Rádio Nacional marked its 90th anniversary on September 12, 2026. Launched in Rio de Janeiro in 1936, the broadcaster became a symbol of radio’s growth as a mass medium in Brazil.
At the time, much of the population lived in rural areas and could not read. As a result, broadcasting reached people who had limited access to written information.
Rádio Nacional: music, news and radio drama
The station began as a private company. Getúlio Vargas’s government later nationalized it in the 1940s and increased investment in transmitters and programming.
In addition to leading the audience rankings recorded by Ibope, Nacional helped professionalize radio entertainment. It maintained its own orchestra and cast, while signing exclusive contracts with artists.
Its microphones carried the voices of Emilinha Borba, Marlene and Cauby Peixoto. The station also launched Em Busca da Felicidade, considered Brazil’s first broadcast radio soap opera. The series aired from 1941 to 1943.
Public broadcasting and the preservation of history
In 2007, Rádio Nacional became part of Empresa Brasil de Comunicação, or EBC. It now operates as a public broadcaster, providing news, culture, music and public service programming.
Over time, the brand expanded into seven main stations. They cover Rio, Brasília AM and FM, the Amazon, Alto Solimões, São Luís and São Paulo. The last two joined the network in 2021.
Meanwhile, EBC preserves original scripts from Em Busca da Felicidade, recognized through UNESCO’s Memory of the World program. TV Brasil’s September 2026 coverage reported that these scripts were undergoing a heritage protection process at Iphan.
Therefore, that process concerns the documentary collection. It should not be read as a completed heritage designation covering the entire broadcaster.
Source: TV Brasil’s feature on Nacional’s 90th anniversary.
Reviewed on September 20, 2026: the text clarifies radio’s pioneering role and the scope of the protection process for the scripts.
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