By Brazil Stock Guide – Globo is overhauling its management structure and reorganizing some of its most important content, digital and commercial operations as Brazil’s largest media group seeks to adapt to changing audience habits and intensifying competition from digital platforms.
The changes include the departure of three veteran executives — Manuel Belmar, who oversees Finance and Digital Products; Brand and Communications Director Manuel Falcão; and Acquisition and Rights Director Pedro Garcia — as well as the integration of TV Globo with Estúdios Globo and the creation of a consumer-focused business division.
The new structure took effect on Friday.
Globo said the changes reflect the evolution of its corporate strategy, with greater emphasis on digital distribution, consumer data and the integration of technology and artificial intelligence into business decisions.
The company also strongly rejected speculation that the executive changes were triggered by its strategy for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when digital rival CazéTV emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of a fragmented broadcasting market.
Grupo Globo Chairman João Roberto Marinho said the decision to renegotiate the company’s World Cup rights package had been made exclusively by the group’s board, following its standard process for major transactions, and could not be attributed to individual executives, according to UOL news. Globo also said Belmar had informed the company about two years ago that he intended to end his executive career.
Digital and Consumer Push
Under the new organization, Consumer, Marketing and Brand will be combined into a single operation intended to bring audience behavior and preferences closer to corporate decision-making.
TV Globo will also be integrated with Estúdios Globo, its main television and entertainment production operation, tightening the link between content creation and distribution.
The Strategy division will assume an expanded mandate that includes corporate governance, while Distribution and Rights will be consolidated under a single management structure. Institutional Relations, Legal and Compliance will move to Grupo Globo’s holding company, reflecting their broader responsibilities across the conglomerate.
“We want to preserve what makes us unique: the strength of our content, and expand our presence across different platforms,” Chief Executive Officer Paulo Marinho said.
The objective, he said, is to maintain the relevance of TV Globo while accelerating digital growth and creating more value for consumers, advertisers and business partners.
Technology, data and artificial intelligence will also become more deeply embedded in the company’s operations as Globo seeks faster decision-making and innovation.
The CazéTV Factor
The competitive backdrop to that strategy has changed rapidly.
CazéTV, created around Brazilian streamer Casimiro Miguel and operated in partnership with sports-media company LiveMode, turned the 2026 World Cup into a demonstration of YouTube’s ability to compete for audiences traditionally dominated by broadcast television.
The channel offered all 104 World Cup matches free on YouTube in Brazil. During the Spain-France semifinal on July 14, its livestream reached a peak of more than 23 million simultaneous viewers in Brazil, according to YouTube — the platform’s global record for concurrent viewers on a single livestream.
Earlier in the tournament, Brazil’s match against Japan had already drawn more than 20 million simultaneous viewers to CazéTV.
Perhaps more significant for Globo is where those viewers were watching.
More than 70% of the viewing time for CazéTV’s World Cup livestreams in Brazil between June 11 and July 5 came from connected television sets, according to YouTube. The figure suggests the platform is increasingly competing not merely for mobile or second-screen viewing, but for the television screen at the center of the Brazilian living room.
That shift adds a new dimension to the competition facing Globo. For decades, control of premium sports rights combined with the reach of free-to-air television provided the company with an almost unmatched ability to aggregate mass audiences. Connected TVs, streaming platforms and creator-led channels are making that market considerably more fragmented.
CazéTV’s World Cup performance does not establish that Globo’s restructuring was a response to the digital rival — a connection the company explicitly rejects. But it illustrates the changes in media consumption that Globo itself cited in explaining why its organizational model needs to evolve.
Leadership Transition
Belmar will remain responsible for Finance and the Shared Services Center during a transition scheduled to conclude in the first quarter of 2027.
Globo said he had informed the company two years ago of his intention to conclude an executive career spanning more than two decades at the group.
He will continue to support Paulo Marinho on key business matters and participate in the search for a new finance chief. Globo credited Belmar with strengthening financial management, supporting the company’s digital expansion and preparing the business for structural changes in the media industry.
Júlia Rueff will take charge of Digital Platforms as part of the succession process. She previously led Globoplay and has overseen areas including Marketing, Customer Experience and Analytics for Globo’s digital products.
Falcão is leaving after almost three decades at the company. His work included the development and repositioning of Globo’s brands and the implementation of the “Uma Só Globo” project, which consolidated several operations under a unified corporate identity.
Cristovam Ferrara will oversee Brand and Communications on an interim basis while Globo searches for a new Consumer and Marketing leader.
Garcia is ending a 45-year career at the company. One of the founders of pay-TV operator Globosat, he held senior roles involving sports, acquisitions of content rights and the development of strategic media assets.
Fernando Ramos will lead the newly combined Distribution and Rights operation. He already works on partnerships and distribution negotiations across Globo’s platforms and will be responsible for developing new opportunities involving content, rights, partners and commercial operations.
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