A. Guttmann
Research Lead covering media
Media in Brazil - statistics & facts
Brazilians spend twice as much time on the internet as they do watching TV. In 2023, more than nine hours per day was devoted to online activities in the country, while TV viewing took up five hours less than that. In general, time spent with media in Brazil was dominated by digital entertainment. Radio was the least popular among other media, adding up to only an hour per day of listening time.
Also when it comes to believing what they hear and see, Brazilians have more faith in online sources. The level of trust in media among people in Brazil has been standing below 50 percent since the second half of the 2010s. Yet, search engines are considered trustworthy by more than two-thirds of Brazilians, while owned media are believable to one-fifth of them. Traditional media are trusted by half of Brazilian populace.
The Brazilian media market is following the global trend of pivoting from offline to digital space, in line with consumer demand. What matters is that the country is adjusting its regulations to safeguard and grow domestic businesses and keep the competition fair and thriving.
Streaming in Brazil: expansion and regulation
Since online media are so in demand, it comes as no surprise that the popularity of VOD grew throughout the second half of the 2010s. More than 70 percent of Brazilian internet users watched streamed videos as of early-2023. The massification of video streaming took place amidst a lack of regulation for this segment for years. Unlike, for instance, pay TV channels, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services in Brazil did not have to contribute to the Audiovisual Sector Fund (FSA, as abbreviated in Portuguese). This is changing - in early 2024, the Brazilian senate approved a bill which aims to regulate the operations of, among others, VOD platforms. Looking forward, providers of streaming services in the country will need to apply for accreditation and pay a Contribution Tax for Developing the National Cinematographic Industry (in short Condecine VOD). The new bill also regulate the minimum quota of Brazilian content that needs to be made available on all streaming platforms. This move is also meant to strengthen native production companies.What are the largest media companies in Brazil?
The top Brazilian media companies that disclose their results include publishing houses (FTD and Editora Globo) and the nation’s mint (Casa da Moeda do Brasil). Two of the organizations in the list are part of the same holding – the conglomerate known as Grupo Globo. This corporate leviathan has been leading legacy media in Brazil for decades now. However, Globo’s supremacy in free TV has slowly decreased throughout the 21st century, as the medium struggles to reinvent itself given the rise of video-on-demand (VOD). Its most tenacious rival is arguably Record TV, currently run by the founder and leader of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), Edir Macedo Bezerra. With millions of UCKG followers across Brazil, Record benefits from its mix of religious shows with standardized formulas, such as variety and news programs.The Brazilian media market is following the global trend of pivoting from offline to digital space, in line with consumer demand. What matters is that the country is adjusting its regulations to safeguard and grow domestic businesses and keep the competition fair and thriving.
