When Rede Tupi went out of business in 1980, Santos obtained three stations from the network: São Paulo's channel 4, Porto Alegre's channel 5 and Belém's channel 5. SBT was created, launching on August 19, 1981 but using the TVS name until 1990 for some of its stations. Until the formation of SBT, the Silvio Santos Group also had a station named TVS in Nova Friburgo, serving viewers in the northern and western parts of the state, this was also its first branch station, having opened in 1979.