TV5’s president and CEO lawyer Ray Espinosa is a self-confessed TV fan. When he met with local media recently to talk about the Kapatid Network’s 4th quarter plans together with executive vice president and COO Roberto “Bobby” Barreiro and head of production and creative services Perci Intalan, he expressed a desire to make TV5 the most watched channel in the country.
After just over a year at the helm, Espinosa is happy to report that the network has actually raced past competition on certain blocks, which was more than they expected for a “start-up” like TV5. Barreiro explains, “When we started we knew it would be tough because of the strong and stable competition. So we set modest goals — all we wanted was double-digit shares. We were beating them at certain time blocks in the morning, in the afternoon, and we thought that it would take us three years to be able to do that. So when we’re able to do it on the first year, we were pleasantly surprised!”
TV5’s Saturday primetime slot now occupies the second spot in the ratings, after GMA 7 and before ABS-CBN. According to the AGB Mega Manila Individual Ratings, TV5’s 24.6 percent nighttime audience share last Sept. 18 made it no. 2 on Saturday nights.
To further boost its position, TV5 unveiled its latest wave of “game changers” this month, or what it also calls its “primetime programming innovations,” starting with the international game show franchise Laugh or Lose hosted by Vic Sotto. Willie Revillame’s new primetime show Willing Willie is also set to begin on primetime soon — a fresh alternative to the dramas and teleseryes usually scheduled on the same time slot.
Twenty new shows were launched in its “re-energized programming grid” last September, with promising results. In November, kiddie favorite Batibot — to be produced by Feny Bautista of the Philippine Children’s Television Foundation Inc. — will be revived in TV5, an indication that the channel is seriously pursuing its strongest market, the youth. Over the past several months, TV5 has recorded the highest rating cartoons in both the mornings and the afternoons. In this light, a Cartoon Network block will be launched in October, as well as a Disney Clubhouse block for preschool and Disney Club for older kids this November.
Of course, the news block is also being revitalized, beginning with a partnership deal with international news organization CNN, which would enable the news team to deliver news from around the world in real time. Espinosa also revealed plans to increase airtime for its newscasts, with early morning, noon, evening and late night news programs. “We will have the most news content because we believe the face of a network is also a strong news and public affairs,” he said.
TV5’s advanced Avid news automation system enables its news organization to deliver the action from everywhere all day long. Aksyon, TV5’s primetime newscast, will move to an earlier timeslot.
This last quarter of 2010, TV5 also continues to strengthen its reach across the Philippines and beyond with upgraded transmission facilities and state of the art technological advancements. A multibillion-peso state of the art facility is now being designed to house the new TV5 headquarters in Mandaluyong City. “The existing studios in Quezon City are also being upgraded with the latest digital production equipment. With all its studios already utilized fully, it has leased a Broadway Centrum Studio which is now being loaded with all new production gear. The technical operations center and master control room are practically being rebuilt with the latest digital automation systems. Scores of Final Cut Pro editing suites have also been assembled to service the growing requirements of the production units,” the TV5 execs further revealed. They are also forming the TV5 Global Business to tap international markets, developing new media and partnering with print for its online business.
Since its chairman Manny V. Pangilinan transformed ABC 5 into the Kapatid Network, otherwise known as TV5, the team of hardworking executives have been pouring time, effort, skill and resources into making the network bigger than it ever was. “We’re hungry! Sheer determination can make you succeed in more ways than one,” quipped Espinosa.
On a more serious note, he ends, “Everything is being done simultaneously. All the investments attest to the commitment and determination of the young network to provide quality service and content to its publics.”
