Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão or SBT, owned by Brazilian TV host Silvio Santos, began its broadcasts on August 19, 1981, by airing its own license signing ceremony from the Ministry of Communications in Brasília. Operating as Brazil’s third-largest commercial television network according to recent audience data, SBT stepped into the place of the defunct Tupi network, which operated from 1950 until bankruptcy in 1980. Santos gained licenses to former Tupi channels in São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, and Belém, having already owned TVS Rio de Janeiro channel 11 since 1976. The network broadcasts entertainment programming, including Mexican telenovelas from Televisa, children’s shows through a Disney partnership that ended in August 2018, and news programs. While historically second in Brazilian ratings, SBT now ranks third behind Globo and Record TV, operating eight owned stations and over 90 affiliates nationwide.