Despite Streaming, Brazilians are Still Loyal to “Telenovelas” and News Programs

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With a population of 210 million inhabitants, Brazil has about 150 million internet users. The number of connected users grows every year. Nevertheless,  television still holds a powerful influence on the majority of the country’s households.

The theory that the web will “kill” TV is far from becoming a reality. The telenovelas (soap operas) and news programs still attract a large audience and resonate with all social classes.

The current hit, “A Dona do Pedaço” shows impressive numbers. In the National Television Panel (PTN) of Kantar Ibope, which includes the audience in fifteen metropolitan regions of the nation, the series scored an average of 32 points for the episodes broadcast between July 22nd and 27th.

This index represents eight million households and approximately 22 million people watching Walcyr Carrasco’s soap opera.

In Greater São Paulo, Brazil’s main survey area (used by the advertising market to determine the use of the main advertisers’ budgets), the plot starring Juliana Paes captures, in a single episode, 7.5 million viewers in 2.7 million homes.

For competing network SBT, the most-watched shows are also soap operas. Currently, it is showing a rerun of “Cúmplices de um Resgate” and the new “As Aventuras de Poliana”.

At RecordTV, drama productions stand out in Ibope, as well as the TV news. The news is also seen as the greatest audience magnet in Band TV.

Globo‘s leading news program, “Jornal Nacional” (JN) sometimes ties in numbers with the 9:00 PM soap opera. It is currently in an excellent audience stage, with averages above thirty points.

Paid channels, streaming services, and the internet offer an almost unlimited list of features but are yet a long way from depleting the interest of the population’s majority in soap operas and TV news.

Habit, the open-signal free programming, and the feeling of inclusion by watching what most people are watching, are among the factors behind the power of the old serials and traditional TV journalism.