Rede Globo invests 51 million dollars in its new studios

The largest production company in Latin America reinforces its content production capacity and announces that it will never sell them to large streaming platforms such as Netflix or Amazon.

The Brazilian giant Rede Globo has just inaugurated its new production studios known as the Recording Module 4 (MG4). Three years of studies, 18 months of construction and an investment of 207 million reais (51.67 million dollars) that will mean increasing the production area of ​​its complex west of the city of Rio de Janeiro by 50%. The MG4 has 26,000 m² of total constructed area, with 4,500 m² of studios.

Carlos Henrique Schroder, general director of Globo, has highlighted that "this is a bet for the future. A soap opera is produced, on average, 70% inside a studio, 20% made in the scenic city and 10% outside. In 2014, when this decision was made, we realized that our internal production capacity was 100%. Therefore, the certainty of the need to expand production capacity here."

For his part, Globo's fiction director, Silvio de Abreu, has also highlighted the commitment to soap operas as the reason for Globo's investment: "When a broadcaster like TV Globo trusts so much in this genre that it makes a project of this magnitude, at this price, it is because it believes that we will continue making soap operas for a long time."

Ricardo Waddington, production director at Globo, recalled that the lack of space to make soap operas, “is something we have been carrying since the eighties.” The MG4 will initially be used only for the production of soap operas, starting with Mother's Love, by Manoela Dias, directed by José Luiz Villamarín, which premieres on November 25.

The three new studios (K, L and M) that make up the complex, each with 1,500 square meters of useful surface, will allow the use of fixed stages, putting an end to the practice of assembly and disassembly that occurs in all soap opera recordings.

But, as Schroder observed, “it would be of no use to have the ability to record if you don't have what needs to be recorded.” This explains the renovation work of the authors. "How do we prepare for this new time, for this type of competition? It's not just about recording. Today we have around 250 authors in the house."

In order to offer more relevant and quality content with talent, creativity and innovation, Globo has the so-called House of Screenwriters (Casa dos Roteiristas), a collaborative space for the development of series and miniseries projects for the Brazilian and international markets with trilingual scripts (Portuguese, English and Spanish).

Policy regarding streaming platforms

Coinciding with the launch of the new production facilities, the CEO of the Globo group, Jorge Nóbrega, stressed that "we are not going to do what the United States did seven or eight years ago... sell to other platforms. We will not sell our content to Netflix and Amazon."

It should be noted that Globo has its own streaming platform, GloboPlay, which is free with ads and includes an ad-free version for about $5 a month. Netflix, meanwhile, is growing rapidly in Brazil and now counts the country as its second foreign market, behind the United Kingdom.