Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP)

Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) is the public service broadcaster in Portugal, operating four nationwide television and three nationwide radio channels, as well as several satellite and cable channels. The company has been operating in its current form since 2007, when Radiodifusão Portuguesa (RDP), the public service radio broadcaster, and Radiotelevisão Portuguesa, the public service television broadcaster, were merged.

Media assets

Television: RTP1, RTP2, RTP3, RTP Memória, RTP Madeira, RTP Açores, RTP Internacional, RTP África

Radio: Antena 1, Antena 2, Antena 3, RDP Internacional, RDP África, Rádio Lusitania, Rádio Vivace, Rádio ZigZag, Antena 1 Fado, Antena 1 Memória, Antena 1 Vida, Antena 2 Ópera, Antena 2 Jazzin

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent Public (IP)

Ownership and governance

RTP is a publicly traded company. The government established a governance and management system to ensure independence from government control.

The main governing structure at RTP is the Independent General Council, which consists of six members. Two members are appointed by the government, two members are appointed by the Opinion Council, and the remaining two members are “co-opted” by the first four members. The Opinion Council is a statutory body at RTP appointed by NGOs to ensure the participation of civil society in the management of the public broadcaster. This appointment formula is designed to ensure the independence of RTP’s governing structures from the government. RTP also has a Board of Directors consisting of three members appointed by the Opinion Council following a hearing in the Portuguese parliament.

Nicolau Santos was appointed as the new president of RTP in 2021, leading a new board that includes Hugo Figueiredo and Ana dos Santos Dias. Vítor Gonçalves was also named the new Director of Information for RTP’s linear and digital television, as well as the director of RTP3. This internal reorganization also saw José Fragoso appointed as director of RTP1, RTP Internacional, and RTP África, while Gonçalo Madaíl was made responsible for RTP2 and RTP Memória.

Source of funding and budget

RTP is funded through a combination of broadcasting contribution tax, which is a type of license fee that all households in Portugal pay, and advertising revenues. The tax is included in electricity bills.

In 2021, RTP had a budget of nearly €223m, with the broadcast tax accounting for over 80% of that, according to the company’s annual report. In 2022, the broadcaster had a budget of approximately €230.6m, with the broadcast tax still accounting for over 80% of that, according to another annual report from the company. In 2023, the company’s total income reached €235.1m, and it recorded a net profit of €2.5 million, with advertising revenue for the year amounting to €21.7 million.

There is an ongoing plan to reduce advertising on RTP. This initiative, which will gradually phase out advertising over three years, is expected to result in a revenue loss of approximately €20 million for the government and an estimated annual loss for RTP of €6.6 million. The government has stated it will not increase the Audiovisual Contribution tax to compensate for this.

Editorial independence

There are no government-imposed rules requiring RTP to adhere to a specific editorial stance. Ad hoc content analysis conducted in 2023 and 2024 for this report and academic studies indicate that RTP is shielded from government influence.

The concession contract for the public radio and television service ensures the station’s editorial independence, prohibiting government bodies from interfering with RTP’s editorial coverage. RTP has two ombudsmen, one for viewers and another for listeners. Their mission is to ensure that RTP fulfills its duties towards the public. The ombudsmen are independent of the company, and the results of their work are collected in regular reports sent to the broadcaster’s management. The management is expected to use these reports to improve the broadcaster’s editorial coverage.

However, recent changes in the administration have sparked debate about potential political pressures on the new management. On June 24, 2025, RTP’s Board of Directors, led by Nicolau Santos, dismissed António José Teixeira as Director of Information, along with his entire team, citing a broader “internal reorganization.” No explicit reasons were communicated to the departing team, which surprised many. The new administration closely followed this by appointing Vítor Gonçalves, a longtime RTP journalist since 1992, to the position.

Journalists’ unions raised red flags, claiming RTP may have breached legal procedures by not sufficiently consulting the newsroom council—a non-binding but legally mandated step—about the leadership change. On July 21, 2025, Portugal’s media regulator, the ERC (Entidade Reguladora para a Comunicação Social), issued a decision giving a favorable opinion both to António José Teixeira’s dismissal and to Vítor Gonçalves’s appointment. It noted that the newsroom council did not oppose the change and expressed willingness to cooperate. The ERC also remarked that RTP’s public justification for the change lacked coherence and some context—but concluded that there was no evidence of arbitrary or illegitimate motivations or that the Board had exceeded its authority.

As we found no clear evidence of political interference in its editorial affairs, we maintained RTP in the IP (Independent Public) category, the highest autonomy rating in our State Media Matrix.

August 2025