Rafael Dias turned a career that seemed to be doomed to failure into a digital media empire that today revolutionizes the consumption of audiovisual content in Brazil.
Founder of Diatv’s day studio and creator – the first free and 24 -hour digital broadcaster made by content breeders in the country – he traveled an unlikely way, which began with his back to his parents’ home and culminated with his rise as one of the main names of Brazilian digital entertainment.
Rafael Dias’s story has a common origin for many dreamers: as a child in the 1990s, it was fascinated by television and nourished the desire to be on the other side of the screen. Born in Florianópolis (SC), he knew that realizing this dream in his city would not be easy – but either impossible.
He began his trajectory in the theater, established contacts and produced his first shorts still in his teens. Your trajectory is the subject of the new episode of the program From zero to topdo Infomoneypresented by Mariana Amaro.
The first big impulse came at age 17, with the sponsorship of the Gustavo Kuerten Institute to produce a short over a person with Down syndrome. “We recorded with Guga himself, and that made my parents believe that perhaps it could have a career,” he recalls.
Until then, the family has not welcomed its professional choice. External recognition, however, changed this perception.
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With the support of his parents, he left for Toronto, Canada, where he studied television and cinema. On the way back to Brazil, he worked at Globo’s affiliate in Santa Catarina before deciding to try his luck in Sao Paulo – a national audiovisual center.
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A difficult entry no market
In the state capital, it bumped into the harsh reality of the audiovisual market. “It’s very difficult to enter. There are many functions, but coming to management or presentation is extremely difficult,” he says.
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Rafael acted as a freelancer on different fronts: movie theography, production, audio operation. His dream, however, was to work on MTV. To this end, it bet on a bold approach: prepared a creative resume, sent in a carefully produced envelope with a custom DVD. “The envelope was very well done, and the DVD disc was a camera lens,” he describes.
The strategy worked. He was called for a conversation and later to direct a dating program with the synchronized, Bia and Branca swimming twins. Realizing the dream of entering MTV was also the beginning of a new phase: an environment that stimulated innovative ideas.
It was there that he had the first contact with the strength of digital breeders. Instead of testing new VJs, the station sought talent directly on YouTube. “That was very transformative. How will such a TV take a test and will take it from the internet?” He recalls.
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The seed of a revolution
Inspired by this new logic, he created the “one -guy program”, in which he interviewed on the rise on the internet. “I interviewed Whindersson, Felipe Neto, Jout Jout… All these names for over 12 years,” he says.
Living with these creators revealed a universe of opportunities. Interestingly, becoming a businessman has never been among his plans.
“My father had a print shop and always worked hard. I thought: I want to have a job, close my drawer at the end of the day and that’s it.”
But the destination followed another script. In 2012 and 2013, even with the YouTube channel and the work on MTV, Rafael faced financial difficulties. “My channel was small, and on MTV I wasn’t hired fixed. I lived on a daytime as a freelancer.”
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After five years in Sao Paulo and unable to settle, he decided to return to Florianópolis. “It didn’t roll. I made my suitcase and went back to my parents’ house. It was there that the day was born.”
THE BIRTH OF THE STUDIO DAY
Back in hometown, Rafael launched the day studio. The company started with five YouTube channels, each focused on one segment: children’s, music, interviews, famous and short films.
The program was weekly, with an unprecedented video a day. The structure caught the attention of YouTube, who invited the studio to become a network – a network that supports other content creators.
“For us, who was in Floripa doing five sugarcane and wanted to produce for the internet, it was a dream.”
While other networks had hundreds of channels, the day started small, but with a different proposal.
This was the point of turning point for the expansion of the business, which today materializes in Diatv – the first free digital broadcaster and 24 hours made by content creators in Brazil.
Currently, Rafael Dias is Director General of Diatv, leading a team with about 200 employees.
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The Diatv Revolution
Diatv has been changing the way digital content is consumed. Betting on the trend that more and more Brazilians would watch YouTube on television, Rafael created a broadcaster with original programming and contents of partner influencers, such as “Bloggers Race” and “Front with Blogueirinha”.
Available on platforms such as YouTube, Pluto TV, Samsung TV, TCL and LG Channels, Diatv brings quality digital content to millions of homes, democratizing access to a new form of entertainment.
Rafael also appeared again in front of the cameras, with the new season of the “one -guy program”, now broadcast by the station he founded himself.
Its trajectory is proof that behind setbacks often hide great successes. From Youtuber who barely paid the bills to one of the most innovative projects of Brazilian audiovisual, Rafael Dias shows that taking a step back can be the way to advance further.
As he sums up: “Life does exactly what we didn’t want, but in a very pleasant way. It was fun as it happened.”
