6 pm, 7 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. nightly, and Globo's national evening news at 8 p.m.—all from the network's own studios. Globo also produces 90% of its programming. TV Globo (as it is known) has had a near monopoly on TV viewership and a symbiotic relationship with successive military and civilian governments. Its political and cultural sway in Brazil is unrivaled. "Globo has a very persuasive influence on diverse aspects of Brazilian society," comments Raul Reis, a former Brazilian journalist. Producing Brazilian-made programming in accordance with international technical standards, the television network grew to become the flagship of multimedia Globo Organization including cellular phone service, cable, television stations in Portugal and Mexico, book and magazine publishing, Internet and film production. Globo's cultural and financial power continues to grow. The company is dramatically expanding its role in Brazilian and Latin American media, transforming itself from an old-style family fiefdom into a twenty-first-century media conglomerate. Most recently, Globo struck a strategic alliance with Microsoft, which paid $126 million in August for an 11.5 percent share in Globo Cabo, the company's cable subsidiary. Now an international economic powerhouse, Globo no longer needs the perks its proximity to local power once offered: It is on the road to becoming Latin America's prime player in the world's mass-media market. History Early years The roots of TV Globo can be traced to the beginning of the 20th century. The Globo empire was born in 1925 with the creation of the newspaper, O Globo, whose first issue reached the newsstands that same year. In 1944, Radio Globo went on the air and has become a school of radio broadcast news. It was the first radio network in Brazil to follow a 24-hour all news format. It had 26 wholly owned and affiliated stations. In July 1963, Brazilian President Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco approved a request by Radio Globo to establish a television channel. On 30 December 1957, the National Council of Telecommunication (Portuguese: Conselho Nacional de Telecomunicações, or CONTEL) published a decree which granted a channel in Rio de Janeiro to TV Globo Ltda. Globo then started preparing the beginning of its television broadcasting operations. In 1965, the Rede Globo de Televisão was created. It was the beginning of the Globo Television network and vital component in the growth and expansion of the Globo Organizations. Globo began broadcasting on 26 April 1965 in Rio de Janeiro