History
Experimental broadcasts
RTP was established on 15 December 1955 as the national television service, under Article 1 of Decree nº 40 341. Test broadcasts were first conducted on September 4, 1956, at the now-defunct Feira Popular amusement park in Lisbon. At 21:30 that evening, a speech was made by Raúl Feio, in the ''Nervos'' program, introducing viewers to television, considered at that time to be "one of the greatest revelations of our time", and stating that the television service would enter the definitive stage in 1957, with hopes for the five transmitters to be active by then, locating the transmitters on a map. The inaugural program was followed by RTP's first continuity announcer, Maria Armanda Falcão, announcing the remaining line-up for the evening. These consisted of: *Revista Desportiva: a sports program fronted by Domingos Lança Moreira, featuring an interview with the winner of the 1956 Volta a Portugal, Alves Barbosa; *A filmed documentary aboutEarly years
Regular broadcasts commenced on 7 March 1957. An announcement made at the start of the broadcast stated that these broadcasts weren't definitive as of yet, seeing that the tests would run for a few more months. The broadcast started at 21:30, and with that came the first airing of the Derby Day march (by Robert Farnon) on television. RTP wanted to commission a march used to open its daily schedule, but since the task was time-consuming, the problem was then solved upon finding a bunch of Chapell discs to later select the track. The first announcer in the regular period, Maria Helena Varela Santos, announced the evening's line-up and was followed by a speech by Domingos de Mascarenhas about RTP's future. Technical problems were seen throughout the night, including a number of issues with sound. The first televised play ('' Monólogo do Vaqueiro'') was broadcast on March 11. The first film (''Fado: História de uma Cantadeira'') ran on March 13. Its first operations outside Portugal were done by the news team in Barcelona, followed by coverage of the official visit of President Craveiro Lopes to Brazil in June 1957. Another crew was sent to capture the eruption of the Capelinhos volcano in the Azores in October. Initially, RTP had a limited coverage area, using 5 transmitters ( Monsanto, Montejunto, Lousã, Monte da Virgem and Foia) that covered about 60% of the country's population. Per the 1956 yearly report, the initial goal of starting all five transmitters by March 1957 was failed, due to issues regarding the terrain that was going to be used for the building of the transmitters. The basic network wasn't complete until April 1958. By the time the network was finished, the signals were received by 58% of the population. Out of RTP's 665 hours of programming in 1957, dozens were devoted to sports programming. Game shows were also central to RTP's launch year, the first game show was broadcast on April 5, 1957; the winning prize being a television set. Technical difficulties hit RTP frequently in its early years. João Villaret's program was hit by a swarm of bugs on October 21, 1960. In October 1958, the administration demanded the creation of commercials made specifically for television; on December 31, 1958, an agreement was made between the radio stations members of the Pool. Advertising was the solution to curb the problems caused by the relatively high television tax. On February 9, 1958, the first soccer match was broadcast. That same year, ''Natal dos Hospitais'' was broadcast on television for the first time, and in 1959, emphasis was put on outside programming, in order to diversify its contents. Among such broadcasts was the inauguration of the Cristo-Rei monument on May 17. On June 12, 1959, ''TV Rural'' was first broadcast. Engineer Sousa Veloso hosted it throughout its existence; the program was also relatively cheap to produce at the time of starting. Associated-Rediffusion visited Lisbon in the same month and accepted a special hour of programming, that wasn't attractive for most of its viewers, aside from a few documentaries in the ''Hora Inglesa'' strand that ran for a week. On October 18, ''Jornal de Actualidades'' was replaced by '' Telejornal'' with two editions, the main one at 20:30 with half an hour, and a late edition before sign-off, that rarely happened after 23:30. The first presenters were Mário Pires and Alberto Lopes, but the choice made by RTP was seen as flawed. The newscast suffered constant cuts from the censors, as well as technical problems Broadcasts from the Monte da Virgem studios in Vila Nova de Gaia started on October 20, 1959. Portugal's link to the Eurovision network was complete on December 1, 1965 and the first experiment between Portugal and Spain was made on January 31, 1966. The first broadcasts from the network was made in 1960, and with varying levels of quality. Starting November 1, 1961, the weather reports were now seen in-vision from meteorologists, this time after the main news, as opposed to the late news, like it was before. The most famous weatherman, Anthímio de Azevedo, didn't join RTP until 1964. The 1960s also marked the arrival of theTwo channels under one administration
It was the only TV channel available in Portugal until 25 December 1968, when RTP2 started broadcasting. Because of that, RTP had to identify both channels as I Programa and II Programa in order to distinguish them. 1969 was marked with one of the first successful talk-shows on Portuguese television, the variety show ''Zip-Zip'', that ran between May and December, as well as live coverage of the Moon landing. Daytime broadcasts commenced in May 1970, with a two-hour period running at various times mostly between 12:45 and 14:30. Before then, ''Telescola'' (educational classes) were generally the first programmes of the day and the regular schedule started at 19:00, running until midnight. A "unilateral" with Brazilian technicians helped provide RTP with assistance to produce live carriage of the solemn delivery to Brazil of the mortal remains of its Emperor D. Pedro I on April 22, 1972. Days later the news team also provided details of the visit of the Portuguese president of the time to Brazil. ''Telejornal'' produced 1486 editions in 1972 alone, totalling 380 hours, whereas sporting events totalled 409 years, thanks in part to theBecoming separate
On 16 October 1978, the channel was renamed RTP-1 (initially hyphenated), in line with the separation of the second channel's editorial team. RTP1's separate editoral team was entrusted to journalist Vasco Graça Moura; the two channels were also granted separate news teams. The new administration improved the quality of the programming, despite having limited resources. A massive telethon was held on 16 December 1978, running for 17 hours. PAL colour programming was now in production, being selected in detriment of the SECAM format, and a heat of Jeux Sans Frontières on 5 September 1979 had to be transmitted in said technology in order to air to the rest of Europe, which already had regular colour broadcasts at the time. As the months progressed, more and more colour broadcasts were included with experimental broadcasts approved on 15 February 1980, with colour test cards being shown from 18 February, before launching regularly on 7 March 1980, symbolically its 23rd anniversary, with the final of the 1980 Festival da Canção, which gave José Cid a place in that year's edition in the Netherlands. On 16 November 1980, a special program was broadcast marking the beginning of satellite links to the Azores and Madeira islands, enabling both RTP Açores and RTP Madeira to air live programming from the mainland. On 15 February 1982, daytime broadcasts were resumed following a brief period where the slot was abolished. The closing time (23:00) was kept in order to cut energy consumption. It was scheduled that by October the broadcasts would encompass the entire afternoon. This plan wasn't properly achieved as the ''Ciclo Preparatório TV'' educational broadcasts were still reserved to air in a five-hour period (13:30 to 18:30). In compensation the channel gained its breakfast program, '' Bom Dia Portugal'' (styled ''Bom Dia, Portugal!''), the first such national program on European television, from 08:00 to 09:30. With this, RTP1 broadcast on average 14 to 15 hours a day, with the afternoon interruption for the educational service. It also premiered ''Vila Faia'', the first Portuguese telenovela. In June 1983, after nearly nine months, ''Bom Dia, Portugal!'' was cancelled by RTP. Plans to bring it back later in the year were later shelved. In October 1983, the daytime period was abolished in order to save energy. Weekday broadcasts were then restricted to start at 17:00 and end at 23:00. Said broadcasts were resumed in 1985, when RTP decided to broadcast the daytime block from Oporto. In April that year, Totoloto draws were televised for the first time, with the creation of the lottery. The educational broadcasts (then known as ''Ciclo Preparatório TV'') were abolished in 1988. By then, daytime shutdowns were abolished. In 1984, the Portuguese adaptation of ''1, 2, 3'' premiered. A weekly newscast for children, ''Jornalinho'', came in the same year. The coverage of theRebranding as Canal 1
Towards the end of the 1980s, RTP was facing challenges with the impending arrival of private broadcasters. As a result, RTP decided to rename RTP1 as RTP Canal 1, in readiness for a bigger rebrand that happened on 17 September 1990, where the channel was now officially rebranded as Canal 1, removing any direct references to the RTP name, in order to reinforce its position in front of the new broadcasters. This phase was marked by a heavy number of imports on air, with RTP buying a higher number of "quality" imports, in contrast with previous years. The reface also saw the premiere of new game shows adapted from international formats, ''Roda da Sorte'' (Wheel of Fortune), ''Casa Cheia'' (Bob's Full House), ''O Preço Certo'' (The Price is Right) and a return of ''1, 2, 3''. The start of the Gulf War in January 1991 saw a historical operation with long hours of news. Having lost its leadership status slowly between 1994 and 1995, owing to SIC's success, it eventually turned into the vice-leader before falling into third place, when TVI got a ratings boost.Reverting back to the RTP1 name
On 29 April 1996, Canal 1 reverted back to its original name RTP1, alongside a full rebranding of the channel. On 31 March 2004, RTP1 rebranded entirely now broadcasting from RTP's new headquarters. The channel startedLogos and identities
Programmes
News
* Manchetes 3 (simulcast with RTP3) * Bom Dia Portugal * Jornal da Tarde * Portugal em Direto * Edição Especial (only on special occasions) * Última Hora (breaking news) * Telejornal * a prova dos factosVariety shows
* Praça da Alegria – a daily variety talk-show broadcast on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 1 pm. It targets the more elderly and illiterate part of the population, with human interest stories, and does not broadcast in summer. * A Nossa Tarde – another daily variety talk-show also broadcast on weekdays between 3 p.m. and 6 pm. Also features interviews, live performances and human interest stories, but with a broader target and appeal. These two talk-shows are often criticized for their long running time, less educated target demographics and for competing with other private television stations with the same format, at the same times of the day. Does not broadcast in the summer. * Aqui Portugal * Verão Total – is a summer show used to fill in for "Praça da Alegria" and "A Nossa Tarde". The show is broadcast from a different town every day.TV series
Portuguese
* Auga SecaAmerican
* The Flash * Longmire * Major Crimes (Crimes Graves) * Pinkalicious & Peterrific (La Rose de Curioso La) (upcoming)Animation
* ''The Simpsons''* * ''DuckTales''* * ''Tiny Toon Adventures''* * ''Darkwing Duck''* * ''Entertainment
* Eurovision Song Contest * Festival da Canção * Got Talent Portugal * Joker * The Price Is Right (O Preço Certo) * The Voice PortugalLate-night talk shows
* 5 Para A Meia-Noite * Cá Por Casa com Herman José * Depois Vai-se A Ver E Nada * Prova OralSports
Music festivals
* NOS Alive * MEO Marés VivasDocumentaries or infotainment
* Portugueses pelo MundoMovies
Exclusive broadcasting rights
* NOS Audiovisuais * Constantin Film *Co-shared broadcasting rights
* Warner Bros./Controversies
In 1976, RTP was forced to cancel the programme '' Nome Mulher'' after a controversial instalment of the program highlighted the illegal abortion trade in Portugal. In 1988, Herman José's Humor de Perdição was put under fire because of the Historical Interviews series of sketches presenting an interview to Elizabeth of Portugal. In 1995, Catholic groups and Rádio Renascença put RTP under pressure for airing the infamous "Last Supper" special edition of Herman ZAP. As a result, it and Parabéns were both pulled.References
External links