Empresa Brasil de Comunicação

Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) is Brazil’s federal public media company. Created in 2007, it was established to organize and operate public broadcasting and related communications services under the federal executive branch. Its activities cover television, radio, digital publishing, news distribution and production or transmission services for public institutions. EBC’s best-known media properties include TV Brasil, Agência Brasil, Portal EBC and the National Radio Network, which incorporates stations serving national, regional, educational and cultural audiences. The company was formally created on 24 October 2007 through Federal Decree No. 6,246. Its formation followed Provisional Measure No. 398, issued earlier that month and subsequently converted into Federal Law No. 11,652 of 7 April 2008. The legal framework defined EBC’s role in public communication and established a corporate structure through which the federal government could manage broadcasting assets and services. EBC’s bylaws were approved by Federal Decree No. 6,689 on 10 December 2008. EBC consolidated assets, personnel and broadcasting concessions formerly associated with Empresa Brasileira de Comunicação, commonly known as Radiobrás. It also incorporated federal public assets that had been administered by the Associação de Comunicação Educativa Roquette Pinto, or ACERP, an organization connected with TVE Brasil. ACERP continued for a period as a service provider under a management arrangement with the new company. Through this consolidation, EBC inherited and reorganized existing television and radio operations rather than beginning as an entirely new media network. The company’s public-service remit includes the production and distribution of educational, cultural, artistic, scientific, technological and informational programming. It operates across multiple platforms, allowing content to be delivered through broadcast television, radio, websites, news services and institutional channels. Agência Brasil provides news reporting, while Portal EBC serves as a digital publishing platform. EBC Serviços produces or provides transmission support for A Voz do Brasil, a long-running government radio program, for the Secretariat of Government of the Presidency of the Republic. EBC’s radio activities are organized through the National Radio Network. Stations associated with the network include Rádio MEC AM, Rádio MEC FM, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, Rádio Nacional de Brasília AM, Rádio Nacional de Brasília FM, Rádio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro and Rádio Nacional do Alto Solimões. These services reflect EBC’s broad geographic and cultural remit, including national programming, regional communication and educational or cultural content. Administratively, EBC is linked to the federal government’s Secretariat of Social Communication, commonly known as SECOM. Its headquarters are in Brasília, with production centers and regional offices in other parts of Brazil. The federal government is the company’s sole shareholder under the structure described in the company’s legal framework, although public entities from other levels of government may be permitted to hold a minority portion of the social capital. EBC is financed through federal budget allocations and revenues connected with licensing, program production, institutional advertising and services supplied to public or private organizations. The company is subject to public-sector accountability and oversight, including scrutiny by the Presidency’s internal control bodies and Brazil’s Federal Court of Auditors. Its leadership and institutional independence have periodically become politically contested. A prominent episode occurred in 2016, when director-president Ricardo Melo challenged his dismissal and obtained a temporary Supreme Federal Court order returning him to office before that order was later revoked. Leadership subsequently changed under different federal administrations. In 2020, Glen Lopes was appointed director-president, and in 2025 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed André Basbaum to the role. EBC remains an active state-owned public media organization focused on nationwide communication services.

Empresa Brasil de Comunicação was created as part of Brazil’s effort to consolidate federal public communication and broadcasting operations. The company came into existence on 24 October 2007, when Federal Decree No. 6,246 was published in the Diário Oficial da União. Its establishment had been authorized by Provisional Measure No. 398 on 10 October 2007. That measure was later converted into Federal Law No. 11,652, enacted on 7 April 2008, providing the principal statutory basis for EBC’s organization and public-service mission. EBC was assembled from pre-existing federal communication resources. A central predecessor was Empresa Brasileira de Comunicação, generally called Radiobrás, whose assets, employees and broadcasting concessions were transferred or reorganized within the new company. EBC also assumed federal public assets previously administered by the Associação de Comunicação Educativa Roquette Pinto, known as ACERP. ACERP had coordinated TVE Brasil and entered into a new management agreement under which it continued to provide services to EBC for a period. This structure enabled the federal government to combine television, radio and related communication capabilities in a single public media organization. The company’s bylaws were approved on 10 December 2008 through Federal Decree No. 6,689. EBC was placed under the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency, or SECOM, and given responsibility for managing public broadcasting under the federal executive branch. Its remit extended beyond conventional broadcasting: the company was expected to develop and distribute educational, artistic, cultural, scientific, technological and informational content, including material produced regionally, nationally and independently. From its Brasília headquarters, EBC developed a network of production facilities and regional offices across Brazil. Its television operation became associated with TV Brasil, while its news and digital operations included Agência Brasil and Portal EBC. Its radio structure incorporated the National Radio Network, with stations such as Rádio MEC, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, Rádio Nacional de Brasília, Rádio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro and Rádio Nacional do Alto Solimões. The organization also maintained EBC Serviços, a service division responsible for producing A Voz do Brasil for the Secretariat of Government of the Presidency of the Republic. Other branded services associated with the EBC portfolio include Radioagência Nacional and TV Brasil Internacional. EBC was organized as a closed-capital corporation represented by shares. The federal government is its sole shareholder under the described ownership arrangement, while entities from the indirect federal, state or municipal administrations may hold a minority portion of the social capital within the limits established by law. The company’s funding model combines federal budget resources with income from licensing, program production, institutional advertising and services supplied to public and private organizations. As a public company, EBC is subject to internal government controls and external review by the Federal Court of Auditors. Leadership has sometimes been affected by changes in national government and disputes over the independence of the company’s executive mandate. In 2016, Director-President Ricardo Melo was dismissed by Acting President Michel Temer. Melo argued before the Supreme Federal Court that the law establishing EBC granted the director-president a four-year term and therefore prevented premature removal. Justice Dias Toffoli initially issued a preliminary injunction ordering Melo’s return. On 8 September 2016, however, Toffoli revoked that decision and held that Laerte Rímoli could remain director-president. Later leadership changes included the appointment of Glen Lopes in 2020 during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency. In 2025, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed André Basbaum as director-president. EBC continues to function as Brazil’s federal public media conglomerate, combining broadcast networks, news services, digital publishing and institutional communication capabilities.

• 2025

  André Basbaum appointed director-president

  [1]Empresa Brasil de Comunicaçãoen.wikipedia.org

  President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed André Basbaum to lead EBC.

• 2020

  Glen Lopes appointed director-president

  [1]Empresa Brasil de Comunicaçãoen.wikipedia.org

  Glen Lopes became director-president during the Bolsonaro administration.

• 2016

  Leadership dispute reaches the Supreme Federal Court

  [1]Empresa Brasil de Comunicaçãoen.wikipedia.org

  A legal dispute over Ricardo Melo’s dismissal produced an initial injunction ordering his return, followed by its revocation and recognition of Laerte Rímoli’s continued leadership.

• 2008

  Founding framework converted into law

  [1]Empresa Brasil de Comunicaçãoen.wikipedia.org

  Provisional Measure No. 398 was converted into Federal Law No. 11,652 on 7 April 2008, defining the legal basis for EBC.

• 2008

  Bylaws approved

  [1]Empresa Brasil de Comunicaçãoen.wikipedia.org

  Federal Decree No. 6,689 approved EBC’s bylaws on 10 December 2008.

• 2007

  EBC formally established

  [1]Empresa Brasil de Comunicaçãoen.wikipedia.org

  Federal Decree No. 6,246 established Empresa Brasil de Comunicação on 24 October 2007.

Federal public-service media organization providing educational, cultural, informational and government communication services across television, radio and digital platforms.

• Public television network

  TV Brasil

  EBC’s principal public television network, carrying educational, cultural, artistic, informational and other public-service programming. It distributes content nationally and is part of the television infrastructure consolidated under EBC.

• Public news agency

  Agência Brasil

  EBC’s public news-agency operation, producing and distributing reporting about Brazil and public affairs. It extends the company’s communication role beyond broadcast programming into text-based news and digital distribution.

• Digital news portal

  Portal EBC

  EBC’s digital portal for publishing and organizing content from the company’s media operations. It provides an online distribution point for public information, news and audiovisual material.

• Public radio network

  National Radio Network

  A group of public radio services associated with EBC, including Rádio MEC AM and FM, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, Rádio Nacional de Brasília AM and FM, Rádio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro and Rádio Nacional do Alto Solimões. The network combines national, regional, educational and cultural broadcasting.

• Government radio program production service

  A Voz do Brasil

  A long-running Brazilian government radio program produced or supported by EBC Serviços for the Secretariat of Government of the Presidency of the Republic. EBC’s role is a communications service rather than a conventional consumer product.

• Radio news service

  Radioagência Nacional

  A radio-oriented news distribution service associated with EBC, extending the company’s reporting and audio content to broadcasters and other audiences.

• International television service

  TV Brasil Internacional

  An international-facing television service associated with TV Brasil and EBC, intended to distribute Brazilian public television content beyond the domestic market.

• 2016

  Resolution of the Ricardo Melo leadership disputeOther

  Background

  Ricardo Melo contested his dismissal as director-president, asserting that EBC’s founding law protected a four-year term.

  Action taken

  The Supreme Federal Court initially ordered Melo’s return through a preliminary injunction. Justice Dias Toffoli later revoked the injunction and allowed Laerte Rímoli to remain director-president.

  Aftermath

  The episode highlighted the relationship between executive leadership changes, the statutory structure of EBC and judicial review of public-company appointments.

  Source

• 2007

  Creation of a federal public media conglomerateStrategy

  Background

  Brazil’s federal government sought to consolidate public broadcasting and communication assets that had been dispersed among Radiobrás, ACERP and other federal structures.

  Action taken

  The government established EBC through Federal Decree No. 6,246 and assigned it responsibility for public television, radio, news and related communication services.

  Aftermath

  EBC became the principal federal organization for managing Brazil’s public media infrastructure.

  Source

1. 1Empresa Brasil de Comunicaçãoen.wikipedia.org