Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão

History

Before SBT

Rede Tupi, the channel 4 in São Paulo, began operations in 1950. In 1962 (when he began his first TV program), Silvio Santos produced his own programs on Tupi, TV Paulista and on Rede Globo beginning in 1965. Soon enough, he started plans to have his own television channel. His production company, Estudios Silvio Santos Cinema e Televisão, was successful on Tupi, Globo and (since 1972) on Record (where he then owned half of the company's stock).

In 1976, with help from humorist and friend Manuel de Nóbrega (who had a show on Rede Globo and was part of Baú da Felicidade), Santos obtained a license for his own station: Rio de Janeiro's channel 11, known as "TV Studios" or "TVS". Soon after its launch, its flagship program (Programa Silvio Santos on Sundays) plus the late night Silvio Santos Diferente on weekdays began to be broadcast (Santos left Globo the same year). Other programs soon began, as the network gained support from city residents who sought an alternative to Globo, Tupi, Bandeirantes and TV Rio (the city's network, related to TV Record along with TVS). The new channel debuted on 14 May 1976, with a logo of a gold circle with the number 11 slanted in gold, which featured in the first Scanimate idents and promos for the channel - making it a pioneer station in the country when it came to computer animation. While during its early years the network studios were based in Rio, all program production for TVS transferred to São Paulo in 1978–79.

When Rede Tupi went out of business in 1980, Santos obtained three stations from the network: São Paulo's channel 4, Porto Alegre's channel 5 and Belém's channel 2 (eventually moving to channel 5 weeks after launch) in March 1981. Thus, SBT was created, launching on 19 August 1981. When launched, its owned and operated stations were branded as TVS, a branding already in use in Rio de Janeiro until its phaseout across all owned and operated stations in 1990.

Aside from its owned-and-operated stations, Minas Gerais' TV Alterosa on the same launch day became one of SBT's first affiliates for the network. Some later affiliates were adopted from Rede Tupi after its closure on 18 July 1980, by order of Brazilian Minister of Communications Haroldo de Matos, who the following year would order SBT to begin transmissions. When Tupi closed, Programa Silvio Santos moved to Record but continued simulcasting Sundays on TVS channel 11 as well as on yet another SS Group station - Channel 9, purchased from TV Continental. Santos began the network's expansion efforts, convincing stations to become the SBT and Record affiliates. The official launch of the network on 19 August 1981, also marked the debut of its first presentation package using its famous circle logo (similar to the one used till today by the American Broadcasting Company) and dual branding (the SBT being the official name of the network while TVS being the station branding in its three founding stations), and it was the only network launch to be held in Brasília and broadcast directly from the federal capital city. The first idents were similar to ABC's Still the One idents of 1979, used by the Nine Network in Australia in 1980.

1980s

During the 1980s, the SBT established itself, contracting popular hosts and airing a mix of its own and Televisa programming (especially Mexican telenovelas and comedy shows such as El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulín Colorado). It climbed to second place in the Brazilian ratings (except in Rio de Janeiro, where Rede Manchete occupied that position). Moreover, it hosted the Brazilian version of Bozo for kids plus even let ex-Tupi program presenters bring their shows over to the fledgling network.

SBT, together with Record (under the SBT/Record pool) broadcast the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, two years later, it did the same endeavor for the 1986 FIFA World Cup coverage.

1985 would see the SBT score a historic victory with the broadcast of the American miniseries The Thorn Birds, and TVS Channel 4 São Paulo became SBT Channel 4 São Paulo, thus becoming a truly national network with the introduction of satellite broadcasts.

In March 1986, the network premiered its new talk show, Hebe, with Hebe Camargo as host; the show was formerly on Rede Tupi and Rede Bandeirantes. It became one of the network's longest-running programs, running for over 24 years; the final show was at the end of 2010, when Camargo ended her contract. She had a spin-off show, Hebe por Elas (Hebe for All), during the early 1990s. The death of Flavio Cavacante, one of the network's pioneer presenters, just days after his 22 May episode of his own program shocked the nation so much that on the day of his funeral the network started transmissions only in the afternoon in his honor.

In 1987, Santos pursued a better-quality program lineup, while trying to attract a larger audience and better advertisers. During that year (in response to the high popularity of Rede Globo's Xou da Xuxa on weekdays), SBT began increasing its child-oriented programming with programs such as Oradukapeta, Show Maravilha and the Do Re Mi series. Nearly all SBT kids' programs had female presenters (different from the format of Xou da Xuxa), because Oradukapeta was hosted by Sergio Mallandro (also a Show de Calorous judge).

American imports

The late 1980s was when SBT began to create American-style ad campaigns:

1990s

The TVS brand was merged into the SBT brand in 1990; the name change was seen in a new campaign ad modeled on NBC's "Come Home to NBC" campaign of 1986–87, which premiered early that year, and in August on TV station identifications celebrating SBT's ninth year of broadcasts (that year, Silvio Santos sold Record as a national network) and it also broadcast the 1990 FIFA World Cup. 1991 saw the beginning of its newscast Aqui Agora and Serginho Groisman's Programa Livre variety show, just a few of the many successes for the year even as the network's São Paulo studios suffered damages due to massive floods that hit the city. In 1992, the SBT and Rede Globo (together with Manchete, Band, and SporTV) jointly broadcast the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1996 Summer Olympics (together with Manchete, Record, Band, SporTV, and ESPN) nationwide, with a grand advertising campaign for the Brazil national team. Despite problems and even the transfer of talents to other stations (such as the then resurgent Rede Record), the 90s proved to be a boom for the network, beginning its second decade with 74 affiliates, bigger when it signed on.

SBT invested in its own telenovelas and remakes of successful ones from foreign networks (most notably Chiquititas), variety programs, news and current affairs, and broadcast rights for sporting events (including the Copa Mercosur, Copa do Brasil and CART). It signed host Carlos "Ratinho" Massa in 1998, obtained more Mexican productions and launched game shows (such as Show do Milhão) in 1999. By the end of the decade the SBT held second place in the Brazilian ratings, after Globo, strengthened by a brand new and technologically advanced television complex, the CDT da Anhanguera, inaugurated in 1996, just in time for its 15th anniversary.

American and Australian imports

The 1990s were the SBT's most fruitful decade for American-style ad campaigns:

1990–91 – first year of "Vem Que é Bom": It used the music from NBC's second installment of "Come Home to NBC" (1987–88), with visual graphics similar to NBC's first installment of "Come Home to NBC" (1986–87), NBC's first installment of "Come Home to the Best, Only on NBC" (1988–89) and CBS' "CBS Spirit, Oh Yes" (1987–88).

1991–92 – second year of "Vem Que é Bom" with "10 anos com você" (the 10th-anniversary slogan): It used the music from NBC's first installment of "Come Home to NBC" (1986–87), with visual graphics similar to the ABC's Sunday/Monday/Thursday Night Movie intros from the network's first installment of "Something's Happening" (1987–88).

2000s

SBT began the decade investing in movies, broadcasting a package of Disney (later moved to TV Globo) and Warner Bros. productions (the latter promoted in a one-hour network block). In 2001, the controversial reality show Casa dos Artistas, accused by many of being a copy of Endemol's Big Brother, marked the first time SBT led the Sunday-night ratings, aside from its Domingo Legal program becoming number one in the Sunday afternoon ratings.

Since 2003, with the ratings advances of Record and Rede Bandeirantes, SBT's ratings have declined. Two events that year marked the beginning of its problems:

Early in the year Silvio Santos gave an interview with the TV-gossip magazine Contigo!, in which he stated that he was ill and had sold the SBT. Later, he claimed that this was intended as a joke.

The "Gugu-PCC scandal": On September 7 Domingo Legal aired an interview with alleged members of the criminal group PCC, threatening the deputy mayor of São Paulo and the hosts of police reality programs on the competing TV Record and RedeTV! networks. Later, it was discovered that this was a hoax; the program was judicially suspended temporarily - and therefore off-the-air for one Sunday, its audience never recovered and Gugu Liberato (its host, once seen as Santos' successor) never regained his credibility.

In 2005, SBT started airing SBT Brasil, bringing news back to the network's evening schedule; the news operation had been debilitated with the defection of Bóris Casoy to Record in 1997 and the subsequent cancellation of TJ Brasil in that period. For this end, SBT hired Ana Paula Padrão, who had defected from Globo. The network released campaigns poking at Globo and creating puns with her surname saying "Globo no longer has standard" ("Padrão", her surname, is "standard" in Portuguese, with the joke being a reference to Globo's quality standards). In its early years, SBT Brasil had constant airtime fluctuations (from the initial 7:15pm slot; in 2007 it aired at 9:30pm), which would cause a decline in ratings.

Since then the SBT has aired the successful Rebelde and shows with child host Maisa Silva, who became popular; however, programs could change without previous announcement (even hosts were sometimes out of the loop), confusing the audience. In 2006 SBT celebrated its 25th anniversary in a deepening crisis.

2020s

While the network at large suffered from the effects of the COVID pandemic in the country, it found a renewed calling in sports. One after the other, the network pursued new sporting investments when it snagged the broadcasting rights for the Campeonato Carioca 2020 grand final, followed by a renewed commitment to the Copa Liberatores for the 2020–22 period. In 2021, left and right came contracts after contracts for sports broadcasts with SBT getting the nod as broadcaster to the 2021 Copa America, and a number of arena football and futsal events - a first in network history as SBT marked its 40th anniversary. Buoyed by the sporting successes against the competition the network revived its sports newscasts: Arena SBT, which originally premiered in 2014, returned in 2020, followed by the launch the following year of SBT Sports.

SBT staff

Hosts

News

Sports

Artists

Writers

Directors

Programs

History of programming

The SBT has most of its schedule dedicated to programming for children and pre-teens, and it is a popular network with young audiences. In 1998 it ran the longest children's programming block in Brazilian TV history with TV Cultura, from Sessão Desenho (a cartoon block) at 7:00 AM (after the morning newscast) until 9:00 PM (when the children's telenovela Chiquititas ended). The SBT promoted the 14-hour block as "SBT Kids".

While most TV stations in Brazil depend on domestic productions, the SBT relies on imports (mainly from Mexico and the US). Since 1984, El Chavo del Ocho (shown in Brazil as Chaves) is one of the station's most popular programs. The network had until 2014 an agreement with Warner Brothers, giving it an exclusivity deal for its sitcoms, dramas and films.

Mexican telenovelas have been a staple on the SBT, reaching their peak during the early 1990s with the child-oriented Carrusel, La usurpadora, El Privilegio de Amar and Luz Clarita and the popular "María trilogy" (María Mercedes, Marimar and María la del Barrio). Compared to subdued Brazilian telenovelas, Mexican soaps are considered tacky and exaggerated.

Other 1990s hits included Domingo Legal (Cool Sunday) (a Sunday variety show which was the SBT's highest-rated program, surpassing TV Globo), and the network was the most popular channel in Brazil for hours at a stretch. Domingo Legal was criticized for its sensationalism, and its ratings began to fall after the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) scandal (see below); the show often ranks second in the ratings. Other popular programs included Programa do Ratinho (Ratinho's Show, with a similar format to The Jerry Springer Show), Show do Milhão (The Million Show, similar to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), Topa Tudo por Dinheiro (Variety show large audience that was aired on Sunday night between 1991 and 2001), Fantasia (Entertainment program where people could play games by phoning the program in order to earn money), and the Brazilian version of the Argentinean soap opera Chiquititas, popular with children.

For over 20 years the SBT held second place in the Brazilian television ratings (behind Rede Globo), but in February 2007 it was outpaced by Rede Record for the first time in São Paulo. However, after a period of resurgence which started in 2011, SBT successfully overtook Record for second place in June 2014.

Reality and game shows

Bake Off Brasil

Júnior Bake Off Brasil

Bake Off Brasil Celebrity

BBQ Brasil (BBQ Champ)

Hell's Kitchen: Cozinha sob Pressão

Roda a Roda Jequiti (Wheel of Fortune)

Programa Silvio Santos (Takeshi's Castle)

Passa ou Repassa (Double Dare) - (Domingo Legal)

Show do Milhão PicPay (Game Show)

Quem Arrisca Ganha Mais (Game Show) - (Domingo Legal)

Comprar É Bom, Levar É Melhor (Game Show) - (Domingo Legal)

Wall Duet Brasil (The Wall Song) - (Ratinho)

O Melhor (The Winner Is) - (Ratinho)

Te Devo Essa! Brasil (Property_Brothers)

Mestres da Sabotagem (Cutthroat Kitchen)

Ex-Maridos Contra Ex-Mulheres - (future)

O Mais Fraco Vai Embora (Weakest Link) - (future)

Hotel dos Artistas (El hotel de los famosos) - (future)

Famílias Frente a Frente (Family Food Fight)

Pra Ganhar É Só Rodar