Rede Bandeirantes
Rede Bandeirantes, or simply known as Band, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It began broadcasting on May 13, 1967 on VHF channel 13 in São Paulo. Its founder was businessman João Saad with the help of his father-in-law and former São Paulo governor Adhemar de Barros. In terms of audience and revenue, it is currently the fourth largest Brazilian television network. It broadcasts throughout Brazil through its owned-and-operated stations and affiliates. It also has a series of pay TV channels and it broadcasts internationally via Band Internacional.
It was the first station to have all of its programming in color in 1972, and it was also the first to broadcast via satellite, being the pioneer network in the use of exclusive satellite channels for its simulcasts throughout Brazil in 1982. In 1990, when it was called Bandeirantes, the station changed the name to simply "Band". However, due to the fact that the public was not pleased with this change, it was turned back to "Bandeirantes". The first use of the name "Band" was during a broadcast of the carnival in 1995, and on the same occasion, it became the first Brazilian station to insert its logo on the corner of the screen, being the so-called "watermark".
During the 1980s and 1990s, it became known as "the sports channel", due to the network broadcasting the most varied sports genres, under the influence of announcer Luciano do Valle, being the first to broadcast the IndyCar Series, the NBA and the Italian and Spanish football championships. The journalistic coverage was another recognition of Band, in carrying out debates between political candidates on television. It became the second TV station to hold a debate for the Governor of São Paulo in 1982 and it was the first to carry out debates between political candidates for the Presidency in 1989.History
Background
In 1945, in São Paulo, businessman João Jorge Saad bought Rádio Bandeirantes from his father-in-law Ademar de Barros, which the then-governor of São Paulo had bought from its previous owner, Paulo Machado de Carvalho, the owner of Rádio Record and Emissoras Unidas. During the administration of President Getúlio Vargas, João Saad managed to obtain the concession of a television channel in São Paulo in the 1950s. During the Juscelino Kubitschek government, the concession was canceled and handed over to another businessman. However, Saad managed, at the time of the João Goulart government, to recover the TV station. In 1961 in Morumbi, work began on the Radiantes Building – a building specially built with the purpose of housing the most modern television studios in Latin America, and later nicknamed by employees as an "enchanted palace". The station's building, the first in the country to be designed to receive a TV, took about five years to build. Saad has postponed the start of operations several times: "It wasn't time yet... I only opened the station in '67, based on solid foundations", he said. With a transmission tower on Pico do Jaraguá, in February 1967, experimental broadcasts began, with slides, films and documentaries.Early years
TV Bandeirantes officially started broadcasting regularly on May 13, 1967, with a speech by its founder, João Jorge Saad, followed by a concert by singers Agostinho dos Santos and Cláudia, who opened the broadcasts. The people present during that time were generally politicians, including President Costa e Silva, the governor of São Paulo Abreu Sodré, the mayor of São Paulo Faria Lima, and ministers and secretaries of state. A playground and a free circus for low-income families were set up in front of the station's headquarters. For two days, there were scavenger hunts and games, with the distribution of commemorative gifts and 5 houses were drawn for poor mothers.
Bandeirantes has invested from the beginning in sports, films and journalism. For Saad, programming had to be "eclectic". According to him, you couldn't "raise the level of the programs too much, otherwise there won't be an audience". Initially, a novelty was tested in the programming grid, eliminating the inter-program intervals. In 1967, days after the opening, the first soap opera on the then TV Bandeirantes, Os Miseráveis, adapted by Walther Negrão and Chico de Assis, came on the air, with an innovation: chapters lasting 45 minutes. The first news program of the network was Holders News, a corresponding traditional program of Radio Bandeirantes. The program Ari Toledo Show stood out; Leporace Show, with Vicente Leporace; Cláudia Querida, with the singer; I Love Lúcio, music and humor show led by Lúcio Mauro and Arlete Salles; Além, Além do Além, a horror theater with Zé do Caixão. In a short time, the direction of the station was transferred to Gilberto Martins and Antonino Seabra. In 1968, the program Xênia e Vocêwas shown on the network at 3 pm, which remained on the network for years, and was presented by Xênia Bier. Also that year, TV Bandeirantes aired the Sítio do Picapau Amarelo at 6:30 pm, and at 7:30 pm, As Aventuras de Rin-tin-tin.1969 fire
On September 19, 1969, the station suffered a devastating fire, which destroyed its facilities. Most of the station's archives and equipment have been lost due to the fire. The slogan at the time was: "Bandeirantes will not stop". The fire that occurred in the Morumbi studios led to a rush to rent the Cine Arlequim, on Avenida Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, in São Paulo, which was named Teatro Bandeirantes. All TV Bandeirantes programming was generated from Cine Arlequim, which was quickly transformed into Teatro Bandeirantes. The fire in Bandeirantes was similar to those of Rede Globo, Rede Record and Rede Excelsior. All four fires occurred in less than a week, prompting authorities to attribute the four fires to acts of sabotage, under a single command. The TV Bandeirantes fire was the biggest of the four, with damage estimated to be around Cr$15 million. This fire lasted three and a half hours and the fire would have started, at the same time, in three different points. On the occasion, the Commander of the Second Army, General Canavarro Pereira, and Governor Abreu Sodréthey expressed the certainty that these incidents "are part of a terrorist plan" and called for the people's help to fight the extremists. Before this problem, João Saad would have been advised by a fortune teller to sell the station for foreseeing a fire. In an interview, he reportedly said that he did not believe because he thought she was serving a competitor. The network had three major seasons of production/exhibition of television drama. The first was in the first years of operation, from 1967 to 1970. During this period, in addition to the aforementioned Os Miseráveis, novelas such as Era Necessidade Back and O Bolha were produced.1970s
Sports programming and color broadcasting
In 1970, the network broadcast the 1970 FIFA World Cup, the first live sports broadcast in Brazil. The station participated in a transmission pool organized by the Federal Government, in which Rede Globo, Rede Tupi and REI also participated. The first color broadcasts were in 1972 with the display of the Grape Festival in Caxias do Sul. Bandeirantes participated in the group of stations that aired the event, from video generated by TV Difusora, from Porto Alegre, which was purchased on June 30, 1980 by Grupo Bandeirantes, transforming it into TV Bandeirantes Rio Grande do Sul. Although the station was still operating amid the losses caused by the 1969 fire, the transmission was made thanks to equipment imported from Germany. During that same year, Band became the first broadcaster in Brazil to produce all of its programming in color. The slogan "Bandeirantes: the colorful image of São Paulo" was launched for the occasion, which featured a Peacock, inspired by NBC's Laramie Peacock as a nod to NBC's partnership with the network.New, popular shows
In 1973, the program Japan Pop Show premiered, presented by the Japanese-Brazilian couple Suzana Matsuda and Nelson Matsuda. It was exhibited on Sundays and followed the same format as Rede Tupi's Images from Japan. On June 16, 1974, one of the most popular and long-lived programs in Brazil debuted on Saturday afternoons on the network: Clube do Bolinha, presented by Édson Cury, widely known as "Bolinha". The program remained on air until May 7, 1994. On August 12, 1974, the new Teatro Bandeirantes was inaugurated, in a great show that brought together Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Maria Bethânia, Tim Maia and Rita Lee.The transition to a national network
In 1975, Bandeirantes began to become a national television network with the purchase of TV Vila Rica, which became TV Bandeirantes Minas. On July 7, 1977, at 7 pm, TV Bandeirantes arrived in Rio de Janeiro on channel 7, after the purchase of TV Guanabara. In the same year, the stations comprising Rede Amazônica also became part of the newly created network.New shows
In 1977, presenter Hebe Camargo started to present her program on Sunday nights and marked her return to television after 4 years being solely dedicated to radio, which had a familiar model with interviews, musicals and information. The most memorable moments of the program were the interview with Chico Xavier and when Hebe threw her microphone on the floor in the middle of the live broadcast of the program and complained about the station. She demanded better treatment from the channel and more resources, such as new sets, more people in the production and musicians in the orchestra, who promised to serve her. In 1986, the presenter left the station and signed with SBT.1980s
The expansion of news programming
In the early 1980s, Jornal Bandeirantes was presented by Ferreira Martins and Joelmir Beting, with comments by Newton Carlos on international issues. Ronaldo Rosas presented the news from Rio de Janeiro. At that time, Rede Bandeirantes also aired Canal Livre, whose history was confused with the political opening that was taking place during the military dictatorship. Initially presented by Roberto D'Ávila and directed by Fernando Barbosa Lima, it was seen as a way for the network to show a more critical journalism, a fact that still occurs today.