TV Brasília (channel 6) is a Brazilian television station based in Brazilia, Distrito Federal. It operates on channel 6.1 (28 UHF), hosted by RedeTV!. The station is co-owned by the Brazilian media conglomerate Diarios Associados, and operates in association with Paulo Octavio Organizations. The channel's recording studios are located in the headquarters of Correio Braziliense newspaper company, in the Graphic Industry Sector with the rest of Diarios Associados' workspaces. The channel's transmittors are located in the Digital TV Tower of Brasilia, in the administrative region of Lago Norte.
The station was founded on April 21, 1960, by Assis Chateaubriand.
History
Beginnings (1960–1972)
While Brasília was being built, the federal government opened a bidding process for the three channels tuned-in to what was then the capital, Rio de Janeiro: one for the government, one for Pipa Amaral (TV Rio), and another for the Diários Associados. Assis Chateaubriand had promised President Kubitschek to build the Correio Braziliense and TV Brasília facilities in 100 days so they would be ready by the inauguration of the new capital, but completed construction four days ahead of schedule. The videotape device arrived from the United States on a PanAm cargo plane that landed in Rio de Janeiro; other equipment and employees were provided by TV Itapoan, TV Rádio Clube, and TV Piratini, all of them administered by Diários Associados.
The opening ceremony was presented by the British socialite Shelagh Parnell, starting at 8 pm on April 20, 1960. João Calmon and Gilberto Chateaubriand also spoke. TV Brasília was founded by the Diários Associados, on the night of April 21, 1960, the same date as the inauguration of the new federal capital. On the night of April 21, 1960, Diarios Associados founded TV Brasilia, TV Alvorada, and TV NacionalSampa on line as well as Correio Braziliense, a newspaper owned by Diários Associados.
For the broadcast of the inauguration of the new capital, the Diários Associados decided to link Belo Horizonte to Brasilia, which had twelve microwave towers. Due to a last-minute malfunction with one of them, an airplane was used to reinstate the link and transmit the broadcast of the inauguration of Brasilia to the affiliate stations. TV Brasília started with a mission to record all the events of the new capital.
João Calmon declared that the television station would compensate the lack of theatres, cinemas, stadiums or nightlife in the city. He commented that TV Brasília would mitigate the city's monotony in its early years. Journalist Jairo Valladares was elected to be the director of TV Brasilia and served as construction manager while its facilities were being built. In a written statement from April 1962, he describes his routine between 1959 and 1960: "Accommodation, at the time, was only at Brasília Palace ... after half an hour of bumping around in a taxi we arrived, covered entirely by Brasília's red dust, like everything else at the time. We were young when we came in, and, later, others started joining".
Initially, Brasilia TV operated on channel 5, but switched to channel 6 in June 1960, where it is today. In the same year, writer Sylvia Orthof arrived to TV Brasília to produce the first children's program in the capital, Teatro do Candanguinho, which remained in the station's line-up until 1964.
TV Brasília produced a little more than 60% of its programming and, being one of the first channels in the country to have videotaping technology, also aired recordings from TV Tupi do Rio and São Paulo, as well as international programs. However, TV Brasilia only began to give credit to its affiliate channels for airing their programming in 1973, and until then had not recognized that the programming they broadcast was not their own.
In 1961, TV Brasília, as well as TV Alvorada and TV Nacional, received many requests to shutdown due to the conditions of the city at the time.
In the early 1960s, TV Brasília opened a branch in Taguatinga, which would later serve to produce content for remote populations. Early on, the station mostly broadcast in the evenings. The station consisted of 2 transmitters, a modular studio large, and an auditorium with 400 seats.
On August 1, 1961, the station launched its first daytime program, (The World is for Women). The hosts were Zélia Marcondes and Renée Nunes, who gave tips on interior design, fashion, cuisine, beauty, astrology, and etiquette. The program's name was subject to criticism, so it was changed the following day to (In the World of Women).
On the station's fourth anniversary on April 21, 1964, it debuted a new logo, slogan, and set. In the same year, Tele-Colégio Canal 6 was replaced by TV Escola, increasing its airtime. Flash Social could not be recorded on the week Castello Branco took power during the 1964 coup. All of the station's visual art was based on the capital's monuments, a concept that would be reused 50 years later in 2014. On Sunday, October 4, 1964, TV Brasília launched one of the first educational audio-programs in the Midwest. Created and presented by Wanderley Mattos, was a gameshow for elementary school students and had attractions such as prizes.
On January 15, 1966, due to flooding in the state of Guanabara, TV Brasília launched the campaign and initiatives to help affected residents. Later, Correio Braziliense and Varig adopted the initiative. The station's lobby was used as a donation center, and donations were transported from there to Rio de Janeiro. The campaign to send supplies to Rio de Janeiro started a day early because of an overload in donations, causing Isto foi Notícia to continue overnight and the following day's schedule opened exceptionally early, at 10am.
In 1967, Carrossel premiered, which in its initial phase, presented by artist Darlan Rosa (Titio Darlan), told stories to children while he drew with his two hands simultaneously. Rosa commented, "I am not ambidextrous, but my left hand mirrors my right. I made this up just to pay tribute to the mirrored city."Biography of Darlan Rosa.
Local consolidation (1968–1973) In January 1968, TV Brasília launched the commercial-free Linha Direta, where there would be no commercials in its airing.
At the request of the artistic director at the time, Emílio Cerri, on June 15, 1968, TV Brasília broadcast Elis Especial, which featured singer Elis Regina performing for the benefit of the Festa dos Estados.
In 1969, TV Brasília invested heavily in its art department and launched successful programs with high local approval, such as , which was rated highly by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics.
On April 1, 1970, the station launched Seis no Lance, presented by Nilson Nelson at 12:45pm. The daily sports program included appearances from key players and replayed highlights of soccer matches. It was unique for its calm, slow-paced atmosphere.PERSONAGENS & PERSONALIDADES DO FUTEBOL BRASILIENSE: Nilson Nelson, José Ricardo Caldas e Almeida, História do Futebol Brasiliense, October 20, 2017
Tupi Network phase (1972–1980) On September 1, 1972, TV Brasília was the first in the Federal District to broadcast in color. Two years later, TV Brasília aired the Miss Brazil contest.
In 1973, TV Brasília recorded chapters of Mulheres de Areia. According to Ivani Ribeiro, filming conditions in the coastline forced the author to think of a travel of its central characters to the Planalto region. The change in landscape would have better health for its actors of a drama which was intended to have the coastline of the state of São Pauol, with its violent and fearful winter.
On September 17, 1973, TV Brasília added another sports show to its schedule: Raça e Técnica, aired on Mondays, from 11:30pm. The station's sports department was directed by Nilson Nelson at the time and had the participation of Jorge Martins, as commentator, Marcus Vinícius, as field reporter, and Joaquim Santos and Hélio Nunes as cameramen. The new program featured a fistful of news from sports and with the "rain of goals" the supporter likes to watch. For its first edition, its guests were Rogério and CEUB director Jesus Peres, as well as Sílvio de Carvalho, of FDB's Referee Department. Otávio Bariloche took part as an invited journalist. One week later, Jairzinho, from Botafogo, was the interviewee. From the start of the show, supporters of the local soccer scene watched footage of CEUB's matches in the Brazilian Championship, inside and outside DF. Still in 1973, Nilson Nelson and Jorge Martins created Comandando a Loteca, giving betting tips for Loteria Esportiva. New to the program was an astrologist who talked about the clubs' star signs and their influences.
From 1973 to 1985, TV Brasília held, at Ginásio de Esportes Presidente Médici, the Miss Brasil pageant and networked it to Rede Tupi and later SBT. The move of the event from Rio to Brasília was motivated by the fall in public which saw it at Maracanãzinho.
Until 1980, the station was part of the Tupi Network and one of the few that escaped the revocation by the military dictatorship of the Tupi stations in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belém, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, and Recife. In order to avoid its shutdown, its staff made a hunger strike. Its license wasn't revoked owing to its influence, but because it was set to expire on September 27, 1981 if it wasn't renewed. The station belonged to several people linked to the Diários Associados. During this period, it produced the children's program Carrossel in collaboration with TV Goyá de Goiânia. To avoid the channel's shutdown, its workers held a hunger strike.
After the closure of the Tupi Network, along with other affiliates, the station began to air REI () programming, led by TV Record and TVS do Rio.
After the Tupi network closure (1980–1993) In August 1980, the program Brasília Urgente premiered. It was the highest-viewed program in the federal capital from 1980 to 1987. Several journalists made their debuts during this time, including Ana Paula Padrão, Giuliana Morrone, and Márcia Witczak.
With the emergence of SBT, TV Brasília became one of its main affiliates from 1981 until 1985, when the São Paulo broadcaster obtained a concession for channel 12. TV Brasília joined the former Rede Manchete, becoming its main affiliate in 1985.
In 1989, there was a fire at the station's headquarters and, as a result, a large part of its collection was lost.
From 1991 until 2003 the station was headquartered in the graphic-industry sector of the annex building of Correio Braziliense, headquarters of the Diários Associados in Brasília. It produced network news such as Brasil 7:30 (later Telemanhã) in addition to Telemanchete, a local news program.
New phase of the Diários Associados in Brasília (1993–1997) In 1993, together with the rest of the Diários Associados in Brasília, TV Brasília was also standardized visually.
In 1994, for the first time in the broadcaster's history, the World Cup was not shown per Rede Manchete's decision.
In November 1995, the broadcaster was sold to then-Minister of Agriculture and owner of Banco Bamerindus, José Eduardo de Andrade Vieira, who had a 49% stake in Central Nacional de Televisão (CNT). He then sold his share of CNT, and TV Brasília returned to the Diários Associados. The partnership lasted until 1999, following the bankruptcy of Rede Manchete. TV Brasília transitioned to TV!, then RedeTV! until June 2003.
Attempted revitalization and crisis (1997–2001) At the beginning of 1997, TV Brasília launched a new image. Programs such as Repórter da Cidade (later Brasilia News) and Telemanhã were made more dynamic, and popular programs with audience participation were launched, such as BSB Radical and Cor da Cidade. According to Folha de São Paulo, in 1995 TV Brasília was in 4th place in number of viewers in the Federal District.