ABSTRACT
The "Introduction", presents the book's central issues: can the telenovela be the key to the survival of Brazilian television industry? How can this narrative survive the sliding of content to other screens and media and the transformations in spectatorship? This chapter helps to understand in what ways the convergence of screens and narratives may be culturally and historically understood and contextualised within a unique Brazilian reality in comparison to experiences in Europe and within the United States. Brazilian television attracts millions of people daily to watch telenovelas even though Brazil has had a multiplatform audience with access to hundreds of pay-tv channels and VoD options for over a decade. The chapter also presents a summary of all sections in the book and the hypothesis that, as long as the telenovela continues to be part of Brazilian culture, it will continue to be a mass product. Furthermore, as a mass product, it may be consumed on any platform, medium or screen and will continue to be a telenovela and, as such, Brazilian television.]
