Television in Brazil
Encyclopedia
Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

was introduced on September 18, 1950, with the launch of the now-defunct TV Tupi by media mogul Assis Chateaubriand. Since then, it has grown significantly, becoming one of largest and most productive commercial television systems in the world. Its biggest network, Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...

, is the fourth largest commercial network in the world, and is one of the largest television exporters around the world, particularly of telenovelas, which have become popular in many countries.

However, as referenced by journalist Eugênio Bucci, the problem of "audiovisual media ownership concentration is relatively sharper" in Brazil when compared to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. According to the study Donos da Mídia (Media owners), Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...

 alone controls 340 television stations, more than SBT and Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...

 combined together. This is largely attributed to the fact that television in the country was launched by the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

, without much state regulation. As a matter of fact, the first national public television network, TV Brasil
TV Brasil
TV Brasil is a Brazilian non-profit public broadcasting television network launched on December 2, 2007 at noon. Although TV Cultura was the first public broadcasting channel in the country, TV Brasil is the first launched by the federal government.-History:...

, was only launched on December 2, 2007, the same day that digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...

 was introduced in the country, initially limited to the cities of Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...

, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Salvador
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...

, São Luís and São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

.

Formation

The first image to appear in TV Tupi was that of five-year-old Sônia Maria Dorce, who, dressed up as a Native Brazilian
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...

, said: "The Brazilian TV is now on air". The symbol of Tupi was that of a Native Brazilian kid.

In the 1950s, Brazilian television was marked by informality, since there were no trained professionals in the country with any experience in this media field. Another characteristic of television productions of this early period was live impromptu, once there was no videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...

. The high costs of TV sets, which were imported, restricted the access of the media to the urban elites of major cities. Technical resources were primary, offering broadcasters just enough to keep the stations on the air. It was during that period that TV news and telenovelas were established.

The advent of videotape around 1960 brought imported programs to Brazilian television. As a typical characteristic of countries developing their television systems, imported shows dominated the programming for much of the decade, but their presence also stimulated some efforts at creating local networks. TV Tupi soon faced strong competition from TV Excelsior
TV Excelsior
Rede Excelsior was a Brazilian television network founded by Mário Wallace Simonsen on July 9, 1960 in São Paulo, São Paulo. Its last broadcast happened on September 30, 1970, when the Brazilian military dictatorship put an abrupt end to it.-History:...

.

Expansion

Television became a mass medium in Brazil earlier than in most developing countries. The military dictatorship which took power in 1964 saw audiovisual communication as a tool for creating a stronger national identity, a broader consumer economy, and controlling political information. The military pushed television deeper into the population by subsidizing credit for set sales, building national microwave and satellite distribution systems, which prompted the growth of Rede Globo, which they chose as a privileged partner. TV Excelsior, an opponent of the regime, on the other hand, was forced to close after losing government advertisement.

Globo, launched a few months after the 1964 coup, created the first true national network by the late 1960s. Censorship of news was extensive under the military governments between 1966 and 1978, but it also encouraged national television program production. In the early 1970s, several government ministers pushed the commercial networks to develop more Brazilian programming and reduce reliance on imported programs, particularly those with violent and sexual content. While Globo adopted an international model for operations, 90 percent of its content was produced in Brazil.

The 1960s represented a formative period for television development. Telenovelas had largely been patterned after those in other Latin American countries, even using imported scripts, but during that decade they were developed into a considerably more sophisticated genre, specifically after the airing of Beto Rockfeller
Beto Rockfeller
Beto Rockfeller is a Brazilian telenovela produced by TV Tupi and aired from November 4, 1968 to November 30, 1969. It was created by Cassiano Gabus Mendes, written by Bráulio Pedroso and directed by Lima Duarte and Walter Avancini.-Plot:...

, a well-produced story about a Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 good-lifer, in 1968 by Tupi. By the 1970s, telenovelas were the most popular programs and dominated prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...

 on the major networks, Globo and Tupi. Globo, in particular, began to attract major writers and actors from both film and theater to work in its telenovelas. The Brazilian telenovelas became good enough, as commercial television entertainment, to be exported throughout Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Brazilian exports reached over a hundred countries and the programs have often proved to be great international hits. This is particularly the case with historical telenovelas such as Escrava Isaura.

Another major genre of the 1960s was show de auditório, a live variety show mixing games, quizzes, amateur and professional entertainers, comedy, and discussion. The shows de auditório have been extremely popular with the lower and middle classes, and, according to analysts such as Sérgio Miceli, played an extremely important role in drawing them into television viewing.

Globo domination

From early 1970s to late 1980s, Globo dominated both the audience and the development of television programming. It had a 60-80% share in major cities at any given time. As television researcher Joseph Straubhaar declared, "even people who might have had questions about the news almost always accepted the Globo novelas". During this period, Globo was accused of being the mouthpiece of the dictatorship, mainly because of its omission in covering the Diretas Já
Diretas Já
Diretas Já Now) was a civil unrest movement which, in 1984, demanded direct presidential elections in Brazil.-Participants of the movement: The movement brought together diverse elements of Brazilian society. Participants came from a broad spectrum of political parties, trade unions, civil,...

movement, in which thousands of Brazilians gathered on public squares to demand a direct election for President. In 1980, Tupi went bankrupt and was closed by the military government. Its signal was split and given to Silvio Santos
Silvio Santos
-External links:*...

, which launched SBT, and Adolpho Bloch, which launched Rede Manchete
Rede Manchete
Rede Manchete was a television network from Brazil. It first aired on June 5, 1983 in Rio de Janeiro and simultaneously in other 5 Brazilian cities, like São Paulo on Rede Exclesior's old channel 9 frequency...

. Since Tupi's disappearance, Globo virtually dominated the market alone. The only time its leadership was threatened was when Manchete aired Pantanal in 1990. Nevertheless, Manchete never achieved the same success with any other of its telenovelas, and would have the same fate of Tupi, ceasing its operations on May 1999, and having its signal replaced by that of RedeTV!.

With Globo dominating the ratings, other broadcast television networks found themselves pursuing smaller, more specific audience segments largely defined by social class. SBT targeted lower middle class, working class and poor audiences, mostly with variety and game shows, in addition to soaps imported from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

's Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...

. This strategy gained it a consistent second place in ratings for most of the 1980s and 1990s. On the other hand, Manchete initially targeted a more elite audience, with news, high budget telenovelas, and imported programs, but found the segment too small to gain an adequate advertiser support. Bandeirantes tended to emphasize news, public affairs and sports. All three ultimately wished to pursue a general audience with general appeal programming, such as telenovelas, but discovered that such efforts would not generate an audience sufficient to pay for the increased programming costs.

In 1984, Globo initially supported the military government against Diretas Já, a popular campaign for the direct election of a civilian government, while other television networks, most notably Manchete, supported the change. Perceiving that it might literally lose its audience to competitors, Globo switched sides and supported the transition to a civilian regime, which was indirectly elected in a compromise situation. The new political circumstances immediately reduced political censorship and pressure on broadcasters.

In the 1990s, UHF television channels were launched, such as music oriented MTV Brasil
MTV Brasil
MTV Brasil is the Brazilian version of MTV, owned by Abril Mídia, the nation's largest magazine publisher, under license from Viacom - owned MTV Networks Latin AmericaMTV Brasil is one of two versions of MTV available in free-to-air terrestrial television...

, and the Catholic channel Rede Vida. Also during that period, TV Cultura
TV Cultura
TV Cultura is Brazilian television network headquartered in São Paulo and a part of Fundação Padre Anchieta. It focuses on cultural subjects but also has sports as entertainment options.- History :...

 and Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...

, both based in São Paulo, began to air their signal in national broadcasting systems.

Audience decline

The 2000s saw the decline of television audience in the country, as internet access grew rapidly. The daily average of TV sets turned on dropped from 65% in 1982–1991 to 42% in 2008. In the decade, the top five TV networks in the country lost altogether 4.3% of their share. SBT lost 44% of its viewership in the prime time, while Globo lost 9%. The biggest decline for Globo were in its showcase telenovelas, aired at 9 p.m., which reachead an all-time low during the decade. The network's latest telenovela in the time slot, Viver a Vida
Viver a Vida
Viver a Vida is a Brazilian telenovela , broadcast by Rede Globo at 9 P.M. It is written by Manoel Carlos in collaboration with Ângela Chaves, Cláudia Lage, Daisy Chaves, Juliana Perez and Maria Carolina. The telenovela is directed by Teresa Lamprey, Frederico Mayrink, Luciano Sabino, Leonardo...

, scored the lowest ratings of the past ten years. According to Renata Pallottin, a professor at University of São Paulo
University of São Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...

's Art and Communication School, this happens because recent telenovelas, which has the same basic story sketches since the 1970s, has proven to be unappealing to younger audiences, who watch American television series on cable TV or surf the web instead. As such, telenovelas audience grew significantly older and richer in the past decade.
Rede Globo ratings at 9 p.m. (2000–2011)

Year Telenovela Share
IBOPE
IBOPE was established in Brazil in 1942 and provides the largest collection of information in Brazilian and Latin American markets...

 (*)
+/-
2000–2001 Laços de Família 44.9% -
2001 Porto dos Milagres 44.6% -0.3%
2002 O Clone
O Clone
O Clone is a Brazilian TV Series/Telenovela that ran on the Rede Globo Network from October 1, 2001 to June 14, 2002, airing 221 episodes.-Plot:...

47.0% +2.4%
2002–2003 Esperança 38.0% -9.0%
2003 Mulheres Apaixonadas
Mulheres Apaixonadas
Mulheres Apaixonadas is a Brazilian soap opera which originally aired on Rede Globo from February 17, 2003 until October 11, 2003. A total of 203 episodes were created for the series.- Cast :*Christiane Torloni - Helena Ribeiro Alves...

46.6% +8.6%
2003–2004 Celebridade 46% -0.6%
2004–2005 Senhora do Destino 50.4% +4.4%
2005 América
América (TV series)
América is a Brazilian telenovela that was originally broadcast in 2005 by Rede Globo. The telenovela focused on the life of an illegal immigrant to the United States and the lives of those she left behind in Brazil. It stars Deborah Secco and Murilo Benício...

49.4% -1.0%
2006 Belíssima 48.5% -0.9%
2006–2007 Páginas da Vida 46.8% -1.7%
2007 Paraíso Tropical 42.8% -4.0%
2007–2008 Duas Caras
Duas Caras
Duas Caras is a Brazilian television drama that was broadcast by Rede Globo in 2007 and 2008.-Plot:Adalberto Rangel, born Juvenaldo, lived with his poor father and siblings in a favela. Having no way to sustain the family, his father sold him to Hermógenes Rangel, a thief. Some time later,...

41.1% -1.7%
2008–2009 A Favorita
A Favorita
A Favorita was a popular and award-winning telenovela, first broadcast in Brazil at Rede Globo from June 2, 2008 to January 17, 2009. During its broadcast, it ranked within the top of the most watched shows in Brazil....

39.5% -1.6%
2009 Caminho das Índias
Caminho das Índias
Caminho das Índias is a Brazilian Emmy-winning television telenovela produced by Rede Globo and first broadcast from January 19 to September 11, 2009. It ranked within the top of the most watched shows on Brazilian television...

38.8% -0.7%
2009–2010 Viver a Vida
Viver a Vida
Viver a Vida is a Brazilian telenovela , broadcast by Rede Globo at 9 P.M. It is written by Manoel Carlos in collaboration with Ângela Chaves, Cláudia Lage, Daisy Chaves, Juliana Perez and Maria Carolina. The telenovela is directed by Teresa Lamprey, Frederico Mayrink, Luciano Sabino, Leonardo...

35.8% -3.0%
2010–2011 Passione 35.1% -0.7%

(*) 1% comprises approximately 60,000 households in the Greater São Paulo
Greater São Paulo
The Greater São Paulo is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil.-Definitions:-Metropolitan Area:...

 area.


Source: UOL


While other TV networks face the lack of interest among viewers, Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...

, on the other hand, rose its audience by 123% in the decade, partially due to investments of over US$ 150 million per year. Although Globo maintains more than the double of Record's average ratings, the latter has been able to surpass Globo's audience on specific time slots, such as Sundays, and mornings. In some state capitals, such as Goiânia
Goiânia
-Climate:The city has a tropical wet and dry climate with an average temperature of . There's a wet season, from October to April, and a dry one, from May to September. Annual rainfall is around 1,520 mm....

, Fortaleza
Fortaleza
Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.5 million , Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. It has an area of and one of the highest demographic densities in the country...

, and Belém
Belém
Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...

, for instance, Record's Domingo Espetacular already surpasses the audience of Globo's Fantástico
Fantástico
Fantástico is a Brazilian weekly television newsmagazine broadcast on Sundays by Rede Globo.-Format:The show's first episode was on August 5, 1973 in black-and-white. It began as a variety show featuring music, dance numbers, teletheater, humor, mixed with a small amount of news. The following...

. Globo also faces a decrease of its audience in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, where the network is headquartered. On December 11, 2009, Record surpassed the audience of Globo in Rio during the broadcast of The Elite Squad. Almost a year later, on December 2, 2010, Globo came on an unprecedented third place in the Greater Rio
Greater Rio de Janeiro
The Greater Rio de Janeiro is a large metropolitan area located in Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil, the second largest in Brazil and third largest in South America...

 ratings in the 11 p.m.–12 a.m. time slot. On a previous occasion, Record came first in the area's ratings from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. on September 8, 2010.

A recent research conducted by Deloitte showed that surfing the web has surpassed watching TV as the entertainment activity preferred by most Brazilians. Other forms of entertainment, such as watching DVDs, and viewing cable TV have also increased their popularity significantly. From 2000 to 2010, the number of households with access to cable TV increased 152%, while the DVD market saw an expansion of 430% in the same period. The number of TV sets not turned on in any of the free-to-air channels—which indicates that they are being used for watching DVD or cable TV or playing videogames—also increased. It went from 3.5% to 6.7% of the share in the decade. On 2010 this increased to 7.7% of the share, surpassing the audience of Record. Cable TV accounted for 4.5% of this, while the remainder 3.2% accounted for watching DVD and/or playing videogames.

Cable television

Cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

 services in Brazil were allowed to start business in 1995, according to federal law 8977/95. Since then, there were no major advances in terms of access to the technology. Brazil has one of the lowest number of households with access to cable television, as a result of the combination of high prices charged by providers and the reduced purchasing power
Purchasing power
Purchasing power is the number of goods/services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if you had taken one dollar to a store in the 1950s, you would have been able to buy a greater number of items than you would today, indicating that you would have had a greater purchasing...

 of most Brazilians. Cable television in Brazil, as of 2010, was available to only 10 million households (around 30 million viewers, which represents less than 20% of the country's population). Most of the users are from the upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...

 (70%). While the lower class represents 50% of the country's households, only 1% of them have access to cable television.

The cable television market used to be almost monopolized by satellite TV provider SKY Brasil
SKY Brasil
SKY Brasil is a company that operates a subscription television service in Brazil. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels. 7% of the equity is owned and operated by Globo the remainder is owned by DirecTV.-History:...

 and cable TV provider NET, both of them partially owned by Organizações Globo
Organizações Globo
Organizações Globo is the largest media conglomerate of South America, founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1925 by Irineu Marinho. It also owns companies on the food industry and the real estate and financial markets....

. However, in 2010, Globo sold 19% of its shares in SKY to the DirecTV Group, making Globo owner of only 7% of SKY shares. In the same year, Embratel
Embratel
Embratel - Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicações S.A. is a second major Brazilian telecommunications company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The company was the long distance arm of Telebras until it was bought by the U.S. company MCI Communications for 2.65 billion reais during the 1998...

 made an offer to buy all of Globo's shares in NET for R$ 4.58 billion, even though Embratel has to wait the approval of Bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

 N° 119, that will allow companies from countries other than Brazil to own cable operations. Since 2006, large national and international phone operators, such as Embratel
Embratel
Embratel - Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicações S.A. is a second major Brazilian telecommunications company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The company was the long distance arm of Telebras until it was bought by the U.S. company MCI Communications for 2.65 billion reais during the 1998...

, Telefónica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...

, and Oi, began to enter the market. Due to cable regulations, telephone companies are using DTH rather than IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...

 to launch their TV operations. In 2010's third trimestrer, the market share of cable companies was: NET with 44,8%, SKY with 25,7%, Via Embratel with 9,8%, Telefónica TV Digital with 5,1%, OiTV with 3,1%, Abril
Editora Abril
Editora Abril is a major Brazilian publisher and printing company and one of the biggest media holdings in Southern America. The company was founded in 1950 by Victor Civita in São Paulo and is now part of Grupo Abril....

 (TVA) with 1,8% and smaller companies with 9,6% of the market.

Digital television

The SBTVD
SBTVD
ISDB-T International or SBTVD, short for Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão Digital is a technical standard for digital television broadcast used in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Philippines, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Uruguay, based on the Japanese ISDB-T...

 standard (based on ISDB-T) was adopted and launched in 2 December 2007. In 2007, only greater São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 metropolitan area can receive the signal. SBTVD broadcasts started in Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...

 in the beginning of March 2008 and late May 2008 in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

. Government estimated 7 years for complete signal expansion for all over the territory. The analog television is set to be shut down in 2016, but it can be delayed if needed.

The interactive
Interactive television
Interactive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...

 platform called Ginga
Ginga (SBTVD Middleware)
Ginga is the middleware specification for the Brazilian Digital TV System . Ginga was developed based on a set of standardized technologies, such as ITU-T J.200, and also adding innovations developed by Brazilian researchers...

 consists entirely on free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

 and received highly publicity being considered the main appeal for the change. The government promised WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...

 as return channel
Return channel
In communications systems that use star topologies, the return channel is the transmission link from a user terminal to the central hub....

 for the system, set to be implanted in the next years.

In Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 all 5 major TV networks (Rede Bandeirantes
Rede Bandeirantes
Rede Bandeirantes , officially nicknamed Band or Band Network, is a television network from Brazil, based in São Paulo. Part of the Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação , it aired for the first time in 1967...

, Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...

, Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...

, RedeTV! and SBT) and the public televisions (TV Cultura
TV Cultura
TV Cultura is Brazilian television network headquartered in São Paulo and a part of Fundação Padre Anchieta. It focuses on cultural subjects but also has sports as entertainment options.- History :...

, TV Brasil
TV Brasil
TV Brasil is a Brazilian non-profit public broadcasting television network launched on December 2, 2007 at noon. Although TV Cultura was the first public broadcasting channel in the country, TV Brasil is the first launched by the federal government.-History:...

) started to broadcast HDTV 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...

 in December 2007. Brazil uses an upgraded version of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese ISDB-T, which uses H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC is a standard for video compression, and is currently one of the most commonly used formats for the recording, compression, and distribution of high definition video...

 for video compression and HE-AAC
HE-AAC
High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding is a lossy data compression scheme for digital audio defined as a MPEG-4 Audio profile in ISO/IEC 14496-3. It is an extension of Low Complexity AAC optimized for low-bitrate applications such as streaming audio...

 for audio compression. 1seg
1seg
is a mobile terrestrial digital audio/video and data broadcasting service in Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. Service began experimentally during 2005 and commercially on April 1, 2006. In Brazil, the broadcast started in late 2007 in just a few cities, with a slight difference from...

 broadcasts use the same standard as in Japan, except for the frame rate: 15FPS in Japan and 30FPS in Brazil. Other features are the same, including codec, modulation and interactive features. Hardware can be shared between both countries, with only firmware updates to address the encoding difference.

Free television channels

National networks
  • Rede Globo
    Rede Globo
    Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...

  • Rede Record
    Rede Record
    Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...

  • SBT
  • Rede Bandeirantes
    Rede Bandeirantes
    Rede Bandeirantes , officially nicknamed Band or Band Network, is a television network from Brazil, based in São Paulo. Part of the Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação , it aired for the first time in 1967...

  • RedeTV!
  • MTV Brasil
    MTV Brasil
    MTV Brasil is the Brazilian version of MTV, owned by Abril Mídia, the nation's largest magazine publisher, under license from Viacom - owned MTV Networks Latin AmericaMTV Brasil is one of two versions of MTV available in free-to-air terrestrial television...

  • TV Gazeta
  • CNT
    Central Nacional de Televisão
    CNT or Central Nacional de Televisão is a Brazilian television network based in Curitiba/Paraná...

  • RBTV
    Rede Brasil de Televisão
    Rede Brasil de Televisão is a Brazilian television network.-US Series:*Bewitched *I Dream of Jeannie *Mission: Impossible *Wonder Woman*MacGyver*The X-Files*The Incredible Hulk...

  • NGT
    Nova Geração de Televisão
    -External links:...

  • Rede Família
  • Ulbra TV


Public networks
  • TV Brasil
    TV Brasil
    TV Brasil is a Brazilian non-profit public broadcasting television network launched on December 2, 2007 at noon. Although TV Cultura was the first public broadcasting channel in the country, TV Brasil is the first launched by the federal government.-History:...

  • TV Cultura
    TV Cultura
    TV Cultura is Brazilian television network headquartered in São Paulo and a part of Fundação Padre Anchieta. It focuses on cultural subjects but also has sports as entertainment options.- History :...



Government channels
  • NBR
  • TV Brasil - Canal Integración
  • TV Câmara
    TV Câmara
    TV Câmara is a Brazilian public television network responsible for broadcasting activities from the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. Created on 1998, it broadcasts 24 hours a day from the Chamber.-Censorship:...

  • TV Justiça
    TV Justiça
    TV Justiça is a Brazilian television channel owned by the Brazilian Judicial branch and administered by the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court...

  • TV Senado
    TV Senado
    TV Senado is a Brazilian television network responsible for broadcasting activity from the Brazilian Senate. It was created in 1996 by the Brazilian Senate.The channel broadcasts 24h from the Senate.-External links:*...



Music channels
  • TV União


News channels
  • Record News
    Record News
    Record News is the first 24-hour free-to-air terrestrial news channel in Brazil. It is owned by Rede Record.-History:In 1953, Rede Record de Televisão started as the second Brazilian TV channel . As the network completes 54 years, a new channel has been started by it. This is the first Brazilian...


Sports channels
  • TV Esporte Interativo
    TV Esporte Interativo
    TV Esporte Interativo , is a Brazilian television channel inaugurated on January 20, 2007 with the live broadcast of a Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool....



Religious channels
  • TV Verdade
  • Rede Gênesis
  • Rede Gospel
  • Rede Boas Novas
  • TV Aparecida
  • TV Canção Nova
  • TV Século 21
  • Rede Vida
  • RIT
    Rede Internacional de Televisão
    Rede Internacional de Televisão better known as RIT is a Brazilian television religious channel, owned by Igreja Internacional da Graça de Deus, led by the missionary R. R. Soares. The programming of this channel is produced all ages, and the almost of his programming are produced by itself...

  • Rede Super
  • TV Mundo Maior
  • TV Novo Tempo


Commercial channels
  • Shoptime.com
    Shoptime.com
    Shoptime is a Brazilian home shopping channel, currently owned by Americanas.com and Globosat. The channel was founded in November 6, 1995. It is the most watched shopping channel in Brazil....

  • Polishop TV


Teenage channels
  • PlayTV
    PlayTV
    PlayTV is an HDTV/DVR add-on unit for the PlayStation 3 video game console. It allows the PS3 to act as an HDTV or DTV receiver as well as a digital video recorder for recording television programmes to the hard drive for later viewing...

  • MixTV


Internet channels
  • AllTV
    AllTV
    AllTV is a Brazilian internet television channel. It was created in 2002 by journalist Alberto Luchetti Neto, becoming Brazil's first crossmedia channel. AllTV's most notable characteristic is the interaction between its viewers and its presenters, accomplished by means of a chatroom....

  • TV Terra
  • TV UOL
  • TV Canal Internet


Cable and satellite

The main paid television providers are TVA
TVA
-Organizations:*Tennessee Valley Authority*Toronto Vegetarian Association*Tibetan Volunteers for Animals*TVA Media, a media corporation operating out of Littleton, Colorado formerly called The Valley Authority.*Tidewater Volleyball Association-Television:...

 (cable television), (NET
Net Serviços de Comunicação S/A
NET is the largest cable television operator in Latin America. The company's Net service had around 23.5 million subscribers as of June 2009...

 (cable television), and Via Embratel
Via Embratel
Via Embratel is a Brazilian operator of Pay television. The service is supplied by Embratel company and operates in Star One C2 satellite. Its transmission system is DTH in Ku Band, and the channels are encrypted by Nagravision 3 system. The reception is made via mini-satellite dish and a DVB-S2...

 (satellite television).

National channels
  • ESPN Brasil
    ESPN Brasil
    ESPN Brasil is a Brazilian cable television network. Launched in June 1995 through a joint venture between ESPN Inc. and Grupo Abril's television arm TVA, ESPN Brasil was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States. Today, the network has 12.2 million subscribers...

  • GNT
    GNT
    This article is about a Brazilian TV channel. For other uses, see Gnt .GNT is a Brazilian cable/satellite television channel. Originally launched as GNT: Globosat News Television, a news and information network. With the launch of Globo News, in 1996, the GNT acronym became meaningless, and the...

  • Futura
    Futura (tv channel)
    Canal Futura, also known as Futura, is a Brazilian paid educational television channel. It belongs to the Globosat group of channels, a subsidiary of Organisações Globo, and was founded on September 22, 1997....

  • Shoptime.com
    Shoptime.com
    Shoptime is a Brazilian home shopping channel, currently owned by Americanas.com and Globosat. The channel was founded in November 6, 1995. It is the most watched shopping channel in Brazil....

  • Premiere
    • Premiere Futebol Clube
    • Premiere Shows
    • Premiere Combate
    • Cine Premiere
  • Canal Brasil
  • Canal Rural
  • SporTV
    SporTV
    SporTV is a Brazilian cable television network that has its programming based on all sports, launched in 1991 by Globosat. It's the most watched sports channel in Brazil.- Auto Racing :*Formula One *Stock Car Brasil...

    • SporTV 2
    • SporTV 3
  • Globo News
    Globo News
    Globo News is the news television channel of Organizações Globo, which is the first 24-hour news channel on Brazilian television. It belongs to the group of pay-TV channels Globosat....

  • Multishow
    Multishow
    Multishow is an entertainment channel owned by Globosat, Organizações Globo's cable and satellite television channel operator. It was launched in 1991, as one of the company's first four channels ....

  • Telecine
    Telecine
    Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....

    • Telecine Premium
    • Telecine Action
    • Telecine Touch
    • Telecine Fun
    • Telecine Pipoca
    • Telecine Cult
  • TV Rá-Tim-Bum
    TV Rá-Tim-Bum
    TV Ra-Tim-Bum is a TV channel Brazil based on December in 2004, which belongs to Foundation Padre Anchieta dedicated to the public children.The channel shows programming consists of 100% national productions, divided between children's programs that have been displayed in the TV Cultura, own...

  • BandNews
  • BandSports
    BandSports
    BandSports is a Brazilian cable television network that has its programming based on all sports, launched in 2002 by Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação....

  • Sexy Hot
  • For Man


Multinational channels
  • Cartoon Network
  • National Geographic Channel
    National Geographic Channel
    National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...

  • Universal Channel
    Universal Channel
    Universal Channel is a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal and available on satellite and cable platforms...

  • Nickelodeon
  • Warner Channel
    Warner Channel
    Warner Channel is a Latin American and Asian cable television channel owned by Time Warner's HBO Asia/HBO Latin America Group Warner Channel (commonly shortened to WBTV, but not to be confused with the WB Television Network or Charlotte, North Carolina station WBTV, and currently referred to in...

  • TNT
    Turner Network Television
    Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...

  • Sony Entertainment Television
    Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America)
    Sony Entertainment Television, commonly shortened to Canal Sony , is a general entertainment channel co-based in Perú, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil and Miami, Florida, United States. It airs in 26 countries in Latin America, and is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment...

  • Fox
  • Fox Life
    Fox Life
    Fox Life is a television network, launched by the Fox Broadcasting Company, which airs across Latin America, Europe and Japan . Its basic programming include numerous television series, sitcoms and movies, among others, which includes some original programming in certain regions...

  • FX
  • A&E
    A&E Network
    The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...

  • VH1 Brazil
    VH1 Brazil
    VH1 Brasil is a music channel from Viacom-owned MTV Networks Latin America. The network was launched in November 2005 on some cable systems, but it wasn't until May 2006 that it was launched on DirecTV Brazil, replacing MTV Latin America....

  • Liv
  • Disney Channel
    Disney Channel
    Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

  • Disney XD
    Disney XD
    Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...

  • Discovery Channel
    Discovery Channel
    Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

  • Discovery Kids
    Discovery Kids
    Discovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...

  • Teletoon
  • Discovery Turbo
  • Discovery Science
    Discovery Science
    Discovery science is a scientific methodology which emphasizes analysis of large volumes of experimental data with the goal of finding new patterns or correlations, leading to hypothesis formation and other scientific methodologies.Discovery-based methodologies are often viewed in contrast to...

  • Discovery Civilization
  • Discovery Home & Health
    Discovery Home & Health
    Discovery Home & Health is a television channel based in the United Kingdom.Discovery Home & Health is available in Latin America , Australia, Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong, Philippines, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.It was formerly available on SelecTV from March 2007...

  • Discovery Travel & Living
    Discovery Travel & Living
    Discovery Travel & Living is a channel brand from Discovery Communications. This name is used in countries of Europe, Latin America and Asia. In other parts of the world the channel is known as TLC . It features travel shows rather than the documentaries on Discovery Science.Discovery Travel &...

  • ESPN
    ESPN
    Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

  • Boomerang
    Boomerang (TV channel)
    Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...

  • HBO
    • HBO
    • HBO2
    • HBO Family
    • HBO Family 2
    • HBO Plus
    • HBO Plus 2
  • Cinemax
    Cinemax
    Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...

  • Max Prime
  • Max Prime 2
  • The History Channel
    The History Channel
    History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...

  • E!
  • AXN
    AXN
    AXN is a Pay television, cable and satellite television channel owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which was first launched on May 22, 1997. The network is now spread across several regions in the world, including Japan, Europe, other parts of Asia and Latin America...

  • Film&Arts
  • Animax
    Animax
    is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...

  • Logo TV
  • MegaPIX
  • Hallmark Channel
    Hallmark Channel
    The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...

  • TCM
    Turner Classic Movies
    Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...

  • Eurochannel
    Eurochannel
    Eurochannel is a world television channel focused on European culture and lifestyle throughout movies, series and other programs dedicated to European culture...

  • Multipremier
  • CASA CLUB
  • Infinito
  • Cl@se
  • Playboy TV
    Playboy TV
    Playboy TV is a premium monthly subscription television channel. Since its launch in 1982 in partnership with Cablevision which eventually sold their share back to Playboy, Playboy TV has become a leading entertainment channel for adult entertainment...

  • Venus
    Venus
    Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

  • Spice Live
  • G Channel
  • PlayGirl TV
  • Digital Playground
    Digital Playground
    thumb|right|250px|Digital Playground's 2010 Contract Girls at the [[AVN Adult Entertainment Expo]] at the [[Sands Expo]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] on January 7, 2010...

  • HENTAI
    Hentai
    is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...

  • Tooncast
    Tooncast
    Tooncast is a Latin American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System Latin America/Time Warner. Launched on December 1, 2008 in some countries of the region, it airs 24-hours of classic animation, both from Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network, and with no interruptions...


See also


External links

10 anos da Lei de TV a Cabo: sobre conquistas e desafios SBTVD Development in Brazil
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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