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SBT, standing for Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (Brazilian Television System), is a television network in Brazil. The network first aired in 1981, and the studio headquarters are based in Osasco. SBT is owned by Silvio Santos, a popular Brazilian TV host. It's studios are located in São Paulo.
While most TV stations in Brazil depends mostly on national productions, SBT depends heavily on imports, mainly from Mexico and USA. For more than 20 years comedy show El Chavo (shown in Brazil as Chaves) is one of the station's most-watched shows. The show also has a deal with Warner Brothers which gives the channel an exclusivity deal to show all their sitcoms, dramas and movies.
For a long time, Mexican soap operas have been one of the most recognizable things for SBT, mostly during the early 90s when Mexican soap operas reached it's peak in the country with soaps like the children-oriented Carrosel, La Usurpadora, El Privelegio de Amar, Luz Clarita and the incredibly successful Maria trilogy (Maria Mercedes, Marimar, Maria la del Barrio). Compared to the toned-down Brazilian soaps, Mexican soaps are considered tacky and exaggerated, but during the 90s were a huge hit with lower-class people.
Other 90s hits include Domingo Legal, a Sunday variety show which during the late-90s was SBT highest-rated show and surpassed Globo for hours, something very rare. Domingo Legal was criticized for being excessively sensationalist and ratings started to decline and after the PCC scandal, ratings declined a lot and the show now is sometimes in the 3rd place at ratings, far from the time it was 1, Ratinho which had a similar format as Jerry Springer, Show do Milhão, a non-authorized version from Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Chiquititas, which was a big hit among kids.
For over 20 years SBT was the second place in Brazilian television ratings, behind Rede Globo, but in February 2007 it was outpaced by Rede Record for the first time in [[São Paulo] City[1].
Since the 90s peak in popularity Mexican soaps have been declining in the audience hitting an all time-low in the last two years (the last Mexican soap operas to have big ratings were Carita de Angel in the early 2000s and Rebelde, which was a phenomenon in 2006). In 2001, SBT decided to star remaking Mexican soaps with Brazilian actors. The first soaps (Picara Sonhadora and Marisol) did OK on the ratings but they also hit an all-time low recently, with soaps like Cristal, Os Ricos Também Choram and Maria Isabel (a version of the highly-successful Maria Mercedes) scoring very low ratings.
Beside Mexican soaps and their remakes, the channel also air cartoons during the morning, formats (like Ídolos, Brazilian version of American Idol and the Brazilian version of Super Nanny, which are two of the most-watched shows on the channel and also a version of Deal or No Deal, presented by Silvio Santos himself, who presents lots of the network shows), lots of talent shows and one dating show. The channel also shows movie and A Praça é Nossa, a comedy show which been one of the network highest-rated show since the very first days.
Beginning in the 1960s, Silvio Santos independently produced his own program. Soon he had a structure able to support his dream of owning his own TV station. In 1976, thanks to the influence in governmental circles of humourist and his old-time friend Manoel de Nóbrega, Santos finally obtained a license for his own station: Rio de Janeiro's channel 11, christened TV Studios, or TVS for short. Soon its flagship program, the day every-Sunday Programa Silvio Santos, was being aired from TVS.
When Rede Tupi collapsed in 1980, Santos obtained three stations: São Paulo's channel 4, Porto Alegre's channel 5 and Belém's channel 5. Thus, SBT was created, launched officially on August 19, 1981, still using the TVS name.
In the 1980s, SBT established itself with popular programming, contracting popular hosts and airing a mix of its own and some Televisa programming, especially Mexican soap operas telenovelas and comdey shows such as El Chavo (Chaves) and El Chapulín Colorado (Chapolin). It quickly gained 2nd place ranking in Brazilian ratings, except for in Rio de Janeiro, where Rede Manchete occupied this position.
In 1987, Santos turned SBT practically upside-down, pursuing a better 'quality' programming, while trying to attract a larger audience and better advertisers. The most significant new personalities signed by the network were humorist, Jô Soares brought from TV Globo in 1988, thus introducing the concept of late night talk-shows on Brazilian TV, and Boris Casoy, who became the first anchor in Brazil with its TJ Brasil news show.
In 1988, Santos was able at the last minute to prevent TV host 'Gugu' Liberato from signing with TV Globo. This was widely seen as an indication that Gugu would be Santos' successor on Sunday afternoons, reinforced with the extended time of Gugu's ' program 'Domingo Legal.
SBT kept the same aggressive approach of the end of the 80s, investing heavily in its own telenovelas and getting television rights for some important sporting events (including Copa Mercosur, Copa do Brasil and Cart Championships. Also kept in touch with its heritage, signing with popular host Carlos 'Ratinho' Massa, getting more Mexican productions and launching some game shows. In the end of the decade, SBT was the undisputed 2nd place of Brazilian ratings and eyeing Globo.
SBT began the decade investing in movies, broadcasting a package of Disney and Time Warner productions.
In 2001, the controversial reality show Casa dos Artistas, accused by many of being a copy of Endemol's Big Brother marked the first SBT lead the ratings on Sunday night.
Since 2003, with the advance of Rede Record, SBT entered in a crisis. Two important facts in this year marked the beginning of its problems:
Since then, the only notable SBT success has been the airing of the program Rebelde. Problems have included constantly changing programming without any warning even to hosts, thus confusing the audience. In 2006 SBT celebrated its 25th birthday amidst a deepening crisis, and culminating with a month-wide loss of ratings February 2007 to TV Record.
SBT found much inspiration on United States Television. The network logo was inspired by the ABC circle logo, and in the late 80's and early 90's, the institutional campaigns Quem Procura Acha Aqui (1988-1991) and Vem Que é Bom (1991) were nearly identical copies of NBC's campaigns Let's All Be There and Come Home to NBC. The sets of versions of American game shows Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Double Dare, and Deal or No Deal bear a very close resemblance to their American counterparts, although some of these shows were actually licensed. More recently, the flagship nightly television news program SBT Brasil opening was very similar to the one used by ABC World News Tonight in 2005 and now, in 2006 opening is similar to the TVE´s Telediario[2].
SBT is famous in Brazil for showing Mexican soap operas and comedy shows such as El Chavo (Chaves) and El Chapulín Colorado (Chapolin), produced by the Mexican broadcasting network Televisa. SBT also shows American movies, cartoons, and series, mostly produced by the Time Warner group. It produces several game shows, with some of them broadcast on Sundays, on the Programa Sílvio Santos.