Philippines’ free-TV network TV5 entered 2021 in its best position ever. President and CEO, Robert Galang, outlines why and what’s ahead, says it’s time for the country’s famed network wars to end, and highlights a slate that includes more original production and titles than ever. 

When Robert Galang awoke on the morning of Wednesday, 6 May 2020, he was, overnight, leading a station catapulted into second place after years of holding a steady – and largely trailing – third. In the course of less than 24 dramatic hours, broadcast behemoth ABS-CBN had been forced off air, the victim of a franchise battle fought and lost, and the Philippines had switched from three major broadcast TV players to two – GMA Network and the MediaQuest Holdings/PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund-owned TV5. 

Today, heading into the first anniversary of that tumultuous event, TV5 has returned to its general entertainment roots, jettisoned the pivots that took it down a sports-first path, inked airtime deals with one-time rival ABS-CBN, and – critically – has fast-tracked its national digital terrestrial TV infrastructure roll out. 

The station has seen an audience share increase of about 300%, revenue has rocketed, and “we were able to reverse five years of revenue decline”, Galang, president and chief executive officer of both TV5 and pay-TV operation Cignal, says, describing the uptick as “hockey stick”. 

By the end of this year, TV5 will be more widely available across the country than it ever has been, Galang, now president and CEO of TV5 and pay-TV platform Cignal, says. 

Not everything about TV5's newfound position is rooted in ABS-CBN's falling fortunes. The station's return to general entertainment last year, for instance, was approved months before ABS-CBN's fate was sealed. 

Galang says the free-TV market for sports turned out not to have the kind of scale or revenue that was initially hoped for. In 2019, station bosses took another look at the market and decided that the way forward should be all about general entertainment. 

“The decision to focus on entertainment was made before ABS-CBN's shutdown,” Galang says, at the same time emphasising the importance of properties such as the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) and the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as news, along with local leagues and events and, of course, the Tokyo Olympics. To tap the premium sports space, pay-TV platform Cignal operates the One Sports+ channel. 

“We still have sports, and remain very much committed to supporting Philippines athletes, but it's not the main focus for TV5,” he says. 

Along with the content shift, an alliance with sister company, pay-TV provider Cignal, gave TV5 the kind of programming acquisition leverage it didn't enjoy while it was playing solo.  

The initial strategy was more conservative than it looks today: Cignal would provide some of the locally produced and acquired content that would be repurposed for free TV. And then, in May 2020, ABS-CBN happened. Galang says events “presented us with an opportunity to become more aggressive” with local content. 

He talks about the benefits of mirroring consumption across multiple platforms – including on Cignal's OTT platform, Cignal Play, and IP licensing/syndication – along with the technology shift to digital terrestrial television (DTT). 

Of the Philippines' 21 million TV households, between 10 million and 11 million use DTT boxes, about seven million use pay-TV platforms and about three million use analogue antennae. “Households are shifting to DTT and pay TV,” he says. 

TV5 has fast-tracked its nationwide DTT network in view of the shift. By the end of this year, the nationwide DTT network will be complete – the fastest build in the Philippines, Galang says. He adds that the battle for the free-to-air market will be fought on DTT. “We are creating excellent content but are currently still limited in our ability to reach people”.

At the same time, the vacuum left by ABS-CBN was a “golden opportunity” for TV5 to try to be a stronger broadcast player. “It encouraged us to invest more, not just in content creation but also more in our DTT network,” Galang says. 

The DTT network enables six channels, including TV5, One Sports and tele-radio channel One PH. Three of the channels have not yet been assigned.    
Whatever Cignal's growth (the platform now has three million pay-TV subscribers), Galang remains a firm supporter of free-to-air television, which he says is still the primary way to reach mass market Philippines. 

“Free to air remains strong,” he says, adding: ''Most homes only have one TV set in the house, and we are focusing on a broad mix of entertainment to cater to every member of the family”.  

He acknowledges the responsibility of stepping up as a stronger free-TV broadcaster in what has essentially become a two-player market with a few others. “It's a big responsibility to provide broad range of content for the whole family,” he says. “News needs to be credible, objective and reliable. Parents of single TV households need a sense of comfort and confidence in what their children will watch,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Cignal's production division, Cignal Entertainment, has put its hand up for a share of regional licensing/acquisitions budgets, offering a slate of feature films, mini-series, reality and game show formats for sale to platforms outside of the Philippines. 

“We have partnered with known and award-winning local and international production companies to make this possible. Cignal Entertainment is ready to take on the challenge to become a strong content provider in Asia,” the company says.

Galang talks about the new mix of genres, including narrative and non-narrative, mixing game shows with a lighter kind of drama series and comedy, and ongoing partnerships with domestic producers such as Viva, Brightlight, Regal, Cornerstone Entertainment, Spring Films and Archangel Media. 

Among TV5 shows produced by Viva Communications for Cignal's Sari-Sari are a Philippines version of "Masked Singer" (2020); a local version of Banijay's "The Wall" (March 2021); an adaptation of NBCUniversal's "1000 Heartbeats" (March 2021); and local versions of Fremantle formats – "Rolling It In" and "Game of Talents" (airdates to be announced).

TV5 is also airing a local version of CJ ENM drama Encounter, about a  complicated romance between a free-spirited ordinary man who seems to have nothing and the wealthy CEO of a hotel who seems to have everything but is unhappy with her life. "Encounter Philippines" (March 2021) is also produced by Viva. 

Running alongside TV5/Cignal content on TV5 are ABS-CBN prime-time properties, such as long-running favourite "FPJ Ang Probinsyano". These are simulcast on TV5 in a weekday blocktime deal with ABS-CBN, which has placed its content crown jewels everywhere it can as it figures out its future without a domestic broadcast franchise.   

On the eve of ABS-CBN's broadcast exit, the long-running police action drama series "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano" (aka "Brothers") remained unbeaten in primetime, earning 35.8% audience share (Kantar Media, 13 March 2020, total Philippines). "FPJ Ang Probinsyano" has run for more than 1,300 episodes since its premiere in 2015.  

Galang has no qualms about allowing ABS-CBN access to TV5 prime time, and shows no fear or trepidation in the rise in ratings for the prime time block now occupied by the one-time rival's content. 

“We have to work with the best in the industry,” he says, stressing partnerships and collaborations that have allowed the network to debut ''so many new shows and titles, even in the midst of a pandemic”.  

He says ratings and audience share were up 300% from 2019 to 2020 and revenues grew by close to 400% (“even if we are still not making money”), and are still improving with the introduction of new shows and coverage. He has high hopes for Q3 and Q4 of this year in terms of both ratings and revenue. 

“The airing of ABS-CBN has helped improve our ratings for the blocks and the programmes that come after it. In all the blocks, we are improving,” he says. 

Could the addition of strong ABS-CBN properties dilute the unique space TV5 could be building in the free-TV market?  “At this point, we don’t see that,” Galang adds. While TV5 builds out its network infrastructure, he says he wants to attract people to TV5 and believes in being friendly to all networks. 

This is a revolutionary position in a market traditionally, dramatically and emotionally divided between “Kapamilya” (ABS-CBN), “Kapuso” (GMA) and “Kapatid” (TV5).

Galang says he will retain TV5's “Kapatid” (“sibling”) position. “I want TV5 to be the welcome guest in the home, someone you always want your children to be with, always welcome. It should be fun to have TV5 inside your family, it should bring delight, joy, happiness,” he says.  

As the market changes, Galang says TV5 has been working with talent from GMA and ABS-CBN. “We do not support network wars. We are not intending to sign exclusive talent and we support talent being free to work with any network they want to”. 

“TV5 is driving the change in the old studio model. There is an opportunity to build a strong relationship with ABS-CBN in the same way as we are building relationships with other content producers. The rules are being rewritten and there is a lot of merit in working with ABS-CBN”. 

In addition, Galang says, “we are providing work for the industry and many who have lost jobs because of ABS-CBN's shutdown and the pandemic. We were most active in producing last year. The industry appreciates the fact that TV5 was there. Especially in 2020. People are having a really difficult time.
We are working with them on entertainment content – and during this pandemic, that’s what we need the most”.

Similarly, with the belief that the video entertainment market is not a zero sum game, he welcomes the spike in streaming activity in the Philippines. 

“We see more and more people watching content via streaming with the growth in the number of homes subscribed to fibre. It's an opportunity for us, and provides another platform to distribute our content,” he says. 

Cignal's own platform, Cignal Play, leverages its relationship with Smart Communications, which is also part of the PLDT family. The streamer is a hybrid AVOD/SVOD platform. 

The next 12 months will see more and more local content across the entire week, driven by the expanded network coverage and TV5's refreshed market position.    

As we build our coverage, we see ourselves coming up with more and more local content for the entire week,” Galang says. TV5 will produce its own content and work with production partners. “People in the industry are really looking for a platform where they can continue to create quality content and that’s what we are able to provide,” he says.

Published in ContentAsia's April 2021 magazine