Portugal

[PT] Football Prevails in the Portuguese List of Public Interest Events

IRIS 2012-5:1/34

Mariana Lameiras & Helena Sousa

United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) & Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho

The list of public interest events that must be broadcast by national terrestrial open access television channels was published on 22 March 2012 in the official Portuguese news bulletin, Diário da República (2ª Série, nº 59, Parte C).

Amongst the twelve topics that compose this list, seven specifically refer to football (matches from different championships, namely the Portugal Cup and the Europe League) and the other are related to other sport events: cycling (the Portuguese tour on bicycle around the country, which is called Volta a Portugal em bicicleta), hockey, handball and basketball both nationally and internationally (as the participation of Portuguese teams in European or World Championships). The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games of 2012, in London, are also in the list of this legal communication (Despacho nº. 4214/2012).

The Television Act (Act 8/2011 of 11 April 2011) provides, in article 32, that the government member responsible for the media sector holds the responsibility of publishing annually the list of events that cannot be broadcast by non-national restricted access channels. However, there is a delay registered since the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Miguel Relvas, did not published the list until 31 October 2011, as it is legally established.

Following another legal requirement, the Portuguese media regulatory entity (ERC - Entidade Reguladora para a Comunicação Social) was heard on this matter before the publication of the list.