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ABS-CBN Corporation

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ABS-CBN Corporation
Company typePublic
PSE: ABS
IndustryMass media
Predecessor
  • Bolinao Electronics Corporation (1946–1952, 1957–1967)
  • Alto Sales Corporation (1952–1957)
  • Chronicle Broadcasting Network, Inc. (1956–1957)
  • ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (1967–1972, 1986–2010)
FoundedJune 13, 1946; 78 years ago (1946-06-13)
Founder
Headquarters
ELJ Communications Center, Eugenio Lopez Drive, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila
,
Philippines
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
RevenueDecrease ₱40.130 billion (FY 2018)[2]
Decrease ₱8.053 billion (FY 2018)[2]
Decrease ₱1.908 billion (FY 2018)[2]
Total assetsIncrease ₱84.599 billion (FY 2018)[2]
Total equityIncrease ₱35.724 billion (FY 2018)[2]
Owner
  • López, Inc. (56.53%)[3]
  • ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation (37.61%)[3]
  • Direct public ownership (6.61%)[3]
  • Total public ownership (42.64%)[3]
Number of employees
11,068 (estimated 2018) (900 Non Regular Workers and 3,325 talents estimated 2018) [2]
ParentLópez Holdings Corporation
Divisions
SubsidiariesList of subsidiaries
Websiteabs-cbn.com/corporate

ABS-CBN Corporation is a Filipino media and entertainment group based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the Philippines' largest entertainment and media conglomerate in terms of revenue, operating income, net income, assets, equity, market capitalization, and number of employees.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][excessive citations] ABS-CBN was formed by the merger of Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) and Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN).

ABS was founded in 1946 by American electronics engineer James Lindenberg as Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC). In 1952, BEC was renamed Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) with its corporate name, Alto Sales Corporation after Judge Antonio Quirino, brother of President Elpidio Quirino, purchased the company and later launched the first TV station in the country, DZAQ-TV on October 23, 1953. The company that would later be merged with ABS to form ABS-CBN was founded in 1956 as Chronicle Broadcasting Network, Inc. (CBN) by newspaper mogul Eugenio Lopez Sr. and his brother Fernando Lopez, who was then the Vice President of the Philippines. The two companies were soon merged a year later after the Lopezes' acquisition of ABS, reverted to its original name, BEC. Although the ABS-CBN brand was first used on television in 1961, the company became known as ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation a few years later on February 1, 1967 and renamed ABS-CBN Corporation on May 27, 2010 to reflect the company's diversification. The common shares of ABS-CBN were first traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange in July 1992 under the ticker symbol ABS.[11][12]

The group owns and operates the ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Sports+Action national television networks as well as the Radyo Patrol and My Only Radio regional radio networks. The ABS-CBN television network - in particular, is the largest contributor to the group's revenue, generating about 50 to 60 percent of the group's total annual revenue mainly from selling airtime to advertisers. The remaining revenue is generated from consumer sales, mainly from ABS-CBN Global Ltd., which distributes international television channels such as The Filipino Channel and Myx TV and also from pay TV and broadband internet provider Sky.

Other companies which operate under the ABS-CBN group are motion picture company Star Cinema, music recording label Star Music, publishing firm ABS-CBN Publishing, pay TV content provider and distributor Creative Programs, and talent agency Star Magic. Among the pay TV networks and channels under the ABS-CBN group are Kapamilya Channel, ABS-CBN HD, ABS-CBN News Channel, ABS-CBN Sports+Action HD, Cinema One, Jeepney TV, Metro Channel, Liga, and Myx. In recent years, ABS-CBN has ventured and diversified in other businesses such as over-the-top platform iWant and Sky On Demand, digital terrestrial television service ABS-CBN TV Plus, family entertainment center Kidzania Manila, and home shopping network O Shopping. ABS-CBN is also the principal owner of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra.

History

Beginnings

File:ABS building.jpg
The ABS building in Dewey Boulevard (now Roxas Boulevard), Pasay City, the original headquarters of Alto Broadcasting System.

The company was founded on June 13, 1946 as Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC). BEC was established by James Lindenberg, one of the founding fathers of Philippine television,[13] an American electronics engineer who went into radio equipment assembly and radio broadcasting. At that time, the largest media company was Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), with DZRH as the leading radio station. In 1949, James Lindenberg shifted Bolinao to radio broadcasting with DZBC and masterminded the introduction of television to the country in 1953.[14]

In 1951, Lindenberg partnered with Antonio Quirino, brother of then-Philippine President Elpidio Quirino, in order to try their hand at television broadcasting. In 1952, BEC was renamed as Alto Broadcasting System or ABS (with Alto Sales Corporation as its corporate name). "Alto" was a contraction of Quirino's and his wife's first names, Tony and Aleli. Though they had little money and resources, ABS was able to put up its TV tower by July 1953 and import some 300 television sets. The initial test broadcasts began on September of the same year. The very first full-blown broadcast was on October 23, 1953, of a party in Tony Quirino's humble abode. The television station was known as DZAQ-TV.[14]

Merger

File:Abs cbn 1963 logo.jpg
A short-lived logo used by ABS-CBN from 1963 to 1967.

On June 16, 1955, Republic Act No. 1343 signed by President Ramon Magsaysay granted the Manila Chronicle its broadcasting franchise, leading to the formation of the Chronicle Broadcasting Network.[15][16]

In turn, on September 24, 1956, the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) was founded. The network, which initially focused only on radio broadcasting, was owned by Eugenio Lopez Sr. and the then- Philippine Vice President Fernando Lopez, and later on launched its very own TV station, DZXL-TV 9 on April 19 (or July[17]), 1958.[14] On February 24, 1957, Don Eugenio acquired ABS from Quirino and Lindenberg. However, it was only on February 1, 1967, that the corporate name was changed to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation to reflect the merger. Before, it was named ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, the name was reverted to the precursor of the network, Bolinao Electronics Corporation or BEC, but the ABS-CBN brand was first used in 1961. In 1958, the network's new headquarters at Roxas Boulevard were inaugurated, and all radio and television operations were consolidated into its two buildings, the radio stations at the Chronicle Building at Aduana Street, Intramuros, Manila, and the TV operations at the brand new Roxas Boulevard building in Pasay City.[14]

In the late 1950s, Don Eugenio's son, Geny Lopez, saw the potential of TV and radio to reach and link Filipinos across the archipelago. By the mid-1960s, the ABS-CBN network was leading the radio industry, with stations like DZXL and DZAQ Radyo Patrol in the Manila area, which featured journalists like Ernie Baron, Bong Lapira, Orly Mercado, Joe Taruc, Mario Garcia, Jun Ricafrente, Bobby Guanzon, and Rey Langit, and various other stations nationwide. ABS-CBN also made breakthroughs in the TV industry by achieving the country's first color TV broadcast, first satellite feed broadcasts (during remarkable events including the Apollo 11 moon landing, the collapse of Ruby Tower in Manila during the 1968 Casiguran earthquake, assassination and funeral of Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 United States presidential election), and first use of videotape, among others. It featured top shows then, such as Your Evening with Pilita and Tawag ng Tanghalan, the country's first comedy show Buhay Artista, first Philippine game show, What's My Living and the first noontime show Student Canteen, among others. It was also pioneering in marathon election coverage in 1967 when the TV & radio stations of the network aired election updates for 36 hours sharp – making it a national first.[14]

ABS-CBN logo (February 1, 1967 – September 21, 1972), still used in the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center's facade.

On June 15, 1961, Eugenio Lopez Jr. built the first provincial TV station in Cebu (based in Mandaue) airing 4 hours with the tallest transmitter tower (in that time) measuring 216 feet. Within weeks, another TV station in Dagupan opened its doors followed by the first broadcasts in Negros Island (through Bacolod) in 1963. Panay had its first station in Iloilo City which opened in 1964, the Soccsksargen region then followed up with the opening of its own regional station in 1965 and Baguio and Davao both followed suit in 1967.

Two years later, the network's first test color broadcasts began with the help of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Color broadcasts started in June 1966, the first in the Philippines and Southeast Asia as the network was tagged as the First in Color Television, with full-color broadcasting beginning in 1971 in all national television stations.[14]

On December 18, 1968, ABS-CBN opened its new Broadcast Center on Bohol Avenue (renamed as Sgt. Esguerra Avenue in 1989), Quezon City, where it still stands today. At the time, it was the most advanced facility of its kind in Asia. The station again made breakthroughs by using the first live satellite transmissions from abroad, foremost of which was the first moon landing in 1969 and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico the year before. The network enjoyed a big portion of the ratings and won various awards and recognitions from different organizations.[14] The network pioneered the first all-national news simulcasts also in the same year as well.[citation needed]

By 1972, the ABS-CBN network owned and operated two television stations and seven radio stations in Manila, 14 radio stations and three television stations in the provinces.[18]

Martial law era

The company suffered a setback for the first time upon the declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos. On September 23, 1972, two days after the signing of Proclamation No. 1081, ABS-CBN and its affiliate stations were seized. Eugenio Lopez Jr., the president of the company, was arrested in November 1972, then imprisoned and held without trial for five years until he and his cellmate Sergio Osmeña III launched a daring jailbreak on October 1, 1977 and taken exile in the United States together with their families.

The general manager of ABS-CBN, Almeda Lopez, was also imprisoned for a year for his protest activities.[19] After his daring and successful escape from Fort Bonifacio, he joined Geny in exile in the United States and kept himself busy protesting the Marcos dictatorship from abroad. He was a key figure in the protest over the Bataan nuclear power plant.[20][21]

The network itself was taken over by Roberto Benedicto, a crony of Ferdinand Marcos, Philippines' ambassador to Japan and sugar plantation owner, who used the Broadcasting Center at Bohol Avenue, then renamed as "Broadcast Plaza", as the home of Government Television/Maharlika Broadcasting System (GTV/MBS, originally from Intramuros) and Kanlaon Broadcasting System/Radio Philippines Network (KBS/RPN, after the studio in Pasay had been destroyed by a fire on June 6, 1973).[14] Channel 2 would later be relaunched as the Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on November 4, 1973, with a completely new logo, slogan, and a theme song from Jose Mari Chan entitled "Big Beautiful Country" and sung by various artists. BBC later moved to new headquarters (together with RPN and the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation [IBC]) in Broadcast City (also in Diliman, Quezon City) in 1978, while the Channel 4 frequency of DZXL-TV was taken over by the government agency National Media Production Center (NMPC) for the launch of Government Television (GTV) as DWGT-TV on February 2, 1974. The network's radio stations were also affected with BBC and KBS/RPN operating several of the stations.

Capture of Broadcast Plaza (MBS-4)

At the height of the People Power Revolution, military reformists, believing that television would be a powerful tool to aid the revolution, attacked and took over the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center on February 24, 1986, former ABS-CBN talents put the station back on the air and televised the drama of the unfolding uprising, thereby contributing to the strength of the revolt.[14] BBC, on the other hand, ceased operations after reformists shut down its transmitter in Panay Avenue (together with RPN and IBC, temporarily) on the following day as the Channel 2 frequency was turned over to the Lopezes on July 16, 1986.[22]

Rebirth and growth

ABS-CBN logo (September 14, 1986 – December 31, 1999)

On March 1, 1986, after the People Power Revolution, Geny Lopez returned to the country after self-exile in the United States and started rebuilding from what was left of the station after the revolution. Recovery was difficult and resources were low, hence, former ABS-CBN employees Freddie García, Ben Aniceto and Rolly Cruz were brought in to rework the station's programming, and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) ordered the return of ABS-CBN to its original owners on June 13, 1986, thus, the channel began to rebroadcast to viewers once again starting September 14 of the same year. Aniceto, who worked as the program director for radio and television of the network and station manager of Channel 2 in the 1970s, was served as the first vice president and general manager of ABS-CBN upon the network's reopening from 1986 to 1987 and its radio stations re-opened in July 1986.[23]

On March 1, 1987, Channel 2 was relaunched with the live musical special, The Star Network: Ang Pagbabalík Ng Bituin (The Return of the Star) which noted for the then-brand-new numerical white tri-ribbon channel 2 logo with a white rhomboidal star (from 1988 to 1993 the ribbons were tri-coloured in red, green and blue) as a centerpiece of the network's revival. By 1988, ABS-CBN had regained its foothold in the Philippine TV ratings from dead last (#5) to being number 1 again nationally - as a result of the rebranding.

Within the year, ABS-CBN also beefed up its news programs with TV Patrol, anchored by a team of newsreaders composed of now-former Vice President Noli de Castro, Mel Tiangco, Frankie Evangelista, and Angelique Lazo, with the late Ernie Baron telling the daily weather forecast. Other reputable news programmes followed, such as Magandang Gabi, Bayan as well as the cultural magazine show Tatak Pilipino hosted by the former anchor Gel Santos-Relos and former APO Hiking Society member Jim Paredes, and Hoy Gising!. The entertainment programs of ABS-CBN were also revamped with series that previously aired on RPN and IBC, which included Eat Bulaga!, Okey Ka Fairy Ko!, The Sharon Cuneta Show, Chika Chika Chicks, Goin' Bananas, Loveliness, Kapag May Katwiran, Ipaglaban Mo!, and Coney Reyes on Camera, while producing original content (initially co-productions with Regal Television), which included The Maricel Soriano Drama Special, Ryan Ryan Musikahan, Ang TV, Sa Linggo nAPO Sila, Showbiz Lingo, Oki Doki Doc, Mara Clara, Maalaala Mo Kaya, Palibhasa Lalake, Teysi ng Tahanan, and Home Along Da Riles.

Another feature of its return to the top of the ratings is the introduction of the live-action sentai and tokusatsu show formats from Japan, with Bioman, Goggle V Gavan and Shaider, the latter the first ever tokusatsu program to be aired in English and Filipino to Philippine television full-time (after a brief appearance on RPN). Filipino-dubbed anime programmes, another network and Philippine television first, would only begin in the transition to the 1990s, and 1987's Hikari Sentai Maskman, aired by the network, was first ever sentai program to dub in Filipino.

Within months after the relaunch in Manila, the revived network also restarted regional programs and broadcasting starting in Baguio, Cebu, Bacolod, and Davao (and later in Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro). Within the 1990s, the network also helped open new stations in other parts of the country, while reopening stations that were used before.

On December 11, 1988 with the first marathon broadcast of the Australian produced television miniseries A Dangerous Life, ABS-CBN began shifting to satellite broadcast, enabling the entire country to watch the same programs simultaneously. This was also the very year when the network began international broadcasts to Guam and Saipan, in the Northern Marianas, also via satellite, yet another first for Philippine and Asian television. At the same time, the network began to increase the number of local TV programs being aired and produced.

Slowly, the station inched its way to financial recovery, which it achieved by 1990, regularly garnering around 70% of the market. In 1992, ABS-CBN Talent Center (now Star Magic) was formed and in 1993, ABS-CBN launched Star Cinema as the company began to diversify. In 1995, Star Records (now Star Music) was launched. In that year, ABS-CBN also launched their own website, ABS-CBN.com, the first Filipino television network in the World Wide Web. It was created by its IT department, Internet Media Group. (IMG, which later became ABS-CBN Interactive until its merger in 2015) On March 30, 1998, ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation was incorporated as Worldtech Holdings Corporation, for the primary purpose of issuance of the Philippine Depository Receipt (PDR) and the acquisition and holding of shares of ABS-CBN Corporation. Its Philippine depository receipt (PDR) is traded in the Philippine Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ABSP.

Nine years after the revival on March 30, 1995, Republic Act No. 7966 signed by President Fidel Ramos granted ABS-CBN its legislative franchise for the second time.[24]

Geny Lopez died of cancer on June 29, 1999, in the United States. This happened six months before the network celebrated the millennium by unveiling a new logo and inaugurating its Millennium Transmitter in the corporation grounds, resulting in a clearer signal for its television and radio stations in Mega Manila.

In 2002, Finance Asia ranked ABS-CBN as the 8th best-managed company in the Philippines in its "Asia's Best Companies 2002" survey. The survey covers the performance of the top companies in 10 countries in Asia. Finance Asia polled institutional investors and equity analysts for this survey.[25]

On May 27, 2010, the conglomerate dropped the word "Broadcasting" from its corporate name, changing it from "ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation" to simply "ABS-CBN Corporation." According to Eugenio Lopez, Chairman of ABS-CBN Corporation, "It is a response to the changes in the media landscape brought about by technology. The media business has gone beyond merely broadcasting to encompass other platforms."[26]

Expansion

Since the 1990s, ABS-CBN has expanded into various successful media and entertainment ventures such as talent development and management with Star Magic, film, television production and distribution with Star Cinema, music and video recording, publishing, and distribution with Star Music, print and publishing with ABS-CBN Publishing, new media with ABS-CBN Digital Media, pay TV with Creative Programs, international television distribution with ABS-CBN Global, telecommunications with ABS-CBN Convergence, San Francisco International Gateway, and Sky Cable, sports programming with ABS-CBN Sports, post-production with RoadRunner, which was dissolved in 2013, home TV shopping with O Shopping, and theme park with Play Innovations.

On September 24, 1994, ABS-CBN signed a historic deal with PanAmSat to bring the first trans-Pacific Asian programming to some two million Filipino immigrants in the United States.[27] This deal would later gave birth to The Filipino Channel which is now available globally.

The company has also syndicated its programs for international audience through its ABS-CBN International Distribution division. Among the programs that gained popularity abroad are Pangako Sa 'Yo, Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, Lobo, Sana Maulit Muli, Kahit Isang Saglit, and Be Careful With My Heart.

ABS-CBN had a failed venture in online gaming industry in the Philippines through its now-defunct subsidiary ABS-CBN Multimedia, Inc. The subsidiary was the owner of Get Amped and Amped Casual Games, the Philippine operator of Tantra Online, War Rock, Cronous, Ragnarok Online, and PopCap Games. Another failed venture was the 5 million dollar deal with the now defunct social network site Multiply.

In 2005, ABS-CBN International acquired the Richmond, California-based telecommunications port company San Francisco International Gateway from Loral Space & Communications. San Francisco International Gateway provides satellite communications services through its 2.5-acre facility consisting of 19 satellite dish antennas and 9 modular equipment buildings.[28]

In 2007, ABS-CBN International launched Myx TV, the first and the only Asian-American youth music channel in the United States and aired the animated series The Nutshack. It was later reformatted in 2011 to become a general entertainment channel targeted to the Asian-Americans.

In 2008, ABS-CBN International opened its state-of-the-art studio in Redwood City, California.

The Kapamilya network

ABS-CBN logo (January 1, 2000 – December 31, 2013)

In 2003, during the 50th anniversary of Philippine television, ABS-CBN launched its present brand name, "Kapamilya" (literally means "a member of the family").

Its international unit ABS-CBN Global Ltd. plans to undertake an initial public offering (IPO) the following year and might list on the Singapore Stock Exchange to help finance its expansion plans.[29]

The network celebrated its golden anniversary in 2003. The network also launched a promo called "Treasure Hunt", where the people were invited to bring their oldest television, radio sets, microphones, and posters. The network also celebrated its 16-year reign in the TV ratings, with 13 of their shows included in the Top 15 daily programs in TV. ABS-CBN also launched several new shows such as Meteor Garden. The company also did a nationwide caravan, showcasing the network's talents.

On October 19, 2003, the network held a month-long celebration of ABS-CBN and Philippine TV's 50th year.[30] The station produced two commemorative documentaries about the station's contribution in news and entertainment. Sa Mata ng Balita encapsulated some of the most unforgettable, most remarkable, and most celebrated landmarks of the last 50 years, as captured by television news. 50 Taong Ligawan: The Pinoy TV History, on the other hand, was the first extensive television documentary done about the history of Philippine television and the evolution of Philippine entertainment.

Recent developments

File:ELJCC.jpg
The ELJ Communications Center and the newly renovated Millennium Transmitter as viewed from Mother Ignacia Avenue.

In 2008, ABS-CBN celebrated the 55th year of Philippine television. A new station ID entitled "Beyond Television" was also launched. The anniversary TV plug depicts the growth of ABS-CBN from a small television station that started in 1953 into a media conglomerate that has businesses beyond television.[31] It is also on this year that The Wall Street Journal Asia ranked ABS-CBN as the 7th most admired company of the Philippines and 3rd in the Innovation Award category for its innovation in internet TV with the now-defunct TFC Now! service.[32]

On January 1, 2013, Charo Santos-Concio was appointed as the new chief executive officer of the company, taking over from Gabby Lopez. Lopez remains the chairman of the company.[33]

On May 28, 2013, ABS-CBN Corporation, through its subsidiary ABS-CBN Convergence, Inc. (formerly known as Multi-Media Telephony, Inc.), signed a network sharing agreement with Globe Telecom for a new mobile telephony service in the country. The agreement includes the sharing of assets including switches, towers, servers, and frequencies. ABS-CBN is expected to spend between 2 and 3 billion pesos for the next two years to build up its telco business. The plan has been approved by the National Telecommunications Commission and now operates as ABS-CBNmobile.[34] It ceased operations on November 30, 2018 after both ABS-CBN and Globe decided not to renew their network-sharing agreement after assessing its mobile business model as financially unsustainable. The two companies will remain committed for partnership for content sharing using its existing resources.[35][36][37]

In July 2013, ABS-CBN started the development of KidZania Manila family entertainment center in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.[38][39]

On May 30, 2014, ABS-CBN and its current president and CEO Charo Santos-Concio received the Gold Stevie Awards for the categories Services Company of the Year - Philippines and Woman of the Year at the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards held in the Lotte Hotel, Seoul, South Korea.[40] ABS-CBN also received the coveted Gold Stevie Awards for the category Company of the Year - Media & Entertainment at the 11th annual International Business Awards (IBA) which was held in Paris, France, on October 10. As a result of the win, ABS-CBN also won the vote-based People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies in the Media and Entertainment Category,[41][42] while their chairman Eugenio Lopez III received the lifetime achievement award from the KBP.

On March 19, 2015, Finance Asia ranked ABS-CBN as the third best mid-cap company in the Philippines. ABS-CBN is the only Filipino media company included on Asia's best companies 2015 list of Finance Asia.[43] Also in this year, ABS-CBN was included on the 2015 Top Companies report of JobStreet.com which rank the country's top employers. ABS-CBN is ranked 7th on the list.[44]

On January 1, 2016, Carlo L. Katigbak was appointed as the new president and chief executive officer of the company, taking over from Charo Santos-Concio, who have succeeded her mandatory retirement age of 60. Concio will still be the network's chief content officer, president of the newly created ABS-CBN University, and executive adviser to the chairman of the company.[45] One month later, the network also announced the appointment of Head for Free TV Maria Socorro Vidanes as the COO for broadcast of ABS-CBN effective February 1, 2016.[46]

In 2016, ABS-CBN Corporation is the only media company included on the top ten 2016 Top Companies of JobStreet.com in the Philippines ranking, at number ten. These companies are chosen by JobStreet.com as the "most desired employers" in the country.[47]

On April 19, 2018, during the company's annual stockholders meeting, the ABS-CBN Board of Directors voted in favor and elected Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III as the Chairman Emeritus and his cousin, Chief Technology Officer Martin "Mark" Lopez as his successor as Chairman of the network.[1] Gabby Lopez will be the second executive to be elected as Chairman Emeritus, succeeding his late father, Eugenio "Geny" Lopez, Jr.

On February 10, 2020, it was announced that Solicitor General Jose Calida has submitted a petition to the Philippine Supreme Court to end ABS-CBN's franchise due to allegations that foreigners were allowed to be involved in the company's ownership.[48]

Horizon IT Park

In 2011, ABS-CBN announced the development of a state-of-the-art studio complex in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, which is on par with Hollywood standards for a projected cost of 6 to 7.5 billion pesos. A 120 hectare lot[49] in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan was acquired earlier that year for 75 million pesos. In 2014, it was announced that the studio complex will consist of 10 sound stages and backlots each. The company plan to build at least two sound stages a year for a cost of 600 million pesos or 300 million pesos for each sound stage.[50]

The proper of the project started in the first quarter of 2014 with its construction commenced in May 2017. The production and support teams for both TV and feature films began a three-year training program for the stages both in Hollywood and the Philippines to ensure that production processes mirror the best practices in the world.[51]

On December 12, 2018, after years of planning and training, ABS-CBN inaugurated its new state-of-the-art studio complex which is revealed to be called Horizon IT Park. The complex was designed by California-based architecture firm Bastien and Associates, Filipino firm AIDEA, with a consultants from Hollywood-based Manhattan Beach Studios. The Phase 1 of the project includes its first two sound stages sized at 1,500 square meters, with the first stage named for its chairman emeritus, Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III who is the brainchild of the new studio complex, The EL3 Stage. The complex will also include backlots, facilities for its production and post-production and offices. The new studios will be used for the upcoming teleserye The Faithful Wife, and its most anticipated movie, Darna.[49][51][52][53] A new soundstage was finally used for its reality singing competition show, Idol Philippines, using the name as "Idol City".[54]

Franchise renewal

In 2014, ABS-CBN said it had opted for an early renewal application in September 2014 and "went through the normal legislative process." But it later withdrew its application "due to time constraints. Several bills has been filed on the congress to seek franchise renewal since 2016 but remain pending to date. President Rodrigo Duterte, in a chance interview, said he would formally block the renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise after accusing the company of "swindling."Duterte said the network failed to air his campaign ad before the 2016 polls and then failed to return the money.

2020 order to cease broadcasting

See also: ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy

On May 5, 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission legally ordered ABS-CBN to cease its TV and radio broadcasting after their 25-year broadcast franchise expired the previous day.[55][56] Media watchdogs have accused the Duterte administration of muzzling press freedom under the pretense that ABS-CBN had violated laws in the country.[57] The station officially signed off on 7:52pm, local time.[58]

On June 13, 2020, ABS-CBN's Kapamilya Channel the cable-and-satellite channel has launched, resuming the production of ABS-CBN's drama and live entertainment shows and airing its entertainment, educational and current affairs programming, along with films.[59]

On June 30, 2020, the NTC issued an alias cease and desist order to ABS-CBN to stop its digital TV transmission on Channel 43 in Metro Manila, as well as a cease and desist order to stop Sky Cable's direct broadcast satellite service Sky Direct.[60]

Branding

The logo of Alto Broadcasting System (1953–1967).
The logo of Chronicle Broadcasting Network (1956–1967).

The ABS-CBN logo features three main elements, the vertical line rooted on a horizontal origin, the three extending circles, and the text ABS-CBN. The vertical line or bar represents a tower (broadcasting tower) as well as dignifying the company and representing its core business of broadcasting, with the circles symbolizing a transmitter tower's signals, and representing the red, green and blue or RGB colors which makes up a pixel shown on the television. The 3 divisions of the Philippines, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, are also denoted by the three circles, as well as its wide presence, "range for imagination", and its "pioneering, embracing" spirit.

One unique thing about ABS-CBN's logo is that it also has a horizontal version, usually used to save space as the main vertical logo usually takes up more space than the horizontal one. The design of the horizontal version of the logo contains the ABS-CBN text, split into two parts, "ABS" and "CBN", without the dash connecting them, and ABS-CBN's iconic symbol squeezed in between them.

The first logo to have a horizontal version going by this design was the logo launched in 1986, the year they re-launched their operations after 14 years of hibernation under martial law and Marcos' authoritarian rule. From 1986 up until 2014, the elements of the horizontal logo, text, and symbol were evenly sized. In the 2014 version of the horizontal logo, the symbol of ABS-CBN was squeezed in between was slightly larger than the ABS (Alto Broadcasting System) and CBN (Chronicle Broadcasting Network) names.

Channel 2

Since 1969, the network has started using a channel logo beginning on DZAQ-TV with the early channel 2 logo for use as a promotion from 1969 to 1972 as The Family Channel. The frequency was later awarded to BBC as DWWX-TV from 1973 to 1986, and had a different logo used. Channel 2 is currently used as the frequency of the flagship station of ABS-CBN in Metro Manila.

ABS-CBN introduced an innovation to the channel 2 logo from 1986 to 1992. At first, the channel 2 logo is introduced into ABS-CBN, after the dissolution of BBC in March. The features of the first channel 2 logo is a wing-shaped blue crest with a white curve at the top and a white line as a tail, the Broadway 2 logo was used from 1986 to 1987. It has a slogan name Watch Us Do It Again! as the station ID aired since the network's revival.

After six months of carefully selected plans, the first tri-ribbon 2 logo laced with a rhomboidal star came to being on March 1, 1987. The tri-ribbon 2 logo's color is white carried the slogan The Star Network when it aired as a station ID to reclaim the dominance in TV ratings, using the Scanimate system that it took over from the private-owned BBC-2. By 1988, the ribbons in the tri-ribbon 2 logo were changed into red, green and blue stripes from the three white stripes it first used. Truly, the tri-ribbon 2 logo was accidentally coming from a shooting star in the form of the number 2 in the idents which came out. Similarly, most numerical channel logos within this slogan have a star and versions came into regional TV channels like 3 (DYCB-TV in Cebu and D-3-ZO-TV in Baguio), 4 (DYXL-TV in Bacolod and DXAS-TV in Davao) and other regional stations. The tri-ribbon 2 was also used on microphone flags until 2000, during the celebration of the New Millennium.

Sarimanok

The Sarimanok, a legendary bird in Philippine folklore, was first used in 1966 to identify color broadcasts, somewhat similar on how the NBC peacock has been utilized. In 1993, which happens to be the Chinese Year of the Rooster, ABS-CBN relaunched the Sarimanok with a new station ID featuring the legendary bird. The Sarimanok ID became utmostly associated with the channel that ABS-CBN opted it to become the station's mascot. ABS-CBN later named its new 24-hour news channel the Sarimanok News Network, the precursor of the ABS-CBN News Channel. It was revived again in 2004 to promote regional broadcasts nationwide.

Evolution of ABS-CBN logos

The logo of pre-merger Alto Broadcasting System had a symbol composed of a transmitter with a circle denoting its signals, a precursor of sorts to ABS-CBN's current logos. The logo of pre-merger Chronicle Broadcasting Network, on the other hand, had three blocks and the CBN letters in them. In 1961, the ABS-CBN brand was introduced and its first logo had a big letter B, unifying the names ABS and CBN, in a box placed between their channel numbers 3 (ABS' DZAQ-TV) and 9 (CBN's DZXL-TV).

A modified version of ABS symbol was launched in 1963, composed of a triangle denoting a transmitter tower and four circles denoting its signals (in the same vein as the 1953 logo), enclosed in a rounded box and with the ABS-CBN text above, in a form that would evolve over the years to the present-day logo.

The logo soon after took on its current iteration: a vertical line, denoting a transmitter tower, with three concentric circles signifying Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, enclosed in a square frame, in 1967. The new logo became identical and inspired by the logo of the former German broadcaster and ARD member Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) based in Berlin. At that time, it was rendered in black and white because color TV (despite the fact that it was ABS-CBN that introduced it the previous year) wasn't common yet and the logo style at that time separated ABS and CBN's names, putting ABS' name on top and CBN's on the bottom.

The network used a colored variation of the 1967 logo when color television introduced and they re-launched operations in 1986, after 14 years of forced closure under martial law. The logo had the three rings detached from the transmitter and colored the three rings in red, green, and blue, and substituted the square frame with an outlined black box. The RGB-colored logo has remained relatively unchanged since then, though two modifications in 1993 (the 40th anniversary of Philippine TV) and 1996 (ABS-CBN's 50th corporate anniversary) saw minor tweaks in the letters, the rings and the box.

January 1, 2000 (the first day of the new millennium) saw a significantly revamped version of the logo. In this version, the outlined black box that enclosed the three rings and the vertical line (that maintained their 1996 design) was replaced by a grey square (a crystal plane when rendered in 3D) and the ABS and CBN names joined together to form ABS-CBN's name, now situated below the symbol. The ABS-CBN letters were also given a completely revamped look.

The present logo, launched in 2014, is a minimally altered version of the 2000 logo, greatly modifying the "ABS-CBN" text, dropping the once-standard serifs on the letters, giving the three RGB rings thicker width and perfected concentricity, and adopting a white square instead of a black or grey one. The rebranding aims to maintain the iconic structure of ABS-CBN's logo while at the same time giving it a new look suited for a period of popularity for social and digital media.

Subsidiaries

Main article: List of assets owned by ABS-CBN Corporation

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Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to ABS-CBN Corporation.
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