free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...
television channel owned and operated by state-owned
public broadcaster
Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
breaking news
Breaking news, also called late-breaking news, a special report, special coverage, or a news flash, is a current issue that warrants the interruption of a scheduled broadcast in order to report its details. News broadcasters also use the term ...
.
It was launched on 15 October 2001. It received other names, such as "NTV", "RTPN", and "RTP Informação" until it adopted its current name "RTP3". It is available on
basic cable
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million American households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found ...
,
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
and
terrestrial television
Terrestrial television, or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the content is signal transmission, transmitted via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV rece ...
.
History
In August 2001, the channel was announced with its facilities located in a former RTP maintenance area in Porto, which was renovated in June to house presenting tests.
The channel was launched on 15 October 2001 as NTV, a cable news channel headquartered in
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
. It was originally a joint-venture between PT Multimédia,
Lusomundo
NOS Audiovisuais (formerly ZON Lusomundo) is a Portuguese integrated media corporation founded in 1953, which has major interests in movie distribution, cinema theaters and media assets.
It was founded with the purpose of movie distribution, and ...
and the television broadcaster Radiotelevisão Portuguesa (the old RTP). One month after launching, on 15 November 2001, it broadcast its first outside live broadcast from
Vila de Rei
Vila de Rei (; "Royal City") is a municipality in the district of Castelo Branco in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,452,NTV arranca hoje a partir de Vila de Rei https://www.publico.pt/2001/11/15/portugal/noticia/ntv-arranca-hoje-a-partir-de-vila-de-rei-49863 ''Público'', 15 November 2001
The initial primetime line-up consisted of:
*''N Mundo'', main news bulletin (9-9:30pm)
*Sports bulletin (8:35-9pm)
*''N de Economia'' (9:45-10pm with repeat at 12:45-1am)
*''Avenida dos Aliados'' (debate, 10:10-12am)
On 22 November, one week after the channel's launch, journalist Carlos Magno was ejected from his role as the director of its news unit. The early weeks of the channel were seen by a ''Público'' writer as a shame for Porto (and likely the north), as the channel's editorial statute was in a confused status, between local, national and European values. In its first week on air, Carlos Magno appeared for 22,5% of the weekly airtime.
In August 2002 it was completely acquired by the old RTP (RTP held 25% up until then with PT Multimédia owning the remaining 75%), and announced a gradual restructuring of the channel's programming from September 2002. In March 2003, 25 of its journalists were withdrawn, as the channel was facing an uncertain future. With the merger between the old RTP and radio broadcaster Radiodifusão Portuguesa (RDP), forming the new RTP. The channel was initially going to be renamed by March 2004 (the rebrand took into effect on 31 March), but the name RTP Notícias was ruled out, under the grounds that the channel preferred not to compete with
SIC Notícias
SIC Notícias () is the cable news channel of the Portuguese television network SIC (''Sociedade Independente de Comunicação'') and the second thematic channel of the station. It is available on basic cable and satellite. It replaced CNL (''C ...
. It became RTPN on 31 May 2004.
RTPN debuted a 24-hour schedule on 29 September 2008. Up till then, RTPN had simulcasted with
Euronews
Euronews (stylised in lowercase) is a pan-European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. It is a provider of livestreamed news, which can be viewed in Europe and North Africa via satellite, and in most of the ...
during the early morning. Since mid-2009, RTPN has been available outside Portugal, through cable TV providers in Angola and Mozambique. On 19 September 2011, RTPN was renamed RTP Informação, beginning with a simulcast of ' which refreshed its graphics.
On 22 July 2015 it was announced that RTP Informação would rebrand once again. On 15 September 2015, the date of rebrand was confirmed to be 5 October, RTP's director of programmes Daniel Deusdado told the media. At midnight between 4 and 5 October 2015 Portuguese time, the channel became RTP3, during the coverage of the legislative election 2015.
Unlike the other national RTP channels, RTP3's continuity and
playout
In broadcasting, channel playout is the generation of the source signal of a radio or television channel produced by a broadcaster, coupled with the transmission of this signal for primary distribution or direct-to-audience distribution via any ...
is handled at the Monte da Virgem studios, near Porto.
Since 1 December 2016, the channel is available on the Portuguese
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
. The channel is also available as free-to-air channel in
Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
's digital terrestrial television network, which also includes
RTP África
RTP África is a Portuguese television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is available in the Portuguese-speaking African countries, where it is available as a basic cable and sa ...
.
Logos and identities
File:RTP3 (old NTV) logo.png, RTP3's first, original and old logo used from 15 October 2001 to 30 May 2004.
File:Rtpnportugal.png, RTP3's second and former logo used from 31 May 2004 to 18 September 2011.
File:RTP Informação.svg, RTP3's third and former logo used from 19 September 2011 to 4 October 2015.
File:RTP3 logo.svg, RTP3's fourth and current logo since 5 October 2015.
Programming
Despite being a news-based channel, in the past, RTP3 also aired some sports programming, such as the Olympics and the now-defunct FIFA Confederations Cup.
News programmes
*''Bom Dia Portugal'' (6:00am-10am, simulcast with
RTP1
RTP1 (''RTP um'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mains ...
)
*''3 às 10
*''3 às 11
*''Jornal das 12''
*''3 às 14''
*''Zoom África''
*''Eixo Norte Sul''
*''3 às 16''
*''3 às 17''
*''18/20''
*''Manchete 3''
*''Online 3''
*''360'' (9pm)
*''24 Horas (12am, title previously used as a late bulletin on RTP1)
Previous programmes
*''
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American news satire late-night talk show hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in the end of April 2014 on HBO and currently has ...
''
*''
Fareed Zakaria GPS
''Fareed Zakaria GPS'' is a weekly public affairs show hosted by journalist and author Fareed Zakaria on CNN and broadcast around the world by CNN International.
The "GPS" in the show's title stands for "Global Public Square," a reference to t ...
'' (now included in the
CNN Portugal
Cable News Network Portugal, also known as CNN Portugal and abbreviated as CNN PT, is a Portugal, Portuguese cable television, basic cable and satellite television news television channel, channel owned by Media Capital. It was launched on 26 Feb ...