ABSTRACT
This essay analyzes the complex relations between soccer and media in Brazil. Both massmedia and sports arrived in Brazil at the same time, in the late nineteenth century, both associated with the values of modernity in urban centres. It discusses the media coverage of the World Cup and data regarding audiences in particular. The World Cup is considered to be a very important social fact in contemporary Brazilian culture, and since its beginning, the World Cup has been available in Brazil exclusively through the mass media. Since the first international radio transmissions in the late 1930s, Brazil's matches reached outstanding audience numbers. In the last three World Cups, the share of the total audience for the matches was around 95%, something like 110 million viewers per match, on average. The essay discusses the media's role in projecting Brazilian football.
