Benfica's Move Puts PT Football TV Rights on Hold & Demands Anti-Piracy Measures

Portugal’s flagship football league is at a crossroads after Benfica demanded an immediate halt to a long-planned overhaul of how television money is shared. The Lisbon heavyweight argues that the current blueprint for collective bargaining—due to start in the 2028-29 season—could shrink, not grow, the sport’s revenues. The move has jolted league officials, broadcasters and rival clubs and re-ignited an old debate: can a relatively small market like Portugal copy the English Premier League model, or does it need a tailor-made solution?

What the dispute is about

Centralisation would replace the present system in which each club negotiates its own domestic and international rights. Supporters of the reform insist that pooling content into a single package will strengthen the bargaining hand of the Liga Portugal and make the distribution of income fairer. Parliament approved the framework in 2021, giving the league until mid-2026 to detail how the rights will be sold and how the expected €300 million a year will be divided.

Why Benfica hit the brakes

In letters sent on 9 July to the Government, all professional clubs and every party represented in parliament, president Rui Costa called the project “late, under-funded and out of sync with global trends.” Benfica lists seven gaps: a missing strategic plan, no alternative sales models tested with broadcasters, inadequate investment in stadium technology and refereeing, vague international marketing, a TV market it claims is “excessively concentrated,” weak anti-piracy enforcement and, above all, unrealistic revenue targets. Club executives say private modelling suggests the package might raise “no more than €150–200 million.” Until a new roadmap emerges, Benfica has pulled its representatives from the centralisation task-force.

How the rest of Portuguese football is reacting

League president Reinaldo Teixeira has struck a conciliatory note, saying the door is open for talks and that Benfica’s stance is “not destructive.” Sporting CP and FC Porto have not issued fresh statements, yet both attended the most recent working meeting that Benfica skipped. Inside the corridors of power, lawmakers are divided: some see Benfica’s leverage as a chance to renegotiate tougher anti-piracy measures, others fear the club’s exit could unravel years of preparatory work.

The broader European backdrop

Nearly every major league now sells rights collectively, and the model is often credited with boosting competitive balance—England’s bottom-placed club will receive more TV income this season than Benfica, Porto and Sporting combined. However, the success of centralisation hinges on population size, pay-TV penetration and brand strength abroad. Italy and Spain offer warning signs: rights values peaked years ago and have slipped in real terms since. Benfica argues that without bold internationalisation—think streaming partnerships in North America, Lusophone Africa and Asia—Portugal could follow the same trajectory.

Why the fight matters to international fans and investors

Foreign residents who follow Portuguese football—whether in Lisbon, Porto or the Algarve—should expect potential changes in how matches are streamed or televised. A single rights holder could simplify subscriptions, but if revenue falls, clubs might be forced to sell players earlier or raise ticket prices. Investors eyeing Primeira Liga clubs or ancillary projects such as stadium upgrades and hospitality also have skin in the game: centralised income is typically used as collateral for bank loans and infrastructure bonds.

What happens next

Liga Portugal still plans to submit a detailed commercial dossier to the Government by June 2026. Between now and then, negotiators must bridge the gap between Benfica’s demands and the league’s timetable. Possible compromises include phased implementation, a guaranteed minimum payout for top-drawing clubs, or a hybrid model that lets individual teams exploit certain digital rights internationally. For now, the centralisation clock keeps ticking—but it is no longer running smoothly.