Benfica TV, the basic-tier channel that is operated by Benfica, the most popular football club in Portugal, will become a premium pay-television channel later this year, according to the Publico news website.
Subscribers will have to pay up to €10 ($13.20) per month to access the channel, the report said.
Benfica is also in talks over carriage deals with pay-television operators Meo, Optimus Clix and Cabovisão, which already carry the channel, as well as the Zon Multimedia media company.
The channel has acquired rights for the English Premier League, the top division of football in England, for the three seasons from 2013-14 to 2015-16, and will also show Benfica games after the club decided against renewing a deal with the Olivedesportos agency beyond the 2012-13 season.
Domingos Soares de Oliveira, Benfica’s chief executive, said that the “richer content” would justify the subscription fee and added that “all partners” have been involved in the ongoing carriage talks.