Radio
At the end of 2016, there were 332 radio stations, including six national (Antena 1, Antena 2, Antena 3, Rádio Renascença, RFM and Rádio Comercial), two international (RDP International and RDP Africa), five regional (M80, RDP Azores, RDP Antena 1 Madeira, RDP Antena 3 Madeira and TSF), a regional and local (Post Office of Funchal) and 318 local stations.
Most of the radio program services are generalist (251 stations) and, among the thematic programme services, 66 are musical, six specialized in news, five targeting a specific segment of the public, one cultural and one focused on university life.
The sector struggles to remain relevant and to reinvent itself in new digital platforms and subject areas.
The ownership of national and regional stations is concentrated in the hands of the State and a handful of Portuguese media groups.
Public service radio (RDP) includes eight stations (Antena 1, Antena 2, Antena 3, RDP Açores, RDP Antena 1 Madeira, RDP Antena 3 Madeira, RDP International and RDP África) and several online radio stations, such as Rádio Zig Zag, for children. Renascença Group, property of the Catholic Church, owns Rádio Renascença, RFM and Rádio Sim. In the last few years, Media Capital Digital reinforced its presence in the sector. The company’s portfolio includes Rádio Comercial, Rádio Cidade FM and M80. On the other hand, TSF, created in 1988 and owned by Global Media Group, is the main thematic Portuguese radio station specialised in news. Another important investor in the radio sector in Portugal is Luis Montez, who owns the promoter of concerts and musical festivals Música no Coração.
The most recent survey of media consumption in Portugal indicates that radio is regularly listened to by 73 percent of those surveyed. According to Marktest, the average daily radio listening time in 2016 was 3 hours and 13 minutes. Car radios continue to be the most popular means of access (60.6 percent), whereas computers are the least used means of accessing this medium (11.6 percent).
The radio groups with the highest average daily audience times were, in order of preference: Media Capital Group (2 hours and 41 minutes), Radio Renascença Group (2 hours and 39 minutes), RDP Group (2 hours and 21 minutes) and TSF (1 hour and 55 minutes). In 2016, Commercial Radio was the most popular radio station (share of 16.5 percent), followed by RFM (15.5 percent).