A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRAZILIAN TELEVISION

Brazilian television was established on September 18, 1950, as an electronic toy for Brazilian elites. Using radio stars and primitive equipment, Brazilian television began broadcasting to an audience limited to 200 television sets. By the end of 1980, according to the calculations of the Electric and Electronic Association Industries of Brazil, there were more than 20 million TV-sets in the country(1). In 1980, there were 94 television stations broadcasting in Brazil (table 1) to a potential audience of more than 80 million Brazilians. "Almost 90 percent of Brazilian homes are within the range of television transmission."(2)

TABLE 1

Source: SSR/Secretary of Broadcast Services of the Ministry of Communications

In March 1979, The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences of the United States gave the "Salute" trophy to the Globo Television networks, for its "excellent programming" and its contribution to television development. (3) It was the first international recognition of the importance and influence of Brazilian television, an industry that developed largely through a process of improvisation. In the same year one of TV Globo's programs, "O Sítio do Pica-pau Amarelo" ("The Yellow Woodpecker's Farm"), was chosen by UNESCO as an example of good children's programming. The program was shown to UNESCO's Assembly in Paris in 1979(4). A third testimonial to the technical quality of Brazilian television programs is the fact that "the Globo Network's serialized programs are presently being exported to 52 countries." (5)

The Elitist Origins of Brazilian Television

Brazilian television was established by Francisco de Assis Chateaubriand Bandeira de Mello, a journalist responsible for the creation of the Diários Associados Group, or Tupi Network. The first broadcast on Brazilian television was on September 18, 1950, in Sao Paulo, on TV Tupi, channel 3. It was the first television in South America. (6)

According to newspapers of the period, television was considered a "new powerful instrument." The people, however, received it with skepticism. People joked about television sets, and made comments such as "do not touch this machine because it will cause an immediate explosion," or "the man inside of the machine can see everyone in the house".(7)

Brazilian television began in 1950 with only 200-television set, which belonged to members of the economic elite. The price of a television set was three times the price of the most-sophisticated phonograph (8). In addition, there were no industries to manufacture component parts of television sets in Brazil; even the tubes were made in North America. (9) By 1965, a Brazilian-made portable TV-set was being sold for approximately $ 200.L0 All these factors limited the diffusion of television during the 1950s to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Nevertheless, a phenomenal rate of growth was established from the beginning (See table 2).

TABLE 2

Source:
Veja, no.107(1970); Prado 1973; Camargo 1975; Sodré 1977.

According to Gerald Thomas, television appeared in Brazil as an answer to an increasing demand for entertainment.

When television was born, cultural life was centered in Rio de Janeiro. The Copacabana Palace Hotel offered international stars and attracted all those who wished to gamble in "the least violent casinos in the world," as a Brazilian travel brochure once described it. A government ban on gambling in the 1950’s encouraged the search for fresh diversions, at the very time when Brazil's upper and middle classes were acutely aware that they lacked the latest symbol of technological achievement which their counterparts in the industrialized countries were enjoying. The establishment of television in Brazil thus answered a growing demand from these groups for new entertainment. (11)

However, since its beginning in Brazil, television has been a national government concession, operated by private enterprises whose commercial interests are based on the philosophy of free enterprise. The Brazilian broadcast industry finds advertising to be its principal source of income. In the beginning, commercials were few in numbers and were limited to slide presentations. According to Muniz Sodré  in the beginning of Kubitschek's administration (l956-l96l), there were not more than 250 thousand (sic) television sets in the country; by the end of the decade, that total was a little less than one million. In reality, television was an electrical appliance for a minority of producers as well as consumers. Due to the lack of economic efficiency, Brazilian TV stations produced a daytime television programming, which catered to the elite. (12)

He further argues that the absence of a commercial advertising structure and the early stations' focus on elite groups resulted in an overemphasis on certain types of programming. For example, in 1954, when the television set was still considered a luxury item, IBOPE (Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion, which performs audience measurement research in Brazil) reported that 48 percent of television owners had viewed a particular ballet performance. In 1958, however, in order to expand the size of their audiences, the broadcasting stations abandoned their cultural programs. (13)

In short, according to Gabriel Cohn, during the 1950s, Brazilian television was elitist, while Brazilian political life was market by populism, but during part of the 1960s, Brazilian television adopted popular types of programs and the historical phase of populism was a thing of the past. (14)

The Populist Phase of Brazilian Television

The decade of the sixties was important to Brazilian television because it was during this decade that Brazil undertook the modernization of its communication systems and allowed the emergence of the networks. The National Code of Telecommunications, whose policies had been determined in 1962, was implemented in 1967(see Chapter 3). After the 1964 coup d'état, many political, social, and economic events (for example, the founding of the Ministry of Communications in 1967 and the Brazilian economic miracle) contributed to the development of Brazilian television.

It was during the sixties that the video tape recorder began to be used in Brazil. Important world events, such as the trip to the moon, the presentation of the Oscars, Grand Prix auto racing, and the Olympics, were for the first time, broadcast directly to Brazil via satellite.

Brazilian television began to have an impact on a national scale and began to promote the sale of large quantities of goods. Indeed, people studying Brazilian television argue that one can only speak of a system of television in Brazil after 1967, when the country began centralizing its cultural and economic policies, and television networks were developing a strong economic base.

In January 1966, Television Age reported that in Brazil

TV advertising costs have risen sharply within the past year, yet business volume has increased within this same period by over 100 percent which suggests how necessary the medium has become.
Newspaper and magazine readership, in the areas served by television, have declined but not the audience for radio, which has increased. Radio is still Brazil's greatest vehicle of communication. TV has taken over radio's prime evening time, of course, but between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. more people than ever before listen to radio (15).

It was during the 1960s that TV Tupi Network prospered. According to Jeremy Tunstall, the Diários Associados Group, or TV Tupi Network was composed of "the prestige daily, '0 Jornal do Rio de Janeiro,’ and 30 other newspapers, a chain of 18 television and 30 radio stations, its own news agency, advertising agency and public relations firms and several of Brazil's leading magazines - including 'O Cruzeiro' (modeled on Life) which, until 1967 was Latin America's biggest selling magazine."(16) According to Thomas, TV Tupi Network -(Since 1971, TV Tupi Network was encountering serious financial difficulties. In July 1980, the Brazilian government decided to cancel Tupi's licenses. In March 1981, it was announced that new television broadcasting licenses had been awarded to Adolpho Bloch (TV Manchete) and Silvio Santos (SBT - Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão). Now Brazil has 5 television networks: Bandeirantes, Globo, Manchete, Record, and SBT. There are also some regional networks) - was powerful during the sixties and began to have serious competitors only in the late sixties, when

the Brazilian TV viewers turned to politics, and ... TV Record, in particular, went in for both well-structured journalism and musical productions that had a striking impact on the country. Unlike TV Tupi, which leaned towards sensationalism and provincial entertainment, TV Record brought together Brazil's major singers and composers (of all political views), promoting musical programs where such figures as Chico Buarque and Caetano Veloso became prominent again. ... Popular demands for democratic freedoms were widely expressed, not only in the mass demonstrations of the time, but also through lyrics that originated from TV-sponsored musical occasions. It was just a little earlier, in the mid-sixties, that TV Globo was launched. (17)

By the end of the sixties, Globo Network was concentrating its programs on the lower strata of the population and had gained a large audience. TV Globo maintained its policy of directing programs toward the lower strata of the population until approximately 1973. In that year it rethought all of its programs and productions, and sought a higher standard of technical quality, which would still retain the audience. Of this period, João Rodolfo do Prado says that, in response to the economic depression during the first three years of the military regime (from 1964 to 1967), " TV Globo adopted films of long duration - a novelty in television - weeping soap operas and game shows", in order to increase the audience and attract more advertisers. (18) Because of this, the size of the television audience increased while the frequency of movie theater attendance diminished considerably in Brazil.

This is not surprising when one considers that, after 1968, a television set could be bought with a small monthly payment, and that television reached the entire family. Television sets were relatively cheaper that theater ticket, bus or taxi fare, and the time lost in traveling from home to the theater.

This reality led Brazilian television to concentrate on programming for the low-income class. Brazilian networks came to rely more and more on local, popular programs and on canned films imported from the United States, which were cheaper than films produced in Brazil. By 1966,as reported by Television Age,

Programming has remained much the same for the past year-and-a-half. Soap operas and filmed American programs such as "Bonanza," "The Fugitive," "Virginian" and "Combat" are very popular. In the São Paulo area these two type programs hold the highest audience ratings. In the Rio area, Brazilian musical and comedy shows hold the highest ratings, then come the soap operas and the American filmed shows. Other than São Paulo, the audience ratings for the rest of Brazil follow closely those of Rio. (19)

By the end of the sixties, broadcasting stations were earning high profits, but were disregarding national culture. They introduced foreign cultural values, which were often at odds with local values (see Chapter 4). Urban-industrial class models from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo were being imposed on all of Brazilian society.(20) The cultural domination exerted by the big urban centers in the late sixties is now recognized fact in Brazil and is evidenced by the location of the production centers of all commercial networks in Rio or São Paulo.

TV Globo Network

According to João Rodolfo do Prado; Brazilian television stations fall into three categories:
Those stations linked to one of the national commercial networks; those autonomous television stations, which produce programs themselves and are considered to be regional stations; and those official stations, which broadcast predominantly educational and cultural programs. (21) TV Globo, channel 4, the Brazilian television station which has attained the greatest success, was established in April 1965 by the journalist Roberto Marinho, as part of his newspaper and radio station conglomerate. Initially it received partial financial support from the Time-Life Corporation in the U.S. Tunstall says that "Globo television was set up with United States Time-Life money and personnel. The direct United States involvement was subsequently removed, but not before Globo had taken advantage of US money and management experience to achieve an extraordinary ascendancy for a single commercial company in the television of a nation the size of Brazil." (22)

It should be pointed out that although the Brazilian constitution does not allow foreign owner-ship of the mass media (see Chapter 4), and although the contract between Globo and Time-Life had been denounced by congressmen, "Marinho's enterprise was a natural support to the government and the government (Castelo Branco, 1964-1967), in turn, was ready to help establish Globo. It was undoubtedly the richest TV station from its inception, and was not so dependent on the advertising revenue on which other stations relied so much." (23)

João Calmon, who was president of ABERT (Brazilian Association of Radio and TV Enterprises) at the time of the "scandal" involving Globo and Time-Life, declared in an interview published in O Cruzeiro in 1967, that the competition between stations with only national capital and TV Globo, with its foreign capital, was a disloyal one. None of the television stations in operation in Brazil until 1967 had made investments of over 1 million dollars. Calmon, who was also the head of the Diários Associados Group or TV Tupi Network and one of the members of the Federal House of Representatives, also said that some of the stations of his network were established with an initial investment between 130 and 350 thousand dollars, whereas TV Globo had received 6 million dollars from Time-Life, without needing to pay interest like the others had had to do when they bought their equipment. (24)

Despite the lack of direct evidence, some Brazilian students of the mass media have pointed out a strange coincidence. Antônio F. Costella notes that President Castelo Branco enacted a Decree Law which added a new paragraph to Law No. 5,250 (see Chapter 4), by means of which foreign ownership of a mass medium was permitted. (25) It should be noted, however, that the existence of that decree was short-lived.

In this manner, as reported in 1965 by Television Age,

U.S. productions got a boost when TV Globo went on the air. "We're using more canned American shows than the older stations", a Globo producer said. "But we buy from all suppliers without favoritism. We mix detectives, westerns, musicals, whatever we think will attract sponsors and audiences". TV Globo's canned imports in one recent week included "Novak", "Mr.Ed", "The Munsters", "Rin-Tin-Tin", "Andy Williams", "Beverly Hillbillies".

U.S. shows are popular, but Brazilians do not identify with them, as they do "Right to be Born", for example. As Brazilian producers grow more sophisticated and technical skills improve, U.S. distributors will be faced with a tough challenge to hold their share of the Brazilian market. (26)

According to a promotional booklet put out by TV Globo Network, the consolidation of Globo's national network policy was undertaken in 1969,when its nationwide news program began to be broadcast to and from different cities by microwave. That publication also talks about the development of Globo's programs:

While Globo was learning essential techniques and creating Brazil's own television style, it was also supplying itself with the most modern equipment available. The transition to 100 percent color production and transmission occurred during the five years from 1972 to 1977. Recognizing the necessity to maintain close ties with Brazilian culture and to express that culture on video, the Globo Network nationalized its programming to the extent that, presently, among the 10 programs of highest audience ratings, only two are of foreign origin. The remaining eight were created and produced in Brazil by the Globo Network. (27)

Muniz Sodré points out that in 1976 Globo Network produced 75 percent of its own programs and obtained approximately 18 percent of total advertising expenditure (see Chapter 5). (28) It should be noted that by law, the advertising time is limited to 15 minutes per hour. However, during prime time, Globo broadcasts only 9 to 12 commercial minutes per hour of airtime. (In April 1981, one-minute worth of advertising on "Baila Comigo" a top-rated soap opera in Brazil cost 40 thousand dollars).

In 1977 Globo Network made its debut in Cannes, France, when it presented a sample of its better programs to prospective customers. Having gained control of the internal market, Globo Network had begun to search for an international market, but its efforts to win its first international customers were, at the outset, stymied by technical problems. Brazil is the only country in the world that uses the color system PAL-M (a combination of German and American systems); all other countries use NTSC, PAL, or SECAN. In order to overcome these technical difficulties, Globo opened an office in London to convert the system, insert new sound tracks, and translate the original dialogue from Portuguese to any target language. (29) Brazil, through the Globo network, has now exported programs of all types to different countries, among which are Angola, Bolivia, Chile, England, Italy, Honduras, Mexico, Oman, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Trinidad, the United States and Yugoslavia (30) (It should be noted that Brazil’s second largest television network, TV Bandeirantes, is also producing 70 percent of its own programs. In early 1981, it was creating a foreign department to export its programs).

In the United States, Globo's shows are on Spanish International Network. In 1980, Globo’s success was subject of a 90-minute documentary "The Best of Brazilian Television") shown nationwide on the American Public Broadcasting Service. WNJU-TV and WXTV-TV in New York, which broadcast in Spanish, were two of Globo's first American customers. Spanish International Network broadcast Brazilian soap operas such as "O Bem Amado" ("The Well Beloved"), "Minha Doce Namorada" ("My Sweet Girlfriend"), "Irmãos Coragem"(The Brothers Coragem"). Globo also tapes soccer games in Brazil, which are frequently broadcast in the United States.(31) During the 1980 Marche International Des Programmes de Television (MIP-TV), in Cannes, TV Globo was selling eight major titles, including "Malu,Woman" 13 episodes of 50 minutes each. This series is about the daily routine of a divorced Brazilian woman, struggling against job discrimination, loneliness, and the challenge of a new lifestyle. This series was granted the 1980 Iris Award.

In short, according to Brazil em Dados-75 (Brazil's Statistics - 75), the TV Globo Network was in 1975 one of the 40 largest Brazilian enterprises and the ninth-largest commercial network in the world. (32) In 1981, TV Globo Network has become the fourth-largest network in the world, "topped in size only by the three American giants." (33) Also, in the same year, it was exporting to 83 countries.

PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRAZILIAN TELEVISION / 2. THE IMPACT OF THE MILITARY REGIME ON TELEVISION / 3. THE INFLUENCE OF COMMUNICATION LAWS AND REGULATORY AGENCIES ON THE GROWTH OF TELEVISION / 4. POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION / 5. SOCIOECONOMIC INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION / 6.SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS / 7. NOTES / 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY / 9. ABOUT THE AUTHOR