21st century era
2001 started well for Globo, despite a fire at the Xuxa Park set in January that caused the show to be cancelled. The network had low audience ratings in several programs, two dramas were national hits, and the second version of Sítio do Picapau Amarelo children's program debuted. In the news departments the network covered the 9/11 attacks in the United States, and continued its coverage in the long aftermath.
On 1 October 2001, O Clone debuted and enjoyed both critical and popular success. It was written by Glória Perez and featured a large cast of stars. The telenovela was exported to 91 countries and has also become an international success.
For Globo, 2004 was the beginning of the long decline of viewership support for its legendary telenovelas, but the year was one of the strongest for television drama as telenovelas Da Cor do Pecado and Senhora do Destino made high ratings one after the other. The year saw its 2004 Athens Olympics Coverage as well and debuted Brazil TV in the afternoon bringing national news stories for satellite viewers.
2004–2005 was the year that changed the network's viewers as it marked its 40th anniversary years with mixed feelings, due to the improving situation of Rede Record, to which some Globo talent began decamping. The year ended in a high note for the network: Alma Gêmea and Belíssima.
The IBOPE ratings of São Paulo metropolitan area shows that Globo telenovelas has lost, between 2004 and 2008, 26.2% of viewership, although Globo is still the leader network. Its previous 9 p.m. telenovela, Viver a Vida, had an average rating of 37 points, an all-time low for Globo. But eventually overtaken by Passione (2010–11) and Insesato Coração (2011), who obtained an average of 35 points. These indices showed improvement in the ratings of the telenovelas Fina Estampa (2011–12) and Avenida Brasil (2012).
On 8 January 2019, Globo announced that Vídeo Show would be cancelled after 35 years due to declining ratings.
On 12 March 2020, Globo announced plans to suspend production of all of its existing telenovelas and the vast majority of its series in order to comply with global restrictions that were put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic, with Big Brother Brasil continuing to be filmed without an audience for the remainder of its twentieth season. On 26 October 2020, Globo announced GExperience, an interactive experience in which visitors will be able to go behind the scenes of a live TV show and see memorabilia from Globo's most famous novelas. Building work began in November 2020 and the experience is expected to open in April 2021 at the Market Place shopping centre in São Paulo.
On 25 January, Fausto Silva announced that he would retire from his variety show Domingão do Faustão at the end of the year. His timeslot was filled by a new version of Domingão hosted by Luciano Huck, while Marcos Mion took over Huck's previous show Caldeirão.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in early March 2021 Globo decided to remove actors over the age of eighty from the recordings of soap operas. Less than two weeks later, actors over 69 were also removed. On 23 March, the broadcaster stopped recording soap operas and series until 19 April, due to the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 1 April, Globo sold its record label Som Livre to Sony Music for an undisclosed amount. On the 15th, the network started to make available its soundtracks of soap operas and series, in addition to podcasts and songs used in the musical realities in the Deezer application, also creating an exclusive package in Globoplay for subscribers with a free year on the premium account.
On 28 April, Grupo Globo replaced the chairmanship of the Board of Directors, which had been occupied by Roberto Irineu Marinho since August 2003, when his father and founder of the conglomerate Roberto Marinho died. With the unanimous approval of the Board, his brother João Roberto Marinho assumed the presidency, and Roberto Irineu became vice-president of the group, along with the younger brother of the three, José Roberto Marinho.
On 27 May, the station acquired the broadcasting rights to all matches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Until then, the channel held the rights only to matches played by the Brazil and Argentina national teams' home games. The acquisition of the games came to be seen as a counterattack, as the broadcaster lost the broadcasting rights of the UEFA Champions League, as well as losing the Copa Libertadores and the 2021 Copa América to SBT.
Globo's general audience in June was the worst for that month in the network's entire history. With 11.3 points, it was the third consecutive month with decreasing audiences.
On 28 September, it was announced the end of Malhação, after 27 seasons. The last season to air was "Toda Forma de Amar" (Every way of loving), which had an early finale due to measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, only reruns such as (Viva a Diferença/live the difference) and (Sonhos/Dreams) have been shown, leading to the cancellation of productions for the seasons "Transformação" (Transformation) and "Eu Quero é Ser Feliz" (I want to be happy). The station's planning is for a new schedule to replace the teen soap opera time.
On 25 October 2021, Globo and CONMEBOL reached an agreement and opted to terminate the arbitration in Switzerland, due to the termination of the contract in August 2020 for the broadcasting rights of the Copa Libertadores between 2019 and 2022. The network then won back the broadcasting rights of the Copa Libertadores from 2023 to 2026.
