ABSTRACT
Benfica is Portugal’s most successful soccer club. Despite their national dominance, the modernization of the game led to a big economic gap between the team and the continent’s soccer elite. In an attempt to regain some of its continental glory, Benfica’s board analyzed the revenue stream of the club and concluded that TV revenue had to be improved. Analyzing the Benfica case through a media economy lens and mediatization theory, this case study contextualizes how the process of creating its own TV channel increased Benfica’s broadcast income from 7.5 million euros to 40 million euros per year in just a four-year period.
