Raphael Correa Netto

World Screen Weekly, February 21, 2008

Director of International Sales

Globo TV International

The Brazilian media powerhouse TV Globo has extended its reach well beyond its home market, with Globo TV International placing the broadcaster’s novelas—which include the popular The Clone—in markets across Latin America, as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia and the U.S. and Canada.

However, “Globo is much more than a telenovela producer,” stresses Raphael Correa Netto, the director of international sales at the broadcaster’s distribution arm. That message was very much on display at NATPE last month, where Globo unveiled a host of diverse offerings to international broadcasters, from mini-series like Amazonia to dramas such as Antonia to comedies like Normal People and, of course, a host of novelas, among them Tropical Paradise and Pages of Life. Globo’s slate also goes beyond scripted fare with Globo DOC, a series of specials about Brazil. “We have been receiving throughout the last few years many requests about Brazilian documentaries,” says Correa Netto, an eight-year veteran of the company. “We thought it was time for us to dedicate ourselves to producing documentaries tailor-made to the international market. We want to show a Brazil that has never been seen before. It has been very well received so far.”

Going forward, Correa Netto expects that kids’ content will begin to play a larger role in Globo’s international business, following the success of the series Pirlimpimpim.

A common theme across the slate, Correa Netto says, is Globo’s dedication to cultivating talent. “It’s a company that was built, throughout these 40 years, on human resources, and talent is a key element at the company. Being a talent-development-dedicated company and being able to keep the very high quality of content, it’s natural that we would bring more content, niche programming” to the market, he says.

Novelas, however, have been the drivers of Globo’s business thus far, particularly in Asia, which has been an increasingly important emerging market for the company. “We are very excited for Asia,” says Correa Netto, citing a significant five-year volume deal in India, as well as recent agreements in Macau, Vietnam and China, where Globo placed Shades of Sin. “There is huge potential there, technological development [and] established distribution channels that do demand complementary programming.”

Noting that “Brazil itself is a strong brand,” Correa Netto is expecting continued demand from Asia for Globo’s range of offerings, and is particularly excited about prospects for the Japanese market. “This year is a celebration of [the 100th anniversary] of the Japanese immigration to Brazil. There will be a lot of cultural and social and economic exchanges between the two countries. We see a great opportunity to deliver more of Brazil to the Japanese market.”

Correa Netto is also excited about the opportunities in Africa, where Globo operates its Portuguese-language premium pay-TV channel, TV Globo Internacional, in Angola and Mozambique, and sells content to free-TV networks in several markets. “I think there’s a lot more to do in English- and French-speaking Africa.”

Correa Netto is expecting that Globo’s newly diversified sales catalogue will help the company crack traditionally harder markets for Brazilian fare, including Korea and several Western European territories. “Especially with the new channels appearing in Europe on DTT.” The U.S. market is also a key priority for Globo, for both Spanish- and English-language networks.

One Globo series, City of Men, has already performed well on the Sundance Channel in the U.S. The acclaimed series was based on Fernando Meirelles’s Oscar-nominated City of God. Exploiting content across a range of platforms is a priority for Globo, Correa Netto says, noting that the series Antonia has also spawned a successful album as well as a feature film. Normal People also fared well with a theatrical version. “We’ve been experimenting in Brazil ways to strengthen the appeal of our properties [on] TV, DVD, feature films, and definitely there will be more coming soon.”

The key to success across these platforms, Correa Netto explains, is having “the best creators, the best producers, working with us, developing new ideas, new content, to exploit in Brazil and internationally.”