Action tops Philippines’ drama trends, family and romance are perennials, and fantasy is gaining ground. And then, of course, there’s Pilipinas Got Talent, now in its sixth season. Two years into her job as broadcast COO, ABS-CBN’s Cory Vidanes talks about what’s driving the network forward.

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Not a lot ABS-CBN has done this year beats the magic it made with long-running talent show, Pilipinas Got Talent. Through its run from January this year, season six consistently hit ratings in the high 30s, beating back almost everything else on the channel with the exception of local action drama FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano (aka Brothers). Brothers, which has taken a political twist in the current season, is ABS-CBN’s highest-rated prime-time programme, regularly flying past the 40% ratings mark.

No surprise for ABS-CBN’s chief operating officer of broadcast, Cory Vidanes, who has action at the top of her drama trends list, followed by family/romantic drama. Fantasy series are gaining popularity, a trend being tapped by the network’s most ambitious fantasy series yet – Bagani, the story of five mythical heroes who fight for their communities’ survival. ABS-CBN’s other two new shows this year are action drama Asintado and romance The Blood Sisters.

The Philippines’ domestic drama prowess is driving a robust licensing business around the world, most recently supported by on-demand platforms. Total sales so far have topped 40,000 hours over the past two decades, Vidanes says.

As streaming platforms boost demand for Asian programming, Vidanes says new technologies – including digital terrestrial (DTT) broadcasting – are breaking long-held habits. For one, there’s new openness to production partnerships with local and international content creators for digital, OTT and cinema productions, Vidanes said in the run-up to annual programming market, MIP TV, in Cannes in April.

But ABS-CBN still produces all the drama for its flagship terrestrial free-TV services in-house. This year, ABS-CBN will produce more than 900 hours of content with the usual focus on drama. “We will continue to develop characters that inspire through stories that have strong family and moral values,” Vidanes says.

At the same time, acquisitions are way up, driven by the network’s six free-TV DTT channels. 80% of the shows on four of thee channels are acquired and 20% are reruns of ABS-CBN programmes. DTT channels include a dedicated movie channel with a mix of local and acquired titles; a sports/action channel that includes national collegiate and international leagues as well as Philippines football, boxing and NBA; and the Knowledge Channel, based on the domestic curriculum.

It is, perhaps, YouTube that has created the most significant shift. ABS-CBN has more than 15 million YouTube subscribers, and has created a dedicated team to optimise content daily. Content is delivered natively to YouTube and each experience is linked to the larger digital strategy supporting ABS-CBN’s OTT platform. The goal is to be present at every touch point a consumer might want content, Vidanes says, adding that online exclusives and originals are being bumped up in the next few months.

Like everyone everywhere, her biggest challenges have emerged from soaring mobile usage and more affordable data services, and managing changes in viewing patterns. ABS-CBN’s solution, Vidanes says, involves “content innovation, understanding our audiences, and developing deeper and more meaningful relationships with our consumers”.