Government distributes 1.35 million euros in support for local media

The Government has set at 1,350,364.21 euros the total amount of State aid for regional and local media to be awarded in the year 2026, through Order No. 12729/2026, published in the Diário da República on October 20, 2026 (2nd series, no. 203, Part C). The funds are distributed among the five Coordination and Regional Development Commissions (CCDR, I. P.), with the North receiving the largest share, with 611,991.50 euros. The order takes effect from the day following its publication, i.e., October 21.

The diploma is based on Decree-Law No. 23/2015, of February 6, which approves the regime of State incentives for the media, whose Article 14 determines that the amounts to be awarded are fixed annually by order of the members of the Government responsible for the areas of finance, media, and regional development. Under paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Regulation approved by Administrative Rule No. 179/2015, of June 16, this order must specify the budget allocation for each CCDR and define the rules for the reallocation of surplus amounts.

According to the preamble, the CCDRs have already initiated the procedures for awarding the incentives provided for in subparagraphs b) to f) of Article 10 of Decree-Law No. 23/2015, therefore the order now fixes the funds by region and by typology. The legal basis also invokes Decree-Law No. 87-A/2025, of July 25, in its current wording.

Regional distribution

The allocation is divided as follows:

• CCDR North: 611,991.50 euros (116,754.91 for literacy and education, 460,731.30 for technological modernization, 18,467.50 for digital development, and 16,037.79 for strategic partnerships).
• CCDR Center: 254,276.07 euros (151,548.79 and 102,727.28 in the first two typologies).
• CCDR Alentejo: 241,845.11 euros (123,757.57 for literacy, 89,322.86 for modernization, 17,798.81 for digital development, and 10,965.87 for partnerships).
• CCDR Algarve: 147,787.47 euros (36,752.40 for literacy, 96,634.32 for modernization, 9,000.00 for digital development, and 5,400.75 for partnerships).
• CCDR Lisbon and Tagus Valley: 94,464.06 euros (42,800.41 for literacy, 48,483.65 for modernization, and 3,180.00 for partnerships).

Technological modernization absorbs nearly 60% of the funds

The support is organized into five incentive typologies: literacy and education for the media, technological modernization, digital development, accessibility, and development of strategic partnerships. Technological modernization concentrates 797,899.41 euros, approximately 59% of the total, followed by literacy and education, with 471,614.08 euros. Digital development receives 45,266.31 euros and strategic partnerships receive 35,584.41 euros.

The accessibility typology has no allocation assigned for 2026: all CCDRs show zero euros in this item. Within the respective allocation, each CCDR may approve the funding of applications up to the maximum limit defined for each typology.

Reallocation of surpluses between regions

The order provides for two levels of reallocation. In the first instance, if the allocation for a typology is not fully applied and there remain applications for other typologies with insufficient funds, each CCDR reallocates the surpluses according to two successive rules:

• The remaining part of applications with partially approved funding is approved, based on the scoring grid of the final ranking list.
• Applications are then approved based on the score assigned in that list.

At a second level, funds that remain surplus in a CCDR are redistributed to regions with insufficient allocation relative to the number of approved applications. The redistribution is proportional to the number of applications approved subject to budgetary reallocation, and the amounts are allocated preferentially to applications with partial funding and, subsidiarily, to those with the highest scores. The Government General Secretariat, in coordination with #PortugalMediaLab, applies these criteria and communicates the eligible applications to the CCDRs.

The order is signed by the Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento (October 16, 2026), the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro (August 11, 2026), and the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida (September 10, 2026).

Impact on local bodies

The 2026 allocation is the envelope that determines, in practice, how many regional newspapers, radios, and publications receive state support this year and in which areas they can invest. The overwhelming weight of technological modernization signals that the government priority is digital transition and the technical efficiency of local bodies, while the absence of funds for accessibility leaves this dimension without funding in all regions. The reallocation rules are equally decisive: they allow surpluses from one typology or region to end up in applications that would otherwise be excluded, which may alter the final result for candidates placed at the limit of the ranking list.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 203, of October 20, 2026, Part C (official reference: Order no. 12729/2026).