TV da Gente (English People's TV) was a Brazilian television network targeted toward Afro-Brazilian audience. It was founded by Netinho de Paula and launched on November 20, 2005. Similar to its North American "counterpart", BET, TV da Gente was catered to Afro-Brazilians in urban areas, offering hip hop and R&B video blocks, religious programming, news programs, and social commentary. Based in São Paulo, it was receptable as of July 2006 only in São Paulo and Fortaleza, but looked to expand to other parts of Brazil and Lusophone Africa.
Since its debut, TV da Gente garnered both praise and controversy; the former because most television programming (and most media) in Brazil is geared to Euro-Brazilian norms and almost exclusively features Caucasian faces, and the latter for the fact that no existing television networks in Brazil explicitly gear themselves exclusively to Caucasian (or other ethnic) participants or audiences. Plus, given that Gilberto Freyre's theory on Brazil as a Racial Democracy is still generally accepted as fact by many, if not most Brazilians, TV da Gente's initiative was seen by some as an affront to the Racial democracy belief.
Also, Netinho de Paula garnered controversy on the night of TV da Gente's inauguration when he physically attacked a comic reporter, Rodrigo Scarpa (known as "Vesgo" in the TV show Pânico na TV). Netinho de Paula later admitted during a speech to have attacked the reporter and stated that, if necessary, he would do the same again.
Due to financial problems, the network started fading during 2006 and finally closed in February 2007.