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Direct broadcast satellite company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SKY Brasil is a company, owned by Vrio, which operates a subscription television service in Brazil. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels.
 | This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. (March 2017) |
SKY Brasil logo (March 2007–present) | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Predecessor | DirecTV Brasil |
| Founded | November 11, 1996 |
| Founder | Roberto Marinho Sky |
| Headquarters | , Brazil |
| Products | Pay television 4G LTE |
| Parent | Vrio |
| Website | www |
SKY Mexico was founded on 25 July 1996, a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), News Corporation, Liberty Media and Grupo Televisa and was later launched on 15 December 1996. At the same time it was being set up in Brazil, where it involved BSkyB, News Corporation, Liberty Media and Organizações Globo. By May 2000, the company had extended throughout the rest of Latin America, launching in Central America, Argentina and Colombia but during Argentina's economic crisis, on 10 July 2002, with over 52,000 subscribers, Sky Argentina ceased all operations.[1]
Negotiations to carry the over-the-air signal of TV Globo were stalled due to pressure from affiliates and concerns from rights issues.[2] In February 1997 it was announced that Fox Kids would launch in Brazil exclusively on the operator in March 1997. On February 4 that year, the Spanish-language feed was launched on the operator in Spanish-speaking markets. Cable companies would only add the channel in April due to dependence on decoders.[3] The channel eventually launched on the operator on April 8; the week before, Bloomberg and CNN en Español were added.[4] On April 16, Sky announced the start of PPV sports broadcasts, with subscribers receiving ten matches of the Brazilian Football League.[5] That same month, Sky reportedly surpassed 30,000 subscribers, less than half of DirecTV's 70,000.[6]
In July 1997, Sky was studying the possibility of direct sales via telemarketing, as well as the usage of Pace decoders which were supplied to Gradiente, Sky's technical partner.[7] Later that month it was announced that Gradiente's installers would used and 20,000 decoders were to be installed in an initial phase.[8]
Sky uplinked its first Globo affiliates, all of them owned-and-operated stations, in November 1997: TV Globo Rio, TV Globo São Paulo and TV Globo Minas. The entrance of these stations was a test to see if Globo contributed to its presence bringing gains to the provider, as well as possible cost-benefit relations for other non-O&O affiliates to join the service in key cities.[9] These were added on December 5, 1997 in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, with no date set for the São Paulo metropolitan area.[10]
Sky was growing faster than DirecTV in terms of subscribers in March 1998, but the overall number of subscribers was still slightly lower.[11] In July 1998, TV Globo São Paulo and RBS TV Porto Alegre were uplinked. There were chances for affiliates in São Paulo's inland to be added, but at the time, this wasn't confirmed yet.[12] Globo São Paulo wasn't added to the system until August 21, 1998. Out of the O&Os, only Recife and Brasília weren't present yet.[13] The entrance of Globo's stations in the system didn't cause a massive increase in the cities that had an affiliate available, implying that Sky was gaining more subscribers outside these cities.[14]
Animal Planet was added on June 25, 1999.[15] Playboy TV was added on July 15, breaking its exclusivity contract with DirecTV.[16] MTV Brasil followed on August 19, on the date of that year's edition of Video Music Brasil.[17] On October 22, Sony and Warner Channel were added. The HBOLAG exclusivity contract with DirecTV only affected the company's premium channels.[18]
On February 15, 2000, it was announced that Sky would hold a five-year DTH exclusivity contract to carry PSN.[19] It started carrying TV Bahia in Salvador as the fifth Globo affiliate in the system on June 23, 2000.[20]
During the course of the decade, most Sky operations in Latin America were rebranded to DirecTV, with the exception of the Mexican and Brazilian operations, that in 2005 absorbed the DirecTV keeping the Sky name.[21]
In May 2009, Sky Brazil launched its first ten HDTV channels in 1080i resolution (with the exception of ESPN HD (today ESPN+), which broadcasts in 720p). Currently, Sky Brazil has 57 channels in HDTV in total (note: Sex Zone HD is optional).[22]
In 2016, Sky Brazil has reached more than 5.3 million subscribers, ranking as second in number of subscribers in Brazil.[23]
In 2022, Grupo Globo divested their 7% stake in SKY Brasil, making Vrio their full 100% owner.[24]
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