Grupo RBS

Grupo RBS (Rede Brasil Sul de Comunicação) was formed after the acquisition of Rádio Sociedade Gaúcha, in 1957, and TV Gaúcha (which became an affiliate of Rede Globo in 1967), in 1962, by the Sirotsky family. With the concession of other TV channels in the South region in the following years (two in Rio Grande do Sul and one in Santa Catarina). The expansion of national TV networks received a boom during the military governments (1964-1985), which allowed for legal and infrastructural conditions for the growth of Brazilian cultural industry.

The list of companies owned by the group is extensive. In the communications sector, besides RBS TV, an affiliate of Rede Globo which owns 12 channels in Rio Grande do Sul, Grupo RBS also owns radio networks Gaúcha Sat, formed by 147 stations in 8 Brazilian states, and Atlântida, founded in 1976, focused on the young audience and currently formed by 12 stations in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states; CBN Porto Alegre (an affiliate of Grupo Globo’s CBN, with 30% of local programming), Farroupilha and 102,3 radio stations; Zero Hora, Diário Gaúcho and Pioneiro newspapers, noting that the former two are among the ten print and digital newspapers of greater circulation in the country; women’s magazine Donna; GaúchaZH and ClickRBS online portals; and multiplatform gastronomical portal Destemperados.

In the technology sector, RBS group owns e.bricks digital, an investment company that applies funds in three sectors: segmented e-commerce, mobile and digital media, and technology; currently e.bricks invests in Wine.com (wine e-commerce), Hands (advertisement company for mobile platforms), Hi-mídia (digital marketing) and Predicta (digital marketing). In the editorial sector, RBS group owns RBS Publicações, which publishes books and DVDs with a focus on regional culture and history, and reference works in diverse areas, such as architecture, decoration, tourism, leisure, culinary, health and well-being; and Gráfica Uma, which provides final printing services and logistic and distribution for the other media companies since 2007. They also own a private investment fund, RBS Prev-Sociedade Previdenciária, approved by Ministério da Previdência Social (Ministry of Social Security) in October 1996 and implemented after January 1997.

The list of media vehicles was even larger. In 2016 RBS sold their TV channels and many radio stations based in Santa Catarina, besides newspapers in the same state, to Grupo NC, owned by two Brazilian billionaires listed by Forbes magazine: São Paulo enterpreneur from the pharmaceutical sector Carlos Sanchez, with 75% participation, and Rio Grande do Sul businessman Lírio Parisotto, owner of petrochemical group Videolar-Innova, a financial investor in energy and siderurgy companies, with 25% participation.

Despite selling out their media vehicles to the NC group, both groups maintain a partnership, since the content of Zero Hora and Diário Gaúcho newspapers (owned by Grupo RBS) and Diário Catarinense, Hora de Santa Catarina, A Notícia, Santa and O Sol Diário (owned by Grupo NC), is published by ClickRBS portal, one of the most visited news portal in Brazil.