Honorilton Gonçalves

April 2008

Since 2004, Rede Record has been working overtime to take on TV Globo’s dominance in Brazilian media, particularly with its slate of drama productions. Its efforts have paid off, with Record gaining ground in the ratings and recently unveiling a news channel in its home market. Internationally, the company’s telenovelas are aired on a host of broadcasters, and Record’s own pay-TV network reaches some 130 countries. Honorilton Gonçalves, Rede Record’s CEO, has been with the company since 1997 and is driving the company’s growth.

WS: What steps are you taking to compete with the dominant broadcaster, TV Globo?

GONÇALVES: Record’s strategy is to offer the viewer the best of Brazilian and global television. In order to achieve this, Record has been investing heavily in technology, hiring talent, developing content and acquiring program formats. What’s more, the broadcaster’s decisions are always backed by constant market research.

WS: Many journalists and talent have crossed over from Globo to Record. How did that situation come about and how does it fit into your growth strategy?

GONÇALVES:  It’s natural for that to happen. Professionals are always looking for the best places to work. Right now, Record is the broadcaster with the greatest growth in Brazil. It’s the kind of television we believe can go beyond the network that for decades has monopolized media. And it’s obvious that the arrival of talented journalists only helps boost our growth. We’re always looking for the most qualified people, which is the fastest way to beat the competition.

WS: One of Record’s priorities has been the production of telenovelas. How are you exploiting them across different platforms?

GONÇALVES: Record began producing telenovelas in 2004. We’ve been following the production of telenovelas for other media, but it’s a process that’s just beginning. We believe that it will give way to new business opportunities in the future. We’re spending all our efforts so our productions will have great success, and in this way, guarantee their future performance on those new platforms.

WS: Are you producing content for your new VOD sites, MundoRecord.com.br or MundoRecordNews.com.br?

GONÇALVES: The VOD portal was launched in its beta phase last September and presents exclusive formats for the Internet. For example, the host of Hoje em dia, Eduardo Guedes, can prepare one of his recipes on television and then invite viewers to take an exclusive look at other dishes on Mundo Record’s website. The new platforms Mundo Record and Mundo Record News offer users the possibility of having free access to content from Record’s productions.

WS: What plans do you have for the international channel and its productions?

GONÇALVES: Our plans revolve around one point: quality. For the growth, expansion and international distribution of the channel and its productions, Record has a very well-devised strategy: to invest in the market’s best professionals, provide the best infrastructure for production and use top-of-the-line equipment and technology. All of this is aimed toward making Record a model of production in Latin America and one of the major free-to-air channels in the world.

Our group is investing significantly in Europe. Other than the Record Internacional channel, which is distributed by major cable, DTH and IPTV operators in Europe, we have three radio stations: Record FM Lisboa, Record FM Madrid and Record FM Reino Unido. Our new step is Record Brazil-London, an entertainment channel.

WS: What motivated the launch of the new channel Record News?

GONÇALVES: Record News comes from the consolidation of Record as the second broadcaster in the country as it advances toward leadership. The high viewership rating of our programs and especially our newscasts assures us that the Brazilian viewers are looking for something new. The audience wants information less compromised by political interests, that is more agile, and above all, closer to reality. Criticism will not change how we think of Record News. I believe it is the voice of those who have realized that the country is changing and Brazilians have become more demanding.

WS: What are your priorities for this year?

GONÇALVES:  Currently, our main priority is digital television. We invested a lot in equipment and many of our productions are already in high definition.