Grupo Globo

Grupo Globo largest symbols are their terrestrial televison channels (5) which, with the market leadership they obtained, was able to build the world’s second largest TV network, only behind North-american ABC (owned by the Walt Disney group). Roberto Marinho, after 1965 (and now his sons), has always had as his holding’s pillars the open signal stations in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, his main headquarters, besides Recife (Pernambuco state), Brasília (Distrito Federal) and Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state). The holding has its origins in two newspapers - “A Noite” (1911) and “O Globo” (1925) – , the latest still exists as the major print vehicle, without interruptions.

Besides O Globo, the group also owns the newspapers Extra (a “popular newspaper”, or tabloid) and Expresso (with a more local character). O Globo and Extra also have flip (online e-reader) versions, besides their own websites. The three newspapers are managed under the umbrella company Infoglobo, 100% controlled by Grupo Globo. Editora Globo, on the other hand, founded in 1952 with the name Rio Gráfica (RGE), produces 14 magazines, 16 websites and over 40 yearly events. Roberto Marinho only acquired Editora Globo in 1986 because a company with the same name already operated in that sector.

In Sistema Globo de Rádio (SGR), the holding has the networks Rádio Globo (the first one, since 1944), CBN and BHFM, along with other 50 affiliates within that structure all over the country. In the phonographic industry, Globo operates through the publisher, producer and recording company Som Livre (created in 1969), which has over 100 member artists through the company’s “star system”.

Globosat, the group’s branch in the production and programming phases for cable TV began operating in 1991, has 33 channels, 22 of them with an HD (high definition) version, 9 in PPV (pay-per-view), 1 international (focused on soccer for the audience outside Brazil), besides 8 on-demand content services. Besides the content producing companies, Grupo Globo also has branches in other media sectors. The Globosat channels reach the entire national territory, around 54 million people, distributed in over 17 million homes.

In 1986 Roberto Marinho acquired NEC do Brasil, communication equipment manufacturer, but in 1999, in face of the acute exchange crisis, he sold its control to NEC Corporation of Japan. In 1992, he acquired 15% of SIC – Sociedade Independente de Comunicação, first private TV channel in Portugal, but sold his shares to the Portuguese Investment Bank in 2003. The channel still broadcasts Globo’s series and soap operas. In 1985 he also bought Italian channel TV Internazionale, owner of the Italian rights for transmission of Tele Monte Carlo, based in the Principality of Monaco, in a society with Italian state-owned RAI, but after the projects failure he sold his shares to the Italian group Ferruzzi in 1994.

The group had a relevant shareholding control of two cable TV operators for a while, NET (cable) and Sky (satellite), but sold their quotas of the former to Telmex (América Movil Brasil) and the second to DirecTV América Latina (AT&T) in 2012, retaining a small percentual of the companies; in 2001 they bought the hundred year old São Paulo newspaper Diário Popular and changed it’s name to Diário de S. Paulo, but then sold it in 2009 to the Traffic group, owned by José Hawilla (who also owns Rede TEM, a group of affiliates of Rede Globo in the São Paulo state interior). Also in 2001 he signed a five year contract with Telemundo (hispanic branch of american network NBC) for the production of soap operas in spanish.

After 1999, the holding faced its the most acute economical crisis, declaring a moratorium on the payment of debts in October 2002. The group’s recomposition lasted until 2006 and benefited with the direct participation of the operational branch of BNDES (National Bank for Economical and Social Development), which raised their participation quota to rehabilitate NET, one of the companies that anchored the crisis – an operation that was only closed in 2010. Despite not being directly affected, TV Globo, the group’s main vehicle, was mortgaged in the negotiation process with international creditors.

In 2005 the group makes a programming distribution agreement with Buena Vista Television International, distribution division of Walt Disney Television International, for the exclusive exhibition rights of Disney’s attractions. In 2010, in a partnership with RBS, an affiliate of Rede Globo and CBN in Rio Grande do Sul, they founded the Geo Eventos company, which produced music festivals (such as Lollapaluza and the gospel festival Promessas) and events such as the FIC (International Christian Fair), but closed their doors in 2013. In 2012 the group decides to sell part of the social capital they had in the telecommunication operators NET (América Movil) and Sky (DirecTV América Latina, controlled by AT&T).

Grupo Globo figures in the ranking of major thirty media owners in the world, the Zenith Top Thirty Global Media Owners, published since 2007. In 2017, the group fell from the 14th to the 19th place in the ranking. In this edition only the advertisement revenue was considered, which represents only a part of large conglomerates businesses. In 2016 the group had gone up from the 17th to the 14th place.