Portugal's Benfica Sells Broadcast Rights To NOS For $423M

Portuguese club Benfica on Wednesday said that it signed an agreement with Portuguese telecom NOS for the sale of broadcasting rights of Benfica's Team A home games for the Primeira Liga and rights to broadcast and distribute the Benfica TV channel. The deal is worth up to €400M ($423M), payable in annual installments. The contract will start from the '16-17 season, and has been signed for an initial duration of three years. The deal may be extended to a total of up to 10 seasons (Benfica). SOCCEREX reported in July Benfica TV agreed to "a deal for the rights to show games from Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1." The channel also has the rights "to broadcast games from the English Premier League to its subscribers." NOS "struck a three and a half year deal in February to become the sole title sponsor of the Primeira Liga" (SOCCEREX, 12/3).