Carolina Vargas of CNBC in Brazil: I’m committed to ensuring comprehensive distribution across all audience platforms

With 10 years of experience in pay TV, Carolina Vargas founded her own company, Stenna, in Brazil. This week, she was appointed VP of Distribution for CNBC in Brazil, a channel launching there later this year.

Douglas Tavolaro, founder and former CEO of CNN Brazil, who launched the Times Brazil group with the British fund Attention Economics and holds the rights for CNBC content in Brazil, entrusted Vargas with leading the CNBC Brazil project and managing signal distribution across all platforms.

“I’ve spent my entire career in pay TV, starting at DIRECTV Latin America, then moving to Claro and HBO. Ten years ago, in 2014, I founded Stenna,” she said. In 2012, when the Brazilian TV law was published, which encouraged cable companies to include Brazilian-registered channels in their packages to strengthen the market, Vargas decided to specialize in entertainment law.”

Vargas, an economist by training, founded Stenna a decade ago to specialize in distributing content for smaller pay TV channels. The company recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and now boasts a team of over 70 employees. Stenna has become the leading distribution company in Brazil, managing three pay TV channels. Their flagship channel, Zoomoo Kids, enjoys the widest distribution across the country. Stenna offers end-to-end solutions for linear channels, handling everything from distribution to operations, allowing content creators to focus solely on production.

Vargas, an economist by profession, founded Stenna to dedicate herself to the distribution of small pay TV channels. “Stenna just celebrated a decade in business. We’ve grown to a team of over 70 employees and become the leading distribution company in Brazil. We manage three pay TV channels, with our flagship, Zoomoo Kids, enjoying the widest distribution nationwide. Stenna offers end-to-end solutions for linear channels, taking care of everything from distribution to operations. This allows content creators to focus solely on what they do best: producing great content,” she commented.

A few months ago, Vargas approached Tavolaro, a titan of Brazilian television, to propose carrying CNBC on Stenna’s network. Recognizing Vargas’s leadership and influence, particularly within the Mulheres da Telecom, a non-profit organization for over 8,000 female telecommunications executives, Tavolaro offered her a remarkable opportunity: to lead the CNBC Brazil project herself.

Joining CNBC Brazil is Gilberto Corazza, a seasoned media executive with a proven track record in commercial sales. Formerly with Globo TV and Warner Bros. Discovery, Corazza will lead the advertising team as VP of Commercial Sales. “It’s a privilege to collaborate with Douglas Tavolaro on such a significant project,” he enthused.

Vargas has embraced this new challenge while ensuring continuity at Stenna. She will serve on the board of directors, providing strategic guidance. In the meantime, a capable team of three executives will manage Stenna’s day-to-day operations.

DISTRIBUTION ON ALL PLATFORMS

Vargas is setting her sights on comprehensive distribution for CNBC Brazil, spanning pay TV, digital platforms, social media, mobile apps, streaming services, and even Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising. “My mission is to get CNBC Brazil in front of every audience, wherever they consume content,” she declared.

While Vargas acknowledges that planning is still underway and specifics are limited, she confirms that distribution will begin through major companies.

Vargas highlights a significant market opportunity for CNBC Brazil. The average Brazilian viewer consumes over five hours of television daily, with news programming holding a strong 30% share of the audience.

CNBC Brazil has landed its first major on-air personality: Christiane Pelajo, a news anchor who dominated the screen for 26 years at TV Globo and Globo News.