Launched September 16, 1998 Founded 1998 | Website sporttv.pt | |
 | ||
Owned by Global Media Group (25%)
Portugal Telecom (25%)
NOS (25%)
Vodafone Portugal (25%) Picture format Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Resolution: 576i (SDTV)
720p (HDTV) Slogan "O seu desporto favorito." ("Your favorite sport.") MEO Channel 9 (SportTV + SD)
Channel 20 (SportTV 1 SD)
Channel 21 (SportTV 2 SD)
Channel 22 (SportTV 3 SD)
Channel 23 (SportTV 4 SD)
Channel 24 (SportTV 5 SD)
Channel 25 (SportTV 1 HD)
Channel 26 (SportTV 2 HD)
Channel 27 (SportTV 3 HD) Motto "O seu desporto favorito." ("Your favorite sport.") Owners Global Media Group (25%), Portugal Telecom (25%), NOS (25%), Vodafone Portugal (25%) Profiles | ||
SportTV is a Portuguese sports-oriented premium cable and satellite television network with five premium channels in Portugal, one sports news channel and two channels in Portuguese-speaking Africa. The first channel, then known as only SportTV, was launched on 16 September 1998. It is owned by Portugal Telecom, NOS, Vodafone Portugal and Global Media Group (and originally had the participation of Radiotelevisão Portuguesa). It is available in almost all television distribution operators in Portugal as a premium subscription channel.
Contents
- History
- Controversies
- Football
- Basketball
- Rugby Union
- Motorsports
- Gridiron
- Ice hockey
- MMA
- Professional wrestling
- Golf
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Current channels
- Former Channels
- Sport TV Amricas
- References
SportTV broadcasts mainly association football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, surf, golf, athletics, wrestling and American sports, combat sports, auto racing and tennis. It also features debates, news and sports reports.
All Primeira Liga games are shown exclusively on SportTV, with the exception of Benfica home games which are broadcast by BTV.
History
On 16 September 2005, seven years after the opening of the first channel, SportTV launched a second channel, SportTV 2. It regularly broadcasts alternative sports such as mountaineering, cycling and radical sports. The channel was available only through ZON TV Funtastic Life package, but the model didn't work. They relaunched the channel as a premium channel, also available on Cabovisão and Portugal Telecom's MEO. This was followed in June 2008 by SportTV 3.
SportTV shown UEFA Euro 2008 in HD, through ZON TV.
On January 22, 2010, the thematic golf channel SportTV Golfe and its HD simulcast, SportTV Golfe HD were launched.
On August 13, 2010, they launched SportTV Liga Inglesa, a HD channel dedicated to the Premier League, broadcasting 380 games and 400 highlights per season, made by the Premier League (also broadcasting on other countries).
On January 7, 2011, SportTV 1, SportTV 2 and SportTV 3 started to broadcast in 16:9.
On August 13, 2011, all of the SportTV main channels started to broadcast in HD and it was launched a new channel, Sport TV 4, that also is available in HD. At the same time, the SportTV HD channel ended its two-year run.
On June 5, 2013, SportTV stopped broadcasting in the United States.
On August 1, 2013, SportTV launched a new channel, Sport TV Live, replacing Sport TV 4.
On August 14, 2014, SportTV Live was renamed to SportTV 4 again (there's also SportTV 4 HD). SportTV Golfe was renamed to SportTV 5, which is also available in HD.
Controversies
SportTV is widely regarded as anti-competitive, since it is the only group of channels in Portugal with the rights to broadcast the Primeira Liga matches (except Benfica home games). Portugal was one of the first countries in Europe where Formula One is broadcast on a premium channel.
On September 2007, SportTV sent a cease and desist to a Portuguese live TV streaming website tvtuga.com, because the latter was providing links to streams of UEFA Champions League matches that only Sport TV had the rights to broadcast in Portugal. This has caused great public concern with regard to the monopoly abuse status of the Sport TV channels.
On 17 January 2011, SportTV was criticized by Benfica, after a match against Académica. João Gabriel accused the channel's commentators of bias against the club.
In June 2016 Sport TV ended their channel SportTV Américas without any warning to their US customers. The channel is no longer available on their website and no further information has been released.
Football
Basketball
Rugby Union
Motorsports
Gridiron
Ice hockey
MMA
Professional wrestling
Golf
Tennis
Volleyball
Current channels
Former Channels
Sport TV Américas
On August 13, 2010, SportTV launched SportTV Américas, a dedicated sports channel for the Portuguese diaspora in North America. The channel was launched in partnership with American Portuguese-language broadcaster SPT TV. It airs live football matches every week from the Portuguese First & Second divisions as well as coverage of the League Cup and Portuguese Cup.
On June 5, 2013, for reasons exclusively imputable to RTP - USA Inc. dba SPT (Seabras Portuguese Television), SPORT TV Portugal S.A. was forced to restrain the access to the respective signal in the United States.
Association football programming on Sport TV América includes:
SportTV Américas is no longer available in the United States via cable or satellite. It's available online only, through Premium Sports (broadband.premiumsports.tv) in the United States & Canada for a monthly fee of $9.99 or $99 annually. Also on FuboTV (fubo.tv) for a monthly fee of $19.99.
Since June 2016 SportTV Américas is no longer available in the United States via cable, satellite or online. Premium Sports (broadband.premiumsports.tv) stop showing the channel to their yearly customers before the end of their yearly contract. SportTV Américas no longer shows on SportTV website.