Portugal Telecom adds five major European football club channels to Meo

August 27, 2008 - Portugal Telecom has added the TV channels of football clubs Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Real Madrid to its "Meo" IPTV service.

The channels will be available from September 15, and offered for free for the first month of availability as part of the basic package Meo Basic, after which subscribers will have to pay €0.75 per month for each channel or subscribe to the Meo Mix package. The channels will also be available as part of Meo's mobile TV service.

"These channels reveal each day in detail, and in the original language, everything about these teams, their players and training team for those that really like football and sport in general," said Portugal Telecom in a statement. José Carlos Baldino, Head of Content for Meo, added that: "We have noticed that the interest people have in football goes beyond showing the games" and that the choice of these channels was not unconnected with the fact that the clubs in question employ figures that "awaken Portuguese interest, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, José Mourinho, Deco, Figo, Scolari or Pepe."

"At the start, we betted on differentiation through technology, such as high-definition and interactivity," said the executive. "Now are betting on differentiation through content." Snr. Baldino also said that sport has been a priority for Portugal Telecom since April, when it enjoyed widespread take-up, and the company is interested in new similar content, such as the future channel of Benfica: "If the channel of Benfica progresses, we are interested."

The new channels will offer news on clubs and their respective players, transmission of press conferences, training and preparation for games, documentaries and interviews, among other content. The games of the 2009/10 season will also be shown, though not live, as well as classic games involving the clubs.