Press Release 10/2026
5 June 2026

The Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) has fined three telecommunications operators and a consulting company for restricting competition by agreeing to the insertion of advertising as a condition for pay-TV subscribers to access recorded television content from different television channels, and by aligning the conditions governing the insertion and commercialisation of such advertising inventory.
The AdC’s decision results in fines totalling €13,351,000 being imposed on the four companies. One of the companies settled the case under the settlement procedure, waiving its right to contest the facts and making voluntary payment of the fine.

The investigation
The proceedings were opened following information reported in the media in August 2020, which referred to the implementation of a joint and coordinated initiative involving the three largest pay-TV operators, supported by the technological and operational services of a consulting company.

The AdC had already issued a Statement of Objections in December 2021. However, evidence seized during dawn raids, consisting of email communications, was subsequently held to be inadmissible by the courts after the provision of the Competition Law that allowed the AdC, with authorisation from the Public Prosecutor’s Office but without prior judicial authorisation, to search and seize email communications in investigations concerning anticompetitive practices was declared unconstitutional. As a result, the proceedings returned to the investigation stage in January 2024, leading to the adoption of a new Statement of Objections in December of the same year.
The case, identified as PRC/2020/4, is public pursuant to Article 32 of the Portuguese Competition Act.

The infringement

The investigation concluded that the agreement gave rise to a concerted approach by the three largest telecommunications operators active in Portugal, together with a consulting company. As a result, consumers were generally left without an effective possibility of switching provider in response to the simultaneous and coordinated deterioration of pay-TV services, even where they were dissatisfied with the introduction of advertising in recording services.
The practice therefore enabled the parties to impose conditions that, overall, harmed subscribers without creating any risk of competitive disruption.
The agreement must also be viewed in light of the fact that it further increased the alignment of the operators’ telecommunications offerings, with negative effects on competition in the Portuguese electronic communications sector, a market that is particularly susceptible to coordinated conduct.
With regard to the sale of advertising to advertisers and media agencies, the investigation found that the agreement eliminated competition between the telecommunications operators by aligning the conditions under which such inventory would be marketed, including pricing, discounts and other commercial terms relevant to purchasers of advertising space. The agreement also involved a concerted approach vis-à-vis television broadcasters in determining the conditions under which advertising could be associated with their content.
According to the AdC’s investigation, the agreement was in force at least between 1 August 2019 and 1 May 2025, when the sale of the advertising inventory concerned was suspended.

The fines
Following this infringement decision, the total amount of fines currently imposed on the three sanctioned companies amounts to €8,181,000.
In the same proceedings, the AdC had already fined another company active in the telecommunications services market. The fine imposed on that company was reduced as a result of the cooperation it provided during the investigation.
In accordance with the seriousness and duration of the infringement (see the AdC’s Guidelines on the Setting of Fines), the AdC applied the same percentage of each undertaking’s turnover when calculating the fines imposed on the operators. Accordingly, the differences in the fines imposed reflect the respective turnover generated by each undertaking, while the company that settled the case also benefited from a reduction in the applicable fine.
The fines were allocated as follows:
Company A – €5,170,000 (Settlement)
Company B – €4,060,000
Company C – €3,876,000
Company D – €245,000
Under the Competition Law, fines imposed by the AdC may not exceed 10% of an undertaking’s turnover in the financial year preceding the decision.

Non-disclosure of the parties’ identities
As a precautionary measure, the AdC has decided not to identify the undertakings concerned in this press release. This follows several injunctions issued by the Administrative Courts, at the request of companies involved in other proceedings, seeking to prevent their identification in press releases relating to infringement decisions adopted by the AdC.
The AdC disagrees with this interpretation and appeals concerning this matter are currently pending before higher courts.
In any event, the AdC will continue to comply with its statutory obligation to publish its final infringement decisions on its website.

Agreements between undertakings
The Portuguese Competition Law expressly prohibits agreements between undertakings that significantly restrict competition in all or part of the national market, thereby reducing consumer and/or business welfare.
The fight against anticompetitive agreements remains a key enforcement priority for the AdC, given the harm they invariably cause to consumers and businesses by forcing them to pay higher prices and reducing the quality and variety of the goods and services available to them.
Breaches of competition law not only reduce consumer welfare but also undermine business competitiveness and harm the wider economy.