One year into its post-shutdown operation, ABS-CBN still endures the debilitating impacts of its tragic departure from free television.
These days, ABS-CBN feels virtually everywhere. It’s been airing again on free television—albeit with a limited nationwide presence. It has secured a partnership with popular international video streaming services, while strengthening its own, for local and foreign audiences.
On cable, more channels are carrying Kapamilya-produced programs. On social media, several platforms have tied up with the now franchise-less network. ABS-CBN is back, not just on free tv, but practically, everywhere.
And yet, that’s both an observation and experience not too many Filipinos own. ABS-CBN may be back on free television and have been expanding across many other platforms, but former bailiwicks remain deprived of its services. These are the far-flung communities whose lives are previously anchored upon the network, for their information and entertainment needs. These are indigents whose limited economic capacity serves as imposing barriers for them to reach the network’s pay television and streaming services.
Now, while TV5 and A2Z Channel 11 are both indispensable assets for ABS-CBN’s bid to keep its presence on free television—until such time it became a legally licensed broadcaster, again—more Kapamilya viewers remain blindfolded. More Filipinos remain in the darkness, deprived of the truth, of the joy, of the light that has previously reached almost every community, in the country.
The Chilling Effect of ABS-CBN’s Shutdown
The so-called “chilling effect” of ABS-CBN’s shutdown, has long been underscored, even before the infamous shutdown, itself. The Philippines’ reputation as among the deadliest countries to become a journalist, has never been highlighted since the Maguindanao massacre, and its long-term consequences are believed to continue today.
How ABS-CBN met its appalling May 5, 2020 fate feels to have been inscribed, not just on history books and online news archives, but on memories of its loyal viewers who assiduously followed the franchise-renewal controversy. Perhaps, for most who kept tabs on the matter, it was easy to believe that ABS-CBN would get its franchise. ABS-CBN had answered, and provided sufficient evidence, to counterclaims against the network, after all. But we all know, that was not what happened.
Political motivations are said to have played a crucial part in the network’s biggest tragedy since its 1972 shutdown. There are screaming merits to that claim.
Before its free tv departure, ABS-CBN was repeatedly called out by none other than, the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, himself. This was after the network failed to air some of the then Presidential candidates’ already paid-for campaign materials, for the 2016 national election. Duterte, himself, declared on multiple occasions, to block any move intended to renew the network’s 1995 broadcast franchise.
Interestingly, the power to grant the media giant a new license rested on the lawmaking body of the land, the Congress, which was then headed by former House Speaker, Alan Peter Cayetano. And yet, this very same body’s being a rubber stamp to the Palace is widely speculated to be the sole reason for ABS-CBN’s having its franchise application, denied.
What are the proofs to such assertion? The televised deliberations in Congress, where several key figures from both the network and government agencies are involved, are invaluable resources.
Amidst the already settled issues on foreign ownership, citizenship of the company’s Chairman-emeritus, Gabby Lopez III, and allegations of franchise-cap violations, the network’s current Chief-executive-officer, Carlo Katigbak, graciously provided the Congress answers, and proof, to debunk various claims against ABS-CBN. Issues on tax delinquencies, and the company’s DBP loans, were also both settled.
Because of the network’s perceived victory in all Congress deliberations, there was a humongous hope that a new franchise would be granted on July 10, of the said year. But as if the entire deliberation process didn’t matter at all, the 81-member panel of the Congress, moved to deny the network’s franchise application, immediately extinguishing any hope for a new ABS-CBN franchise within the current Congress. Only 11 of the 81 representatives, voted in favor of renewing the network’s franchise.
This denial has been largely regarded as a glaring blow to local press journalism and the right to free speech. Its long-term effects are feared to persist indefinitely, alongside immediate consequences that saw thousands of livelihoods getting dissipated in thin air. Several media watchdogs have since then rung the alarm for the shutdown’s possible domino effect across local media, as other broadcasters may now also meet the same fate.
With ABS-CBN’s shutdown as a free tv network, much of its primary revenue streams are weakened. Its regional news offices across the country are decimated, leaving its Manila headquarters to carry the entire weight of the company’s newsgathering and delivery responsibilities. The once largest news organization in the country was immediately crippled.
Impact on Competition, Revenues, and Production
The saying “one’s misfortune, is another’s luck” has never been truer, in the case of ABS-CBN and GMA Network, which previously respectively held the no.1 and no.2 spots, among the most-watched television networks in the country.
But with ABS-CBN’s shutdown, GMA Network was seemingly left under the spotlight, to own the competition, with no strong rival to challenge its leadership.
365 days into ABS-CBN’s operation without a franchise, GMA Network has lorded both the rating game and advertising revenues. The situation has been improving for ABS-CBN, which has been able to appear on two free tv channels through leasing deals, but the Kapuso Network has already maintained a lead by a mile, from the far second, in the competition.
ABS-CBN’s return to free television via A2Z and TV5 has so far trimmed GMA Network’s viewership from an outstanding more than 60%, in the early days of ABS-CBN’s shutdown, to nearly 50%. That figure, however, is still something ABS-CBN can’t contend with, without its previous nationwide reach.
GMA Network has also reported a PhP6billion profit in 2020, which is an incredible number, given that 2020 came after an election year. ABS-CBN, whose stock market share price is yet to hit its pre-shutdown levels, has reportedly sustained its worst fiscal year, ever. The company reported a daily loss amounting to around a PhP35million, during the first few months of the shutdown, incurring nearly PhP4 billion of advertising losses, for the first half of 2020. Much bigger losses are expected to be incurred in the second half, as the company reels away from the devastating consequences of the shutdown.
ABS-CBN’s departure from the main competition has arguably shaken the culture of network exclusivity. In the wake of the shutdown, stars left the network, but some names returned, and a few, surprisingly chose the now franchise-less network.
The network continues to explore various opportunities in digital to compensate for its free tv losses and the closure of its various businesses. After production activities were stalled by not just the shutdown, but also the pandemic, its production units are now back to producing new content, filling up a void that the pandemic inflicted on the local production scene. And while it is yet to fully recuperate, the progress ABS-CBN has so far pulled off, can not be overstated.
One year after its tragic downfall, ABS-CBN is still burdened with difficulties. It has turned things around, but not enough to make a semblance of its pre-shutdown might.
