IMPRESA was founded by Francisco Pinto Balsemão, one-time prime minister and founding member of Portuguese SocialDemocratic Party (PSD). The journey started with Expresso: the first democratic weekly newspaper published during the dictatorship regime.
Now its portfolio of brands are the country’s leader in sales. Impresa then escalated with SIC, the first Portuguese commercial free to air channel, that turned out to be a case study as the fastest growing audience of a private tv station in Europe, to today’s Portuguese leading Media Group.
8 channels are aired daily, along with free-to-air SIC. Under that umbrella Impresa carries the SIC brand onto its 7 thematic cable channels: SIC Noticias (24h news), SIC Mulher (female audiences), SIC Radical (young audiences), SIC K (kids), SIC Caras (entertainment and lifestyle), SIC International (communities abroad) and TXILLO (kids channel broadcasted in Angola and Mozambique).
In 2020, over 5 million viewers in Portugal engaged with SIC content, the most viewed channel in the country. Every day, more than 2,5 million viewers, watch SIC Notícias, SIC Radical, SIC Mulher, SIC Caras
and SIC K.
SIC channels are also distributed over 36 operators in 15 countries over 5 continents, reaching 10 million viewers through SIC International all over the world.
Its fiction content sold in international markets, can be watched in more than 100 countries worldwide, embracing audiences in different languages, showcasing not only our stories but also our amazing landscapes and culture.
In 2021, at its 48th anniversary, Expresso is the leading newspaper in paper sales and in paid digital subscriptions, with an average of 86 thousand copies sold in print and more than 40 thousand digital subscriptions.
IMPRESA Group’s websites receive an average of 40 million visits per month.
Innovation is at the heart of Impresa Group’s strategy, with the aspiration to continue setting standards in the Portuguese media sector. As it embraces the wave of digital transformation it will continue developing and launching new trends. It’s embedded in the company DNA and day-to-day activity. It’s the disruptive and innovative strength that launched the first private tv station in Portugal, the first Portuguese SVOD streaming platform or the first national e-sports platform.
IMPRESA is constantly paying attention to what audiences want and anticipates their needs. Loves new challenges and has performance-driven teams, who produce results, exceed expectations, and make things happen.
Rodrigo de Carvalho and Clara de Sousa news anchors of “Jornal de Noite”
HIGHLIGHTS
1973 January 6th, Expresso newspaper is founded, immediately becoming a reference in Portuguese society
1987 The Pessoa Prize by Expresso is launched to reward the creativity of Portuguese professionals in cultural and scientific life.
1989 IMPRESA Group’s entry into the magazine market with EXAME
1992 October 6th, the launch of SIC, the first private TV channel in Portugal, occupying the 3rd position in the channel grid.
1997 SIC International begins broadcasting on September 17th, Expresso launches its website Expresso.pt.
2001 SIC Notícias is launched, the first 24-hour live news channel in Portuguese. SIC Radical is launched.
2003 SIC Mulher starts airing on International Women’s Day. Boa Cama Boa Mesa brand and the annual guide specialized in restaurants, hotels and leisure experiences is launched. SIC Esperança is born, a Private Social Solidarity Institution of public utility, transverse to all the IMPRESA Group companies.
2009 SIC begins the internationalization of its thematic channels. SIC K is born.
2011 SIC’s novela “Laços de Sangue – Blood Ties” receives an International Emmy Award in the Novelas category.
2013 SIC launches its fifth thematic channel: SIC Caras.
2014 Dedicated to Portuguese speaking African children and families, SIC launches tailormade channel – DSTV Kids, nowadays rebranded as TXILLO.
2016 Tribuna is born, a sports website under the Expresso identity.
2018 SIC Ventures is born, resulting from IMPRESA’s bet on the diversification of its business areas and on new revenue streams, especially in the digital area.
2019 All group’s brands and activities are concentrated in Impresa building, in Paço de Arcos, Oeiras. SIC upgrades to high-definition production as well as shifting to video-over-IP (Internet Protocol)
2020 Launch of OPTO, the first Portuguese SVOD streaming platform. Launch of Advnce the gaming and e-sports platform. Launch of Atelier Impresa develops tailormade content for companies and brands.
RECENT AWARDS
In 2021 SIC and Expresso brands where once again recognized by the consumers as brands that comply with 5 criteria relevant for consumption: recognition, accuracy, satisfaction, trust and innovation.
SIC report “Visíveis” with four episodes covering racial prejudice was awarded the prize of best Human Rights & Integration journalism by the Portuguese Government and the Portuguese Commission for UNESCO.
The SIC report “Our Everyday Plastic” was awarded the prize for Best Information Programme 2020 by the Portuguese Society of Authors. Written by Carla Castelo, “Our Everyday Plastic” addresses the topic of the proliferation of plastic waste in the environment.
The Impresa group was once again acknowledged at the M&P Creativity in Self Promotion and Media Innovation Awards. SIC and Expresso won Gold, Bronze and Silver awards in the categories of Creativity in Self-Promotion and Innovation in Media and were nominated for several other projects.
Four stories published by Expresso in 2019-2020 won the cyber journalism awards by ObCiber in the following categories: “infographics” with Round the world in 200 messages based on Ferdinand Magellan the Portuguese explorer travel; “digital report” with two stories, one on Informal Caregivers and another one on Berlin wall fall, 30 years after; “digital story video” with a report on schools that shelter kids from healthcare professionals working at COVID19 frontline.
FICTION AWARDS
WILD LAND | TERRA BRAVA
2020 | 21th WORLD MEDIA FESTIVAL winner of Gold Medal for Best Telenovela in the Telenovela Category
NAZARÉ
2020 | 21st World Media Festival (Germany) winner of Silver Medal in the Telenovela Category
2020 | NEW YORK FESTIVALS® INTERNATIONAL TV & FILM AWARDS Finalist – Telenovela Category
2020 | 59th ROSE D’OR AWARDS nominated for Best Soap or Telenovela
TANGLED LIVES | VIDAS OPOSTAS
2019 | 47th INTERNATIONAL EMMY AWARDS Emmy Nominated for Best Telenovela
