 Logo used since 2018 | |
| Broadcast area | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Paço de Arcos,Oeiras,Lisbon |
| Programming | |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to576i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Impresa |
| Sister channels | SIC Notícias SIC Radical SIC Mulher SIC K SIC Caras SIC Novelas SIC Internacional SIC Internacional África |
| History | |
| Launched | 6 October 1992; 33 years ago (1992-10-06) |
| Links | |
| Website | sic.pt |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| TDT | Channel 3 (SD) |
| Streaming media | |
| SIC Online | https://sic.pt/direto |
SIC (acronym of full nameSociedade Independente de Comunicação) ("Independent Communication Society") is aPortuguesetelevision network andmedia company, which runs several television channels. Their flagship channel is the eponymous SIC, the third terrestrialtelevision station in Portugal, launched on 6 October 1992. SIC is owned byGrupo Impresa, a Portuguese media conglomerate. It is one of the two privatefree-to-air channels in Portugal, among the seventerrestrialfree-to-air channels broadcasting from the country. It was the most-watched channel in Portugal from 1995 to 2005, and again from 2019 to today.[1]
Plans for a third television channel were enacted as far back as January 1983, where it was initially suggested that the channel would be a cultural and educational service to fill in the gaps in the country's deficient educational system.[2] By April, it was revealed that the channel was scheduled to launch by 1986.[3]
On October 27, 1986, the Portuguese government issued a decree inDiário da República to limit government influence in the media industry, while opening the television sector to the private initiative. Among the companies interested for the license were SOJORNAL (owner of Expresso) among other publishing companies.[4] In the wake of these events,Francisco Pinto Balsemão created SIC, in a consortium of more than ten companies, led by Sojornal, the parent company of Expresso. Balsemão stressed the need for a private channel at a time where the Portuguese cultural identity was facing a crisis, due to the emergence of satellite television, relays of Spanish channels, the ill-fatedEuropa TV and video stores.[5] By then it alongside the Catholic Church (what would becomeTVI) were the contenders for the private television licenses.[6] Francisco Pinto Balsemão announced that it would take a period of six to nine months to build the channel, with an initial investment of one million contos.[7] Foreign entities also showed interest, such asRede Globo andSilvio Berlusconi.[8]
The company was first registered in 1987, withGranada Television initially holding a 20% interest, with the rest being owned by Impala, Expresso and Projornal. Robert Maxwell's BPCC signed an agreement with one of the potential contenders, Emaudio SA, on September 23, 1987.[9] For this end,Canal 3 was created, with João Tito de Morais and Raul Junqueiro as presidents.[10] In the summer of 1988, Emaudio planned to start the channel by November that year. In its experimental phase, in a period of five months, the channel would broadcast for six hours a day. The broadcast of the channel was set to be done fromLondon orLuxembourg.[11] Satellite issues delayed Canal 3's launch to 1989.[12]
The companies that held shares in SIC in 1990 stated that private television would only start in 1992, with SIC intending to start broadcasting in the middle of the year. 25 to 30 percent of the initial schedule would be given to news, while the entertainment programming was given to independent production companies, under the status of "associated producers".[13]
During the three-month period from January 2 to April 2, 1991, Balsemão's SIC was among the contenders for the license.[14] In 1991, the licenses were granted to SIC and TVI. In an initial phase, SIC would devote a substantial amount of its programming to news, "not only political news, but also more general and active news, privileging live", according to Pinto Balsemão. The initial line-up had a prospective starting time of 18:30 on weekdays and 15:30 on weekends, ending every night at midnight. The channel would provider counter-programming to the remaining channels, with a wide variety of content.[15] The months prior to the1991 Portuguese legislative election led to a delay in the private television process, which meant that the channel would start broadcasting by 1993; unless a decision was made from the media regulator AACS, SIC was confident in starting its broadcasts by May 1992.[16]
The channel initially (until January 2019) broadcast from converted studios inCarnaxide, which belonged to TYE.[17] In 1992, SIC was owned by a consortium led byFrancisco Pinto Balsemão, backed byControljornal,TSF,Rádio Comercial,Lusomundo,Expresso,Impala Editores and Globo. The government granted licenses to SIC and TVI on February 6, 1992, giving a period of one year before starting broadcasts. SIC was initially set to start broadcasting at 17:30 on weekdays and 15:30 on weekends, closing down after midnight. The channel planned four news bulletins and "different, intelligent and popular" entertainment offerings, such as TV series, movies, talk shows and game shows.[18] By March, SIC announced that it would tentatively start broadcasts on October 1.José Eduardo Moniz, who was initially scheduled to be the head of the network's news division, announced that he would continue working on RTP; his post on SIC was filled byEmídio Rangel.[19] In May 1992, it had signed a three-year contract withMTV to carry its content for five hours a week on the upcoming channel.[20] That same month, it confirmed October as its launch month and had spent 4.5 million contos in installation and equipment. Its relationship with Lusomundo, which was part of SIC's launch consortium, was severed.[21] By July, it had secured rights to four matches of the three largest football teams of the Portuguese league.[22] Agreements with CNN, Visnews and WTN were also made, in order to supply news footage for the channel.[23] Ahead of launch and thanks to the football agreement, a rights war between RTP and SIC had started before the latter started its transmissions. SIC was also keen on providing sponsorship agreements for the clubs involved.[24] An agreement withSporting CP was signed to sponsor the team's shirts.[25] In September, architectTomás Taveira was appointed for the design of the studios.[26]
On October 1, 1992 (mere days after starting its signal at least in Lisbon), SIC held its first experimental broadcast. During a five day period, the channel broadcast an international soccer match, a rock concert, two made-for-TV movies and a debate about Maastricht at Associação Comercial de Lisboa.[27] Balsemão justified the schedule by criticizing RTP's practices of dumping imports at later timeslots.[28] The channel employed a staff of 270 employees[29]
Regular transmissions began on October 6, 1992, becoming the first Portuguese private television channel.[30] The channel opened at 16:30 with a news bulletin, followed by the firstMTV program, the American seriesGuys Next Door, the game showResponder à Letra (adapted from Catchphrase), the telenovelaPlumas e Paetês, Praça Pública at 19:30, Jornal da Noite at 20:00 followed by the Globo miniseriesTereza Batista; inNoite de Estreia the channel presented its first film,War of the Roses; the schedule ended withThe Benny Hill Show and the late news.[31] The channel's initial strategy depended mainly onCanal 1's programming which started minutes later due to the reformulation of lottery draws due to the launch of SIC. As an example, the channel programmed sitcoms at the timeslot where it was scheduled to air on Canal 1, in an attempt to lure viewers.[32] More than one week after launch, it aired the derby between Sporting and Benfica. The first football match broadcast by a private television channel in Portugal had a more complex camera setup than RTP and had not been employed by Portuguese television at the time.[33] A breakthrough agreement was signed withMCA/Universal in late October providing the channel access to series that have never aired on Portuguese television to date, as well as a package of 100 feature films. The channel also aired theItalian "sexy game"Colpo Grosso which was heavily criticized for its topless women.[34]Colpo Grosso was the channel's most popular show in its early months on air.[35] SIC surpassedCanal 1 for the first time in early November, with a match between Sporting andPorto airing at 16:00, the same time as Benfica-Boavista onTV2. In an act of desperation, Canal 1 programmedWho Framed Roger Rabbit at the last minute. The ratings miracle was limited to the match on SIC, with most of the audience moving to Canal 1 after the match ended.[36]
First impressions for the channel's first month turned out to be "satisfying" for Balsemão due to its "high level" programming and ratings that were higher than counterparts in other European countries.[37] To counter Canal 1's premiere ofPedra Sobre Pedra, SIC premieredDe Corpo e Alma, prompting Canal 1 to move the premiere two days in advance. By mid-November, its signal had reached theAlgarve region and coastalAlentejo, two weeks ahead of schedule.[38] To intensify the war, SIC promised that it would start airingDe Corpo e Alma seven minutes beforePedra Sobre Pedra on Canal 1 and would provide call-in competitions with cars and trips to Brazil as prizes.[39] By December it had billings in excess of 1.2 million contos in the first two months on air alone; the signal had already reached 71% of Portuguese households, up from 54% on launch day.[40]
SIC reshuffled its programming in January 1993, weeks ahead of the launch of Quatro. Among the highlights was the Lorimar soapKnots Landing, which had never been aired before in Portugal.[41] Its premiere caused its afternoon programming for children to move to weekends, starting earlier at 12:00. Advertising rates for the channel were also lowered.[42] In order to attract a wider male audience, SIC started airingPlayboy Late Night on 5 February 1993, on Friday nights.[43] To counter RTP's rights to airFormula 1, SIC secured the rights to the CART Indy Car Series in March 1993, at a time whereNigel Mansell andNelson Piquet competed.[44] In May the channel premiered the hidden camera showMinas e Armadilhas,Labirinto, adapted from the Dutch formatLabyrinth and the return ofRoque Santeiro to Portuguese television.[45] It also aired highlights of the1993 Giro d'Italia.[46] In June, it had swapped the airtimes of Globo'sRenascer andJornal da Noite due to the Brazilian series' unsatisfactory results.[47]
SIC celebrated its first anniversary with new programs,Chuva de Estrelas (adaptation ofSoundmixshow) withCatarina Furtado,E o Resto é Conversa, the first daytime talk show on a private channel, withTeresa Guilherme,Conversas Curtas with Carneiro Jacinto, comedy seriesOra Bolas Marina with actressMarina Mota, new episodes ofThe Raven and the premieres ofMelrose Place,Highlander: The Series andLove & War. The channel's share was now averaging 15%, thanks to the increase of national productions.[48]Melrose Place aired in its Brazilian Portuguese dub, at the same time as TVI started airingThe A-Team in the same format.[49] The airing of dubbed versions raised concerns from the Portuguese Association for Deaf People.[50] For the Christmas season of 1993, SIC started broadcasting at 11:00 on weekdays. On December 22 it screened theTimewatch documentary aboutMao Zedong (Chairman Mao: The Last Emperor), which was followed by a debate.[51] The airing of the documentary was met with criticism from the Chinese Embassy in Lisbon, alleging it would hurt bilateral relations.[52]
In late January 1994, SIC started broadcasting at 12:00 on weekdays, airing repeats in the first hour. The MTV programs moved to the noon slot, after almost a year airing before closedown.Jornal da Noite reverted to the 8pm timeslot. On weekends, the channel premieredHome Improvement.[53] Later, in February, with the premiere ofO Mapa da Mina, the MTV programs disappeared.[54] On 14 March, the channel premieredO Juiz Decide, the first court case program on Portuguese television. The trials were initially recorded, aiming to make them live at a later stage.[55] On April 30, it premieredCaça ao Tesouro, which was hosted by Catarina Furtado, who did the same forChuva de Estrelas. By then, more programs reached the weekly top tens, including the primetime Globo telenovela,Ora Bolas Marina andPerdoa-me.[56]
June 1994 saw a breakthrough deal with Rede Globo to gain exclusive rights to its telenovelas for a period of five years.[57] On September 19, the channel premieredInsónias, a late night current slot for current affairs programming, and the new Globo seriesA Viagem. It also broadcast the1994 Emmy Awards.[58] The strand consisted of five programs,Tostões and Milhões (which had existed before, economics);A Noite da Má Língua,Internacional SIC (international in-depth reports);Flashback (TV version of the TSF format of the same name, a political view of the past week), andO Senhor que se Segue.[59] For the second anniversary on October 6, the channel had a 24-hour programming marathon with feature films, music specials and the centerpiece,As Nossas Estrelas, a version of Chuva de Estrelas with the channel's presenters.[60] By this time, there were serious chances for the channel to overtake Canal 1, but was weak in rights to football and production of game shows. Teresa Guilherme presented the new game showDestino X, which was filmed in locations around the world.[61] Ahead of Christmas, the channel premieredPátria Minha, retitled asVidas Cruzadas.[62]
January 1995 saw the premiere ofWalker, Texas Ranger.[63] The channel had doubled its viewing figures in 1994 alone alongside those of TVI;[64] the channel was on track to surpass Canal 1 that year. On New Year's Day, several programs brought SIC to a leading position, with the record-breaker beingIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well asBravo Bravissimo andA Viagem.[65] An agreement in February brought the exclusive rights to the documentary seriesPeople's Century, co-produced by theBBC andWGBH.[66] New programs by spring such as Globo'sIrmãos Coragem and the local formatsAssuntos de Família andMáquina da Verdade bought in high viewing figures.[67] In April 1995,Jornal da Noite moved its weekend starting time to 21:00.[68] The following month, it aired its first Venezuelan telenovela,Por amarte tanto.[69] The positive results of the channel caused projections in June to suggest that, out of the four terrestrial channels, only SIC would bring in profits in 1995.[70] In July,Irmãos Coragem was replaced byA Próxima Vítima.[71] The channel also controversially broadcast two programs from theUniversal Church of the Kingdom of God's Portuguese division outside regular broadcast hours; the sect was being investigated at the time.[72]
In 1996,Joe Berardo became the largest individual shareholder of the channel, holding 19% of the shares.[73] In early 1997, the channel claimed an audience share of 50%.[74] In March, SIC shot scenes in theSuper Buéréré studio for the upcoming anniversary of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. At the time, it was recurrent for the program to talk about foreign cultures.[75]
The channel celebrated its fifth anniversary with an uninterrupted marathon of programming between October 3 and the early hours of October 7, with a special gala scheduled for October 6. To fill in the overnight schedules, the channel aired themed movie nights. After the celebrations, SIC reprogrammedPeople's Century with additional commentary from former presidentMário Soares.[76]
In its initial years, it acquired a large audience, eventually overtaking RTP1 by 1995. SIC became widely known across Europe for achieving high viewing figures just two to three years after launching, as well as being the subject of anArte documentary known asCette Télévision est la Vôtre (This Television is Yours), directed byMariana Otero.
In January 1999, the channel announced the premiere ofSIC 11 Horas in February, ending the daytime monopoly held byPraça da Alegria, as well as the return ofPraça Pública.[77] In January 2000, it introduced theDOT mileage system.[78]
On March 19, 2001, the channel premiered its first national telenovela,Ganância (Greed), produced by NBP company Multicena. Although it had the participation of a handful of Brazilian actors (the telenovelas SIC used to up its ratings were all from Globo until then) and shared its timeslot during primetime withPorto dos Milagres, its ratings didn't increase in tandem (having lost to TVI on premiere night)[79] and was "demoted" to the afternoon, prompting changes to the characters' traits.[80]
Emídio Rangel quit SIC in August 2001, moving to RTP in the process, as the channel was starting to face a fall in ratings due to the rise of TVI, as well as the fall in Impresa's stocks.[81] In September, the post of director of programming was occupied by Manuel Fonseca.[82]
Globo, in order to solve its debt issues in 2002, proceeded to sell the 15% of its shares on SIC.[83] Around that time, SIC was facing a crisis and had to cut €5 million from its budget for 2003. The channel's finances fell €90.29 million in the first nine months of 2002 alone.[84] On 6 November, SIC's staff made a plenary session regarding the financial situation of the channel, and announced that they would convene again on 20 November.[85]
SIC in this period was in charge of several entries for theGuinness Book of Records, among them the longest period subject to hypnotism (75 hours),[86] the longest dance (101 hours)[87] and the longest kiss, with SIC stretching for 75 hours (the previous record held by an Israeli couple in 1999 was of 31 hours).[88]
In September 2005, SIC premiered two reality shows:Esquadrão G: Não És Homem Não És Nada (adapted fromQueer Eye for the Straight Guy) on September 11,[89] followed bySenhora Dona Lady (adapted fromHe's a Lady) on September 16.[90] The latter, initially set to last ten weeks, came to a halt after only two weeks when Francisco Penim became the new director, under the grounds that the reality show, touted as SIC's biggest show for the season, "served nobody".[91]
In 2005, TVI, after recovering from a financial crisis, overtook SIC in the ratings. In September that year, Manuel Fonseca left the post of director of programming after the failures ofEsquadrão G andSenhora Dona Lady.[92] His replacement was Francisco Penim, who was previously in charge of the cable channels. In the first semester of 2005 alone, SIC was behind TVI.[93] Aside from RTP1 taking over second place in 2007, 2009 and 2010, for the next fourteen years, SIC would be in second place until overtaking TVI in 2019.
On November 30, 2005, the channel gained exclusive rights to theFIFA World Cup, marking the first time the competition aired exclusively on private television.[94] In order to counter TVI'sMorangos com Açúcar, the channel started working on an adaptation ofFloricienta (eventually namedFloribella) in early 2006.[95]
SIC tried introducing a morning news program on March 6, 2006,Programa da Manhã, replacing its morning block of cartoons. The aim was to compete with established market leaderBom Dia Portugal, which it aimed to surpass within its first months. Instead of limiting itself to constant repetition of the news like its competitor, it also included health and lifestyle segments.[96] With its premiere, SIC now had nine hours of live programming on weekdays.[97] During its first month, it did not score well in ratings, ending up in fourth place, behind RTP2.[98]
Overall, the 2005-2006 period was known for having a string of failures. On the days whenPrograma da Manhã recorded its highs (April 6, June 6 and June 13), it did not surpass 66,000 viewers and was easily beaten by its competitors. The new afternoon talk-showContacto only surpassed 25% share three times by late June 2006. Carlos Moura'sBoca a Boca only had eight editions. The new direction "inherited" the decision of cancelling new programs based on the cancellation ofSenhora Dona Lady under Manuel Fonseca.Pegar ou Largar, the PortugueseDeal or No Deal andO Pior Condutor de Sempre also reported lows.[99]
Penim left SIC in January 2008 after resigning from his post by mutual agreement. He was replaced by Nuno Santos.[100] The previous administration put its ratings in third place, behind RTP1.[101] Nuno Santos left SIC in August 2011, moving to RTP's news division.[102]
In 2011, Impresa opened SIC's new Porto studios in Matosinhos, on the site of a former slaughterhouse. The studios also holds the newsrooms of Expresso, Visão, the Caras magazine, the web portal AEIOU.pt and Infoportugal. In 2019, SIC, along with its parent companyImpresa, relocated from its studios in Carnaxide to a new building inPaço de Arcos.
Francisco Pinto Balsemão left SIC's supervision post in January 2017; from March 6, there were two directors of programming, Gabriela Sobral and Luís Proença.[103] SIC renewed the rights to air theUEFA Europa League for the fourth consecutive cycle (2018-2014) for the annual price of €1,6 million.[104] In February 2018, it gained the rights to broadcast eight matches of the2018 FIFA World Cup.[105]
Daniel Oliveira became the current director of programming on June 28, 2018, aiming at being competitive on all time slots.[106] During the early months of his administration, longtime TVI starCristina Ferreira joined SIC after not renewing her contract with the competing channel.[107]
SIC left the Carnaxide building on January 27, 2019, the last program produced from there being that day's edition ofPrimeiro Jornal. Symbolically, the last images seen from the old facilities featured journalist João Moleira walking through the facilities and taking the SIC license (dated October 2, 1992), which he was taking to the new headquarters.[108]
On June 21, 2020, SIC announced the premiere ofDomingão, the first pimba program since the cancellation ofPortugal em Festa four years earlier.[109] Created to support pimba artists in the wake of the pandemic, the program replaced the regular Sunday afternoon movie slot.[110] SIC has not returned to regular Sunday afternoon movies since and has been criticized in 2021 byVicente Alves do Ó for being an "unending hell", refusing to support artists of other genres.[111]
On January 2, 2022, all of Impresa's websites, including SIC's, were hit by aransomware attack attributed to the LAPSUS$ group,.[112]
SIC lost its ratings to TVI for the first time in five years in February 2024. In return, the channel sent a plane to TVI's facilities with the phrase "Thank you for giving us (the) fight".[113] In July it became the first over-the-air channel to air a Turkish series, after the success of such productions on its cable channels, with a dubbed version ofKızım that had previously aired on SIC K. SIC Mulher aired the subtitled version.[114] It was then followed byÇocuk, here titledPobre Menino Rico.[115] In April 2025 to today, win its ratings again to TVI.
The logo was designed in 1992 byHans Donner, creator of the iconicTV Globo logo, following a philosophy of color, movement and the idea of unity. The logo represents a rainbow, from yellow to dark blue, with warmer colors dominating. In the center, a lowercase i (forindependente) showing its position of differentiation to RTP. The ring that forms a trail between the letters S and C represents a crowd united in the visual aesthetic, with strong emotional dimensions, as created by the Rome Colosseum. At start-up and closedown, the station aired a two-minute video, featuring some of Donner's works for Globo between 1980 and 1992, accompanied by the channel's anthem.[116] The lyrics for the channel anthem was composed by Zé da Ponte, with lyrics written by Carlos Paulo Simões[117] and sung by Nucha, Dulce Pontes, Tó Leal and Gustavo Sequeira. It was re-recorded for its 25th anniversary campaign, with new singers.[118]
At the beginning of its 25th anniversary in April 2017, SIC introduced a mascot, whose name (PLIM, MIC of SIX) was chosen based on an online survey. The corporate anthem was re-recorded for the occasion.[119]
SIC updated its logo on October 6, 2018, for the first time in 26 years, its lettering changed.[120]
Nowadays, SIC has a programming largely based on talk shows (live and recorded), Portuguese and Turkish soap operas, and to a lesser extent Brazilian soaps produced byGlobo.
Like the other major broadcaster,TVI, SIC used to air international TV series such asCriminal Minds, the variousCSI series andEntourage always after 1 a.m.
In-house productions in the past included occasional reality shows and comedy sketch shows, which includedMalucos do Riso (1995-2009), a long-running series with focus on dramatized jokes, andGato Fedorento (Zé Carlos series andEsmiúça os Sufrágios special only).
SIC no longer airs foreign series. This is a partial list.
In 2006, the channel started to broadcast the block "SIC Kids", broadcasting a few hours later the block "Disney Kids" (which only featured Disney programming), until its cancellation in 2015.
As of 2025, SIC stopped airing foreign cartoons. This is a partial list.
| 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,5%[121] | 14,3%[121] | 28,4%[121] | 41,4%[121] | 48,6%[121] | 49,3%[121] | 49,2%[121] | 48,1%[121] | 42,2%[121] | 34,0%[121] |
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31,5%[121] | 30,3%[121] | 29,3%[121] | 27,2%[121] | 26,2%[121] | 25,1%[121] | 24,9%[121] | 23,4%[121] | 23,4%[121] | 22,7%[122] |
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21,8%[122] | 21,1%[123] | 19,1%[124] | 18,7%[124] | 17,6%[125] | 17,1%[126] | 18,6%[127] | 19,2%[128] | 19,8%[129] | 19,3%[130] |
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 16,7%[131] | 14,9%[132] | 14,9%[133] |
SIC activated its teletext service on January 20, 2003. It provided news, traffic information and a "streamer" for PSI-30 (now PSI-20) indexes.[134] Currently only the subtitles are operational on page 888.
SIC Esperança (literallySIC Hope) it the channel's charity, founded on October 6, 2003. Its twentieth anniversary in 2023 was marked by a new campaign to upgrade primary schools.[135]
SIC launched its website on May 23, 2001, with a launch team of 37, 18 of which journalists. Instead of being "television on the internet", the website aimed at complementing both the existing SIC and SIC Notícias teams. It was planned since November 1998, but its launch was successively delayed over two and a half years since the project was "too ambitious" when it was first conceived.[136]
{{cite web}}:Check|url= value (help)| RTP |
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| Media Capital | |
| Medialivre | |
| AMC | |
| Disney Portugal | |
| Globo Portugal | |
| Record Europa | |
| Sport TV | |
| DAZN | |
| Paramount Skydance | |
| NOS | |
| Sony | |
| Warner Bros. Discovery | |
| NBCUniversal | |
| Stingray Group | |
| Other channels | |
| Services and platforms | |
| Defunct | |
| Unlaunched proposals | |
TDT: free-to-air on DTT –AC/MA: free-to-air on regional DTT | |
