For the international television and film community, Brazil is synonymous not only with soccer, samba and coffee, but TV Globo, one of the world's largest and most profitable networks.
TV Globo is a privately-owned company based firmly in Rio de Janeiro that dominates the Brazilian television market, a market which is now estimated to be the world's fourth largest, representing around 5% of the total world network television audience.
TV Globo first went on air on 26 April 1965. It was not, however, as many non-Brazilians imagine, a pioneer of Brazilian or South American television. The first South American transmission on 18 September 1950, by TV Tupi in São Paulo, pre-dated Globo by nearly 15 years. TV Tupi was followed in 1952 by TV Paulista and in 1953 by TV Record.
In 1960 it was the turn of TV Excelsior, which took over the top spot thanks to its daily novela (soap), a format that was copied by Tupi. Besides Globo, the 60s also saw the birth of TV Bandeirantes.
Yet the modest station launched by Roberto Marinho, then best known as the owner of the O Globo newspaper, had big plans. From Rio he rapidly expanded TV Globo's operations and market to São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasília and Recife and used the base of five major cities to spread Globo into the first truly national network when the evening news, Jornal Nacional, still the leader in the national ratings, went on the air for the first time in 1969.
Marinho's timing was perfect. It was the advent of video tape, satellite transmission on Intelsat and many other technical advancements, including the introduction of colour television to Brazil in 1972. It was also a time when the Brazilian public discovered television en masse, be it to watch man land on the moon, Brazil win its third World Cup, or to watch Globo's telenovelas, which were becoming a national institution. Brazil tuned in to watch Véu de Noiva, Globo's first true novela in 1969, Dancin' Days, Baila Comigo, Pai Heroi, Sinha Moca and the series Carga Pesada and Malu Mulher.
It was Globo's professionalism and production capabilities that made it stand apart from the other Brazilian networks. Soon it became clear that it was a case of Globo and the rest as it grew to hold a 70% audience share during prime time which, on occasions, thanks to particularly popular telenovelas, nearly hit the perfect 100%. For official records, Roque Santeiro's share has been logged as 98%.
Today Globo produces nearly 4,500 hours of new programming a year for its single channel, which arguably makes it the biggest producer of television programming in the world. The backbone of Globo's prime-time programming is its three daily telenovelas which fill the slot between 6pm and 9.30pm along with Jornal Nacional, which slips in between the seven and eight o'clock novelas and helps boost the average nightly audience to more than 40 million.
The telenovelas are responsible for more than 60% of the network's billings and are the pot of gold that finances its growth, as well as funding ambitious projects like the new US$120 million studio complex in Rio de Janeiro. The money comes from advertising, both traditional spots as well as in programme merchandising, including within the novelas themselves.
If Globo has a secret to its continuing success, it is that it has its finger very firmly on the pulse of the Brazilian public and its tastes. It seems to sense what Brazilians want at any given time, be it politically, emotionally or in terms of pure entertainment. Its critics would argue that it is actually TV Globo which is the kingmaker and moulds the tastes and opinions of the Brazilian public but for many, TV Globo is simply a prime example of what Brazil is capable of doing when it gets things right. When it does, it can hold its head up and stand with the best.
That is exactly where TV Globo finds itself as it moves into its fourth decade.
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