As far as Formula 1 broadcasters go, Brazil’s RGT is among the longest-running in the game - probably number 1 - for it has been showing Formula 1
races year year since 1972. It played a key role bringing international motor racing back
to Brazil in 1970, providing promotional support to several tournaments held in
the country until Brazil was firmly placed in the official GP calendar. It was
a good bet for RGT, for Emerson Fittipaldi not only became a 2-time World Champion,
something it could only dream back in early 1970, but the country has also
produced two other world champions, including a driver widely reckoned the best
ever, Ayrton Senna.
Notwithstanding this enviable track record, RGT's race announcer,
Galvao Bueno, is widely criticized by many in Brazil, accused of a style that
mixes annoying and overly enthusiastic cheerleading (for Brazilian drivers,
often seeing marvelous performances where there are none), soccer game coverage techniques, poor focus on what is really going on in the track, recalcitrant
knowledge of the sport’s history, racing dynamics and mechanics, and
questionable analytical skills. Despite these shortcomings, Galvao, who
incidentally also announces Brazilian national team soccer games and dabbles in
other sports coverage, remains the mainstay of RGT Formula 1 cover for decades.
Brazil has been non-stop on the calendar since 1973, a
status that few countries can match at present – I can only think of Britain,
Italy and Monaco. Yet, not all is rosy for the Brazilian race. In the medium
term, there is talk of privatizing the Interlagos circuit, which might result
in its ultimate destruction. In the short term, for the first time since 1970
there is no Brazilian driver in Formula 1, and the pipeline looks grim. This of
course does not sit well with Galvao’s unusual and spirited race coverage, for there
is nothing to cheer about. So he rants on and on about Ayrton’s past
achievements…
That is enough to make RGT a most unusual Formula 1
broadcaster, but there is more.
RGT is by far the top TV broadcaster in Brazil, and a true
media empire, encompassing radio stations, newspapers, magazine and internet
publishing. Among other things, it is one of the top producers of soap operas
in the world, which are sold in several markets. In these, RGT unashamedly
makes merchandising for a variety of products, including cosmetics, clothing,
cell phones, cars and even Uber. It even managed to do merchandising in a soap
opera staged in the Middle Ages…
However, RGT is known to have a pet peeve – it
does not like giving free promotion to anybody.
In that connection, RGT
is unique in that it refuses to call the formula 1 team Red Bull, what it is, Red
Bull. It is consistently called RBR during race coverage, newscasts, and other
company media (in fairness, in the traditional car magazine Auto Esporte, also
published by the conglomerate, every once in a while the name Red Bull appears).
There must be some bad blood, somewhere, or a more plausible explanation.
To Brazilian broadcaster RGT, there is no Red Bull Formula 1 team...
Yet, RGT sees no problems calling Ferraris, Renaults and
Mercedes what they are. For the first two, there is a clear explanation.
Recently Jeep (FIAT group, therefore, Ferrari) and Nissan (Renault group) were
involved in merchandising actions in Brazilian soap operas. As for Mercedes, there
are at best some tens of thousands of people able to even think of buying a
Mercedes car in Brazil, and many probably do not even watch the channel. However,
there are millions that can buy a can of Red Bull everyday, millions that do
watch the channel. So Mercedes is properly identified, Red Bull becomes RBR.
I suppose that Red Bull has never advertised in any of RGT’s
media, and understandably refuses do so in Formula 1, for owning two teams is expensive
enough. As Dieter Mateschitz has a reputation for standing his ground, RGT
remains the only broadcaster in the world to call Red Bull RBR.
If you are wondering what RGT stands for, well, as long as
they refuse to properly identify Red Bull, I refuse to identity them properly.
Much more information about racing in the 70's can be found in my book MOTOR RACING IN THE 70'S - PIVOTING FROM ROMANTIC TO ORGANIZED. It is a 472-page book about racing in the period, with 242 photos, covering Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 5000, other lower formulae, Formula Indy, NASCAR, Touring Cars, Sports Cars, Can Am, Trans Am, IMSA, DRM, local racing scenes, main driver profiles, plus long lists of makes that raced in the period, main drivers and racing venues from 85 countries, year highlights, performance and financial analysis of the sport. It can be bought at Amazon shops in the USA, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, Japan,
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