After public bidding, the license for VHF channel 6 in Cascavel was granted by president Ernesto Geisel on June 29, 1976, to a group of businessmen led by journalist João Milanez, owner of the Folha de Londrina newspaper.[1] From then, the implementation process of what became the first television station in western Paraná began, with the buying of cutting-edge equipment imported from West Germany, and the hiring of local media progessionals and even from other states of the country.[2]
TV Tarobá opened on February 1, 1979, relaying the programming of Rede Bandeirantes, which is currently its oldesta ffiliate. Its name is derived from one of the indigenous legends about the creation of Iguaçu Falls.[3] Since that period, the station invested massively in its local programming and also in its coverage, reaching by 1999 a potential audience of over 4 million viewers.[4] In 1981, an office in Foz do Iguaçu opened, with its own productions and the ability of producing large-scale live events. Paraguayans and Argentines who lived in the border area also started following TV Tarobá's local schedule.[2]
In the following year, João Milanez associated with businessmen Tito Muffato, Pedro Muffato and Hermínio Vieira, owners of Grupo Muffato.[2] Milanez kept in front of the company until 2005, when he sold his share to the Muffato family. Since then, the company is divided between Tito Muffato's heirs (who died in an air accident in 1996), brothers Ederson, Everton and José Eduardo Muffato, and widow Reni Muffato.[5]