Originais Brasil : mapeamento da ficção seriada em Globoplay e Netflix

Abstract

Our analysis aims to examine the production of original fiction series on the two largest subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services in Brazil: Globoplay and Netflix. How is each of these players acting in the local media industry? We seek to map the current situation of original production for those services, identifying who is producing, how the content is being made and which stories are being produced and/or exported. To provide context, we use Rede Globo’s telenovelas as a reference point due to their longstanding tradition as the dominant form of production and storytelling in Brazil. Rede Globo has enjoyed audience supremacy and market dominance in television serial fiction for nearly six decades. Their style and production methods have become deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric, fostering a loyal connection with viewers.However, since the arrival of Netflix in Brazil in 2011, there has been a movement in the domestic market that intensified in 2016, when this platform started to produce original content locally. Thus, we study the original productions of Globoplay and Netflix, analyzing the characteristics of each service from a marketing and industrial point of view, while investigating the cultural aspects of the original works produced in the country. For this endeavor, we carried out a theoretical research on TV in the streaming era and the particularities of that moment in the digital distribution and production industry of fictional series. We also analyzed the communicability strategies of the original series to investigate the proposed cultural interaction of the works on the screen. We concluded that the series reveal a local-global dynamic, where the productions have universal themes, but few Brazilian elements. We observed advances in the generic approach, however, these elements are strongly linked to the drama. There is little diversity of protagonists profiles, which neglects issues of gender, race, inclusion of people with disabilities and identity and sexual freedom. In addition, companies in the sector show little reception and openness to new talent, while audiovisual professionals face precarious working conditions.