RTP1

RTP1
Launched	7 March 1957
Owned by	Rádio e Televisão de Portugal
Picture format	Resolution: 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Audience share	12.7% (March 2017 (2017-03), CAEM)
Slogan	Continua ("Continues")
Country	Portugal
Broadcast area	Portugal
Headquarters	Lisbon (main) Porto (secondary)
Formerly called	RTP (7 March 1957 − 24 December 1968) I Programa (25 December 1968 − 15 October 1978) RTP Canal 1 (1989 − 28 April 1996)
Sister channel(s)	RTP2 RTP3 RTP Memória RTP Açores RTP Madeira RTP África RTP Internacional
Website	www.rtp.pt/rtp1
Availability
Terrestrial
TDT	Channel 1 (SD)
Satellite
NOS	Channel 1 (SD)
MEO	Channel 1 (SD)
Cable
NOS	Channel 1 (SD) Channel 301 (HD)
Nowo	Channel 1 (SD) Channel 201 (HD)
IPTV
MEO	Channel 1 (SD/MEOBox) Channel 1 (HD/RF output) Channel 201 (HD/MEOBox)
Vodafone	Channel 1 (SD) Channel 201 or 999 (HD)
Streaming media
RTP Play	http://www.rtp.pt/play/direto/rtp1

RTP1 is the main television channel of Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, the Portuguese public broadcasting corporation. It is Portugal's first channel, and was launched in 1955. For a brief period it was known and marketed as Canal 1 (Channel 1); it has long been commonly called this. It is one of the most watched television networks in the country. The channel became a 24-hour service in 2002, although it now leases its graveyard slot (3:56 am to 5:59 am) to the infomercial producer and direct-response marketer, A Loja Em Casa (in turn owned by El Corte Inglés). Until that point, RTP1 closed down with the national anthem, but this practice stopped not too long before infomercials filled the overnight slots.

RTP1 has a variety of programs, composed mainly of news and talk-shows, sports, current affairs, national and international fiction, such as films and TV series. Unlike sister channel RTP2, RTP1 broadcasts commercial advertising, which, along with the licence fee, finances the channel.

History

RTP was established in December 1955 with test broadcasts conducted in September 1956 at the now-defunct Feira Popular amusement park in Lisbon. Regular broadcasts commenced at 21:30 on 7 March 1957. Initially the channel broadcast from 21:30 to either 23:00 or 23:30, with an additional period on Sundays between 18:00 and 19:00. Initially, RTP had a very limited coverage area, encompassing the northern and central coastal areas of Portugal, before expanding to the whole of the mainland in the mid-1960s.

On 18 October 1959, Telejornal went on air for the first time, becoming the longest-running Portuguese TV show to end.

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.

Daytime broadcasts commenced in 1970, with a two-hour period running at various times mostly between 12:30 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.

In 1974, RTP's ratings grew with the expansion of the acquisition of television sets in the country. The first colour broadcasts were conducted in 1976, with the legislative elections.

On 16 October 1978, the channel was renamed RTP-1 (initially hyphenated). Colour programming was now in production, and a heat of Jeux Sans Frontières has 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 before launching regularly on 7 March 1980.

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. The educational broadcasts (then known as Ciclo Preparatório TV) were abolished in 1988. By then, daytime shutdowns were abolished.

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, in order to reinforce its position in front of the new broadcasters. 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.

On 29 April 1996, Canal 1 reverted to RTP1.

In 2002, Emílio Rangel joined RTP1, coming from SIC, changing the face of public television in Portugal but causing havoc on the broadcaster. During this phase, the channel had overly-long news bulletins (i.e. RTP at 8 ending as late as 21:30) and thought-provoking debate shows (Gregos e Troianos).

On 31 March 2004, RTP1 rebranded entirely now broadcasting from RTP's new headquarters.

The channel started widescreen tests on 8 June 2012 with the Euro 2012 opening ceremony and the first match (Poland vs. Greece). On 14 January 2013, the channel formally became a widescreen channel.

Identity

RTP1's logotype has been changed various times over the years.

Up until October 1978, RTP's logo was used on the channel without any indication of being either the first or the second channel starting from 1968. The first proper logo consisted of the RTP logo next to a 1, which quickly changed to a striped 1 with a large semi-circular track composed of four lines with four straight lines falling out from the right, with the text RTP-1 to the right of it.

From 7 March 1980 to December 1985, both channels used the same logo format, and the first colour logo on the channel consisted of a sort of eye formed out of two swooshes with a circle in the middle and the text RTP-1 next to it. It was changed to a rounded rectangle with a yellow outline, a blue 1 and the RTP wordmark underneath. The only known ident with this logo is a breakbumper consisting solely of the channel's logo. Later on, by 1983, RTP 1 used a succession with the three incarnations of a logo, constantly changing every few months, with red as the channel's colour.

On 23 March 1984, RTP1's logo was just the channel's name written in the Sinaloa typeface. This was replaced the following year by a new logo, consisting of the RTP1 wordmark inside a rounded rectangle, with a diagonal line separating the RTP from the 1.

On 13 October 1986, RTP 1 changed to a logo consisting of a white 1 stuck between a blue circle, a green square and a red triangle. The main ident featured the 1 as a circle, the shapes fly to form the numeral and the RTP wordmark appears from the logo.

On 2 December 1988, the channel's logo was a green 1 inside a blue square. The picture seen here comes from a transitory phase in 1990.

In 1989, RTP1 was renamed Canal 1, and on 17 September 1990, a permanent, opaque and coloured DOG "C·1" was introduced in the upper-right corner of the channel until April 1991, when a smaller "C·1" was placed on the upper-left corner. The logotype consisted of blue, 3D characters with a golden armillary sphere inside the "C". Most Canal 1 idents were CGI, accompanied by a voice-over chorus singing the name of the channel, and featured several motifs in a short period of time, such as British and American skylines, playing cards, roulettes, riots and astronauts. This lasted for four years and was eventually replaced by a single ident where the "armillary sphere" is formed out of parts of it in 1994, followed by a simple look featuring the channel's logo forming up in 1995.

On 29 April 1996, Canal 1 was again renamed RTP1, and the new logotype consisted of a white "1" in a light blue background, with the letters "RTP" underneath in white, overlaid in a dark blue background. RTP1 idents consisted mainly on a tridimensional representation of the logo in a blue moving curtain background, with the channel tune played in piano and organ as the background music.

On 12 October 1998, RTP1 debuted a new ident collection, designed by Novocom, along with its sister channel, RTP2, that featured several motifs such as eyes, or Christmas ornaments during the Holiday season. This lasted until 2001, when a new identity, featuring a single ident was used, until 2002. This look was designed by BBC Broadcast.

On 28 January 2002, RTP1's logo changed again, and with that, a new ident collection was created. This one featured idents where the logo was formed from snow, fire, sand and water. This collection lasted until early 2003, when then, it was replaced by a single ident, that features the channel's logo on a light blue background.

From the rebranding on 31 March 2004 until early 2009, RTP1 only used one ident at any period of time, instead of having a collection of idents (like its sister channel RTP2, for example). From 2004 to 2007, the single ident was the RTP corporate logo moving around a dark blue background which would at a given time "sit" at the proper background. In 2007, for the RTP's television department 50th anniversary, this was changed to a single ident that featured a few RTP-styled ribbons that would then give place to the RTP1 logo.

On 7 January 2009, the channel changed its identity again. Being the first true ident collection since 2003, it was composed with a variety of short animated films reproduced inside the RTP logo on a black or white background. This lasted until mid-2011.

From mid-2011 until 8 January 2013, the ident collection featured idents with the logo of RTP being formed by blocks side by side, while showcasing several elements of a specific year season.

On 8 January 2013, RTP1 was given a new rebranding. The 2004 logo was maintained, but a new collection of idents, featuring Portuguese locales and youth, was introduced. The rebrand also repositioned RTP1 as a channel for Portuguese-produced content, featuring new infotainment and documentary shows, as well as brand new sitcoms and drama shows. This rebrand also included a full conversion to the 16:9 aspect ratio (just like its sister channel, RTP2), as opposed to the 4:3, which was widely used until 29 March 2016. On 6 January 2014, RTP Internacional started to use the same graphics as RTP1, with their own logo instead.

On 29 March 2016, as part of a global rebranding of RTP, RTP1's logo was revised for the first time in 10 years. The inner part of the ribbons became rectangles without rounded corners, the RTP text has more straight angles and the number 1 is now written in the Calibre Bold font. The idents are made by invited Portuguese graphic artists, such as Vhils in 2016, and João Paulo Feliciano in 2017. RTP1 adopted a new minimalist graphic, using light blue as its accent color and closing the promotions with a white version of the new logo in a blue background. Also, the on-screen DOG is now static.

• 
  RTP1's former logo (2002–2004)
• 
  RTP1's logo from 2004 until 2016

Programs

Controversies

In 1988, RTP pulled several sketches from Humor de Perdição: the last few sketches from the Historical Interviews series.

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.

External links

• Official Site (in Portuguese)
• RTP1 Live Stream on RTP Play