Porto targets €43m in TV income under collective rights deal

FC Porto chief financial officer José Pedro Pereira da Costa said the club would struggle to earn more from centralised television rights than it receives under its deal with MEO, even if selling the rights collectively makes them more valuable overall.The MEO agreement expires in June 2028, when collective selling is scheduled to begin, and Porto’s priority is to secure a distribution close to the amount it currently receives.Pereira da Costa said: “From FC Porto’s perspective, the aim is to secure an amount close to the current figure.“I think it will be very difficult for us to increase the amount.“I say this for FC Porto, and I believe it applies to the big clubs too, given the nature of the distribution formula.”A substantial portion of the proceeds will be shared equally, which Pereira da Costa said would help smaller clubs increase their income while making it harder for the biggest clubs to improve on their individual deals.The formula also gives significant weight to final league position, exposing Porto to a drop in annual television income that it does not face under its fixed agreement with MEO.Pereira da Costa said: “If the first-placed club receives, for example, €43 million, we would be no worse off.“If the third-placed club receives only €35 million, there is an immediate loss.“I am not criticising the model; it has to be this way, but it introduces uncertainty that does not exist today, and the clubs with the most revenue will have more at stake.”The figures were illustrations of how league position could affect payments, rather than forecasts of what clubs will receive.Porto supports a collective tender for domestic and international rights, and Pereira da Costa said the league’s executive board had secured broad backing for the distribution formula and identified potential bidders.He added: “FC Porto believes that a centralised process makes it possible to design a tender, for both the domestic and international markets, in which the product is worth more than through individual negotiations.“In our case, the long-term contracts were signed in 2015, more than ten years ago, and we have not been in the market.”Pereira da Costa pointed to competition between Sport TV and DAZN and to TVI’s free-to-air coverage of Moreirense matches as signs of interest from different types of broadcaster, while cautioning that it was too early to estimate the value of the rights.Separately, Porto’s football company has launched a four-year bond of up to €40 million, with a fixed annual interest rate of 5.25% and a potential uplift linked to first-team performance, including winning the league title.Subscriptions and exchanges of existing bonds are due to close on November 13, with a minimum subscription of €2,500.