TV Brasil

TV Brasil is a Brazilian public television network owned by Empresa Brasil de Comunicação. Its main headquarters are in Brasília, DF and Rio de Janeiro, RJ, with owned-and-operated stations in São Paulo, SP and in São Luís, MA, as well as 21 states where its affiliated broadcasters operate, all components of the Rede Pública de Televisão.

History

TV Brasil originated from a decree which created Empresa Brasil de Comunicação, the network's maintainer, published on 24 December 2007 in the Diário Oficial da União, Brazil's official gazette. It was generated from the fusion of Empresa Brasileira de Comunicação - Radiobrás and Associação de Comunicação Educativa Roquette Pinto, responsible for the maintenance of the now defunct TVE Brasil - which was replaced by TV Brasil in several cities. The lack of equipment restricted TV Brasil's launching to only three cities (Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and São Luís). Its programming, however, is also available through its official website and cable and satellite television.

In 2019, following the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president, TV NBR was shut down and merged into TV Brasil as TV Brasil 2. During the presidency, after initial threats to privatize the EBC, TV Brasil and other government-owned media outlets largely became propaganda organs for Bolsonaro's government. News programmes avoided giving airtime to political opponents, and programmes were faced with censorship to conform with the party line, especially within topics such as violence against women, Indigenous peoples, and LGBT rights. Live coverage of media appearances by Bolsonaro frequently interrupted TV Brasil's regularly scheduled programmes, with an estimated 193 hours of such coverage airing between August 2021 and July 2022.