Videoage International May/June 2021

22 May/June 2021 LATAM’s Water Cooler L ast November it was reported that Argentine broadcaster Canal 9 had been sold to Grupo Octubre, which is led by trade unionist and businessman Víctor Santamaría (who’s close to Argentine vice president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner). Grupo Octubre also owns the newspaper Página 12 , considered to be a propagandistic tool for the current national government. However, a widely held view is that Grupo Octubre did not actually acquire Canal 9 and that the TV station was never for sale. Nonetheless, the station is now entangled in complex litigation in judicial courts in both Argentina and the United States. Recently,theArgentineJusticeDepartment (the part of the Justice not yet co-opted by the government) decided to intervene and Judge Eduardo Malde appointed Laura Filippi as a comptroller at Canal 9 at the request of Remigio Ángel González González, the Mexican businessman considered by the U.S. courts as the true owner of the TV station. In July, Delaware Courts confrmed that the Albavision Group, owned by González González, is100percenttheownerofthegroup of companies that constitutes Channel 9, and that Carlos Eduardo Lorefce Lynch, who was González González’s trusted man at Canal 9, but who later sided with Santamaria’s Grupo Octubre, “acted in bad faith, with treachery and advantage, fabricating a framework in order to illegally strip Albavision Group of its assets in Argentina.” The judicial confrontation started in the Delaware courts because the Albavision Group was registered there. In September, U.S. courts requested the eviction of Canal 9’s board of directors and the restitution of the station to the Albavision Group, but this did not occur due to an appeal fled by Lorefce Lynch. Despite this legal standoff, and the unsolved conflict, Grupo Octubre went public with the announcement of the TV station’s ownership by Grupo Octubre. The saga continues... (By Omar Méndez in Buenos Aires) Remigio Ángel González González (l.) and Carlos Eduardo Lorefice Lynch S enor Abravanel, better known as Silvio Santos, founder of Brazilian broadcaster SBT, turned 90 years old on December 12, 2020. He spent the last 60 of those years in front of a TV camera, a routine only interrupted by the threat of COVID-19. Santos began his on-camera existence hosting game show Vamos Brincar de Forca in 1960 on the now-defunct TV Paulista Network, and since then had never spent a week away from a studio (until the pandemic, that is). For the occasion, the Water Cooler is repurposing the article that VideoAge published in its April 2011 Issue. Better known as Silvio Santos, 81-year-old Senor Abravanel is one of the most famous Brazilian TV show hosts and entrepreneurs. He is the owner of Silvio Santos Group, which comprises 37 companies, including the Brazilian Television System (SBT) network, one of the top-ranked Brazilian television networks, founded in 1981. Santos was born in Rio de Janeiro, in the Lapa region. He is of Sephardi Jewish descent. Despite his humble beginnings (working as a street vendor), he had a strong affnity for artistic endeavors and took jobs in radio, the circus, and television. He has always been considered a born buyer, or someoneborn for buyingcompanies. He married twice, once to Maria Aparecida (who died of cancer in 1977), and once to Íris, his current wife. He has six daughters, two of them adopted, all of whomwork in his group. The second born, Patricia, was kidnapped in 2001 and released soon after, reportedly after her father paid a ransom. At 34, Daniela Abravanel Beyruti is the eldest daughter from Silvio’s second marriage. Married to Brazilian businessman Marcelo Beyruti, she started working at SBT in 2003. From 2008 to 2010 she was president of SBT. Since 2010 she has preferred to be the artistic and programming director. (By Maria Zuppello in São Paolo, Brazil) Santos at home during a pajama party ce- lebration with four of his six daughters. From l. to r.: Renata, Daniela, Patricia, and Rebeca (Photo courtesy of Omar Méndez) A Pajama Party For Santos’ 90th B-day VideoAge International ’s Water Cooler is the coolest weekly news report in the business. Each week, our intrepid reporters tackle topics of interest to the industry ranging from the latest in comedies, dramas and reality shows around the world, to in-depth looks at territories, companies, new trends and trade business events. The goal of the Water Cooler isn’t to report first, but to report best, by generating questions, providing answers and bringing readers the content they needmost. Here’s a selection of some of the Water Cooler’s most popular entries. To see their full versions, please visit www.videoageinternational.com Canal 9 In A Tango Dispute