Overview
CNBC Brazil's content team was launching a 24-hour news channel under a hard deadline. 240+ hours of licensed entertainment and special programming had to be localized into Brazilian Portuguese before launch, and the daily newsroom would need Portuguese voiceover inside the same news cycle.
The Challenge
Too slow and too expensive at launch scale.
240+ hours before launch: Licensed entertainment and special programming from CNBC US, CNBC International and BIG Media, all to be localized into Brazilian Portuguese.
A daily inflow of breaking news
CEO interviews, political coverage and breaking-news segments that needed Portuguese voiceover within the same news cycle.
Difficult source audio
Long-form interviews and documentaries with non-native English speakers, older speakers with deliberate pacing, and strong regional accents.
Agencies and booths could not keep up
At a comparable Brazilian broadcaster, the same work had cost thousands of dollars a month, plus a full week of booth time per 50-minute episode.
The Solution
Daily CEO and political interviews
The team uploads short-form interviews with global business and political figures. Rask delivers a Portuguese transcript and voiceover in minutes, and the segment goes to air in the same news cycle.
Voiceover instead of full dubbing
For news, the team exports voice-only audio and lays it over a low-volume English original. The English stays present for credibility. The Portuguese carries the story.
Voice clones for every anchor
The main on-air talent are all in the voice library. When a reporter is unavailable, an editor can switch announcers in seconds. No booth, no rerecord, no scheduling.
Tone adapted, not just words
Editors use the translation prompt to flag informal register, sarcasm and proper nouns. Words like OpenAI and Boeing keep their English pronunciation. Travel shows keep their casual register.
A human in the loop before air
Every output is reviewed. Editors correct words the AI mishears, adjust timing where Portuguese runs longer, and re-dub sections when needed. The editor decides what is broadcast-ready.
The Impact
50% faster delivery
Turnaround on long-form localization was cut in half for high quality media production.
70% less editing labour
A 50-minute episode that took two editors a full week now ships in three days with one editor.
5 to 10 videos a day
Localized through the newsroom alone, with breaking-news segments delivered within the same cycle.
240+ hours delivered for launch
Licensed entertainment content translated and delivered in time for the CNBC launch in November 2024.
Significant savings
On outside translation agencies and voiceover booth time, which had previously cost comparable broadcasters thousands of dollars a month.
The team runs English to Portuguese for 95% of volume, Spanish to Portuguese alongside it, and is bringing Rask to Italian for upcoming international programming.
