RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — Last year, Brazil’s audiovisual industry had a total impact of R$70.2 billion (US$13.1 billion) on gross domestic product (GDP) and generated 608,970 direct, indirect and induced jobs, according to Oxford Economics’ just-released study, “The Economic Contribution of Brazil’s Audiovisual Industry in 2024.”
The Brazilian Film Association (MPA), which commissioned the study, released its findings during Rio Market, the business section of the Rio International Film Festival.
Brazil’s local audiovisual industry employs roughly the same number of employees as the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector and more than 50% more than the country’s car manufacturers.
“This is an industry with significant synergies compared to other industries. For example, for every R$10 million in value created by the audiovisual industry, it contributed an additional R$12 million to other sectors of the Brazilian economy,” Andressa Papas, general director of the Brazilian MPA, told Variety.
Free-to-air television, led by the giant Globo Group, remains the industry leader. It accounted for 47% of the industry’s GDP contribution and 44% of its direct employment contribution.
The video-on-demand sector accounted for 27% of the industry’s GDP and 10% of employment. Film screenings accounted for 5% of GDP and 22% of employment. Film and television production and distribution account for 9% of GDP and 15% of employment. Pay TV accounted for 12% of GDP and 7% of employment.
“These numbers show that Brazil’s audiovisual industry is strong. It is already a strong industry, but with the right planning, it will become even bigger,” said Valkyria Barbosa, executive director and international marketer of Riofest and president of the Federation of Audiovisual Industry and Commerce (FICA).
FICA brings together representatives from all sectors of the Brazilian audiovisual industry and was officially launched during Riofest, with the aim of promoting the integration of national policies for this sector in a cross-cutting manner. The model is South Korea. Within a few decades, South Korea succeeded in building a strong domestic production sector, and subsequently rose from obscurity to a world powerhouse in film, drama, and music.
Can Brazil become the next Korea?
Amanda Groom, a UKI consultant and managing director of The Bridge, works for South Korean government agencies and helped implement policies that led to the rise of Asia’s film and television industry, which she sees as a potential new audiovisual world power. India and Brazil.
“We have the potential for significant business expansion by working with countries like India and Brazil. These are growing markets with young people hungry to see and collaborate with the creative industries of the Global North,” Groom told Variety.
“India and Brazil are at a very strategic point in their development. Government and industry are working together,” she added. “It’s a really good time for the Global North industry, the creative industries in Europe, the US and the UK, to start taking India and Brazil more seriously. We know that, because we noticed it in South Korea 15 years ago when it was still a small fish. We’re seeing the same level of support, enthusiasm, drive and professionalism coming from both India and Brazil.”
Amanda Groom
