos de Valdevez Arcos de Valdevez () is a municipality along the northern frontier of Portugal and Galicia (Spain). The population in 2011 was 22,847,Penafiel Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of . History The region ...

, and in the beginning of 2011, three more in

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and ...

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

and

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...

. In March 2011, Porto Canal announced a partnership with Portuguese sports club

F.C. Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Port ...

. In August 2011, F.C. Porto assumed the management of Porto Canal, launching two new F.C. Porto related programs, ''Flash Porto'' and ''Somos Porto''. Porto Canal also broadcasts live full matches of the F.C. Porto teams of football (only

FC Porto B Futebol Clube do Porto B, commonly known as Porto B, is a Portuguese professional football team, which serves as the reserve side of FC Porto. They compete in the Liga Portugal 2, the second division of Portuguese football, and play their home ...

home games),

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

and roller hockey. In June 2019, FC Porto was sentenced to pay a €2 million fine for publishing and manipulating illegally obtained Benfica emails on Porto Canal. Four years later, judge Carlos Alexandre indicted the club's former director of communication, Francisco J. Marques, the channel's director, Júlio Magalhães, and pundit Diogo Faria for violation of private correspondence or telecommunications, unauthorized access, and offence to a collective person.

Programming

In terms of content the channel airs generalist and regional programming. It focuses primarily on news of the northern region of Portugal, having also many diverse programs. Since the partnership with FC Porto, it has programs like ''Flash Porto'' or ''45 Minutos à Porto'' that broadcast club-related news and information.

Major programs (non-sports)

*À Conversa com Ricardo Couto *Caminhos da História *Cinema Batalha *Clube de Cozinheiros *Consultório *Destino Norte *Jornal Diário *Mentes que Brilham *Net Diário *Notícias às 17 *Notícias às 18 *Notícias às 19 *Pólo Norte *Parlamento da Região *Ponto Cardeais *Porto Alive! *Radioativo *Saúde no Tacho *Territórios *Testemunho Directo *Último Jornal *Valter Hugo Mãe

Sports programs (FC Porto)

*Azul e Branco *Cadeira de Sonho *Especial Porto *Dragão Caixa *Dragon Force *Flash Porto *Invictos *Portistas pelo Mundo *Somos Porto *45 Minutos à Porto

References

{{FC Porto 2006 establishments in Portugal Portuguese-language television stations Television channels and stations established in 2006 Mass media in Portugal Television networks in Portugal Television stations in Portugal Mass media in Matosinhos