I never thought I’d become the “streaming guy” among my friends, but it all started last summer when my electricity bill nearly gave me a heart attack. €87
for a month where I was barely home! My cousin Rita laughed when I complained about it over dinner at her place in Parque das Nações. “Jorge, you’re still paying for that ridiculous cable package? I cut mine three months ago and haven’t looked back.”
Between bites of her homemade bacalhau com natas (which, by the way, had that perfect crispy top that I can never seem to achieve), she showed me her simple setup. No bulky cable box, just a sleek smart TV and an internet connection. That night changed everything for me.
According to Miguel Santos, founder of WatchTVStreams.com, this is becoming increasingly common: “Portuguese families are realizing they’ve been overpaying for entertainment for years. When people discover they can get more content for half the price, that cable contract suddenly feels like a bad relationship they can’t wait to end.
“What’s the Real Difference? (Explaining to My Grandmother)
My avó Conceição (86 and proud of it) kept asking me why I was “messing with the television” when I visited her in Sintra last month. I explained it like this:
“Avó, remember how you used to have to be home at exactly 8 PM to watch your novela on TVI? And if you missed it, too bad? That’s cable TV. You pay a lot of money for someone else to decide when you can watch things.
Streaming is like having all your novelas in a box that you can open anytime you want. You can watch episode 1 today and episode 5 tomorrow if you feel like it. And you can watch on your phone while waiting at the doctor’s office too!”
She squinted suspiciously but seemed intrigued when I showed her how to find her favorite cooking show on YouTube.
A Word About Legality:
As my late grandfather used to warn while wagging his finger, “O barato sai caro quando vem da feira” (what’s cheap ends up expensive when it comes from the black market). Always make sure you’re using legitimate services that respect copyright laws. The last thing you want is your internet getting cut off in the middle of a Sporting vs. Benfica match!
Cable TV: The Old Faithful (But Is It?)
Last Christmas Eve at my uncle António’s place in Coimbra, the whole family was huddled around his massive TV watching the special holiday programming. “This MEO package costs me €65 a month, but it’s worth every cent,” he boasted, remote control firmly in his possession. My teenage cousin Diogo rolled his eyes behind his father’s back.
“Dad refuses to change,” he whispered to me later while helping in the kitchen. “I’ve been telling him we could save enough for our summer vacation in Algarve if he’d just switch to streaming, but he’s afraid he’ll miss his football matches.”
The Good Stuff:
Works even when the internet is being temperamental
All the Portuguese channels your heart desires
Sport TV packages for football fanatics
No technical headaches to set up
The remote control hasn’t changed in 10 years
The Not-So-Good Stuff:
Miss your favorite show? Tough luck!
Monthly bills that make you wince
Those 24-month contracts with scary penalties
Chained to your living room TV
Paying for 200 channels when you watch maybe 7
What It’ll Cost You: €35-€75 monthly plus that annoying installation fee
My Honest Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (It works, but so did horse carriages before cars)
Streaming Services: The New Kid on the Block
“PAUSE IT! I need to get more wine!” shouted my friend Mariana during our “Wednesday” viewing party at her apartment near Estação do Oriente. Five of us were squeezed onto her sofa, sharing a charcuterie board and binge-watching the entire season. When someone’s phone rang, Mariana simply tapped the screen, and our show waited patiently.
“Remember when we used to rush home to catch a specific program?” she laughed, pouring more vinho verde. “Now I watch half an episode on the metro coming home from work and finish it while making dinner.”
The Good Stuff:
Watch whatever, whenever (even at 3 AM when you can’t sleep)
Cancel anytime without talking to a customer service rep
Use your phone, tablet, laptop, or TV
Recommendations that actually make sense
Original shows you can’t find anywhere else
The Not-So-Good Stuff:
Need Netflix AND HBO AND Disney+ for all your shows
That awkward buffering when your internet decides to take a siesta
Finding Portuguese content can be a treasure hunt on some platforms
Sports fans might need additional subscriptions
Your parents calling you for tech support
What It’ll Cost You: €8-€16 per service monthly
My Honest Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Almost perfect, but adds up if you want everything)
IPTV: The Best of Both Worlds?
“Estás a brincar comigo?” (Are you kidding me?) I exclaimed when my tech-savvy neighbor Carlos showed me his IPTV setup during a World Cup match last year. We were at his weekend house near Albufeira, and I was expecting to miss the Portugal game.
Instead, he had every sports channel imaginable, plus movies, series, and international channels I’d never seen before. “I was paying NOS almost €70 a month,” he said, passing me a Super Bock. “Now I pay €15 and get three times the content. My wife watches Brazilian telenovelas, I get my football, and the kids never run out of cartoons.”
After researching various options, I discovered their comprehensive guide to Portuguese IPTV services that explained everything I needed to know.
The Good Stuff:
Ridiculous amount of channels including all Portuguese favorites
Costs less than half of traditional cable
Watch old episodes whenever you want
Works on your TV, computer, tablet, or phone
No scary long-term commitment
The Not-So-Good Stuff:
Requires some basic tech knowledge to set up
Needs decent internet to avoid the dreaded buffering wheel
Quality varies depending on which service you choose
What It’ll Cost You: €10-€20 monthly
My Honest Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (The smart choice for most households)
What You’ll Need (The Technical Bits)
When my sister Filipa in Braga decided to cut her cable, she called me in a panic: “The guy at the electronics store gave me a list of things to buy and I don’t understand any of it!”
Here’s what I told her you actually need:
Internet That Doesn’t Crawl: Minimum 15 Mbps, but honestly, get at least 30 Mbps if multiple people will be watching different things
Something Smart: Either a smart TV (most new ones are), or a streaming stick like Chromecast or Fire TV (around €30-€50)
Nice-to-Haves: A decent router if your house has thick walls, maybe an external hard drive if you like downloading content for your beach trips to Algarve
My neighbor Teresa in Lisbon had terrible buffering issues until we realized her router was hidden behind her metal TV stand. “I moved it to the bookshelf and suddenly everything works perfectly!” she told me, amazed that such a simple fix solved her problems.
Who Should Choose What?For Families with Kids
My cousin Sofia in Porto has three children under 10. “Disney+ has been a lifesaver,” she told me while the kids were distracted by Encanto for the 17th time. “But we also wanted Portuguese content for them, so we added an IPTV subscription. Now they watch Panda and their Disney shows, and it’s still cheaper than our old MEO package.”
For Football Fanatics
My brother-in-law Rui would probably sell a kidney before missing a Benfica match. “I was worried about losing Sport TV when we cut cable,” he admitted over grilled sardines at our family’s Santos Populares celebration. “But our IPTV package actually has more sports channels, including ones from the UK and Spain.”
For Portuguese Emigrants
My aunt Luísa moved to France 15 years ago but stays connected to home through Portuguese TV. “I missed RTP and SIC so much,” she told me during her Christmas visit. “Now I have all Portuguese channels through IPTV, and I feel connected to home even when I’m far away.”
For the Tech-Challenged
My mother-in-law Dona Helena (73) was terrified of changing her TV setup. “I just want to press one button and watch my programs,” she insisted. We set her up with a simple Fire TV stick with large icons and taught her the basics. “This is actually easier than before!” she admitted after a week, proudly showing me how she could find her favorite cooking shows.
The Future of TV in Portuguese Homes
The shift is happening faster than anyone expected. At my company’s Christmas dinner at that nice restaurant in Chiado last December, I was surprised to discover that 14 out of 17 colleagues had already abandoned traditional cable.
“The pandemic changed everything,” explained the team at WatchTVStreams.com when I interviewed them for this article. “People had more time to research alternatives, and once they realized how much money they could save while getting more content, there was no going back.”
Making Your Choice (Sem Stress!)
When my friend Pedro in Setúbal asked for my advice, here’s what I told him to consider:
What Do You Actually Watch? Make a list of your must-have channels and shows
Do the Math: Calculate what you’re paying now versus streaming options
Test Your Internet: Run a speed test (Google it) to make sure it’s up to the task
Be Honest About Your Tech Skills: Are you comfortable setting things up, or do you need something super simple?
How Do You Watch? On the go? Only at home? Multiple TVs?
The Bottom Line
After helping six friends and countless family members make the switch, I’ve come to a conclusion: for most Portuguese households in 2025, a combination of free services (RTP Play, TVI Player) plus one or two premium streaming subscriptions OR a good IPTV service offers the best value.
My personal setup? I kept the most basic MEO internet package, added a Fire TV stick, and subscribed to an IPTV service I found through WatchTVStreams.com. My monthly entertainment bill went from €72 to €29, and I have more content than I could watch in three lifetimes.
What about you? Are you still clinging to your cable package like my uncle António, or have you made the leap to streaming? Share your setup in the comments – I’m always looking for ways to improve mine!
