Aracaju
The Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, which ended this Sunday (5) with the best medal result in the history of Brazilian sports, did not have the repercussions comparable to this achievement due to the lack of broadcast on public television. Since television networks had no interest in acquiring the rights to the event, the events were limited to broadcasts on Cazé TV and the Brazilian Olympic Channel.
Paulo Roberto Conde, director of communications, culture and Olympic values at the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee), explains that the lack of open television, especially Globo, has affected the impact. “It would be good for us to be on open and closed television. This is a question we do not want to remain silent about and we hope it will be answered in the 2027 edition. Not being present in the big cannon of open television is “a problem,” he analyzes.
He stressed that the impact has been great since the Rio Pan in 2007, when Globo stopped broadcasting the competition. “When you lose the biggest broadcaster in the country, it’s a huge problem,” he added. The 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions were shown on Record, which was due to repeat the dose in 2023. But Edir Macedos TV broke the US$10 million contract he had paid (R$49.7 million at current prices).
Conde confirmed that there were talks with Globo, but the broadcaster broke off the negotiations for financial reasons. The executive also revealed that a conversation with Band was an option, with Paulo Teixeira, president of COB, expected to take part in the trials.
“Last year I myself was in meetings with the president of Panam Sports, the owner of the property. I went to Globo and went to see Band in person. The president of COB was also at Globo. Unfortunately there was no progress. And at the end of the first semester, Panam said they were going to do it via streaming and asked if we wanted to do that,” he reveals.
“The mission was not to leave Pan 2023 undetected. The owner of the Pan found out what we had been doing in the broadcasts of national events on the Brazilian Olympic Channel and asked if we wanted to do it, and when there was no agreement, “We did it,” he added.
The results of the broadcast from Canal Olímpico do Brasil and Cazé TV were considered satisfactory. Events such as the women’s volleyball final between Brazil and the Dominican Republic reached 300,000 concurrent viewers across both channels. “It’s not the biggest hit in open television, but it’s a good number, especially considering our subscriber base is 225,000,” he adds.
For 2024, the year of the Olympic Games, the COB is talking to Globo to promote coverage of the event guaranteed on public television. “We are already in discussions with Globo about collaboration; we are in the discussion phase,” he explains. A large team is being sent to provide logistical support to journalists and athletes at the Olympics.
“From the Olympic Channel we will have the Casa Brasil in Paris, which will be 5,000 square meters and will be in a park. In it we will have a studio and a daily program. We want to welcome medalists, great.” Athletes from the past, influencers. We will also have a house in a city in the greater Paris area with support for athletes and production of hard news content, located just 600 meters from the Olympic Village,” concludes Conde.