ABS-CBN Corporation

This article is about the Philippine media and entertainment conglomerate. For the television channel, see ABS-CBN.

"ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation" redirects here. For other uses, see ABS-CBN (disambiguation).

ABS-CBN Corporation

Logo since 2014
The ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Diliman, Quezon City
Trade name	ABS-CBN
Formerly	Bolinao Electronics Corporation (1946–1953, 1957–1967) Alto Sales Corporation (1953–1957) Chronicle Broadcasting Network, Inc. (1956–1957) ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (1967–1972; 1986–2008) [lower-alpha 1]
Company type	Public
Traded as	PSE:  ABS
Industry	Radio broadcasting Mass media Entertainment
Founded	June 13, 1946;77 years ago (1946-06-13)
Founders	James Lindenberg Antonio Quirino Eugenio López Sr. Fernando López
Headquarters	ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center, Sgt. Esguerra Avenue corner Mother Ignacia Street, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Martin "Mark" L. López (Chairman) [1] Carlo L. Katigbak (President and CEO) Cory Vidanes (COO for Broadcast) Charo Santos-Concio (CCO)
Products	Films Music Television program Web portal
Brands	Kapamilya Channel Kapamilya Online Live A2Z ABS-CBN TV Plus DWPM/TeleRadyo Serbisyo ANC Cine Mo! Jeepney TV Cinema One Myx Metro Channel TFC iWantTFC
Services	Broadcasting Motion pictures TV production Cable television Internet Streaming service Broadcast syndication Record label Telecommunications Satellite television Film distribution
Revenue	₱18.51 billion (2023)
Operating income	₱−12.59 billion (2023)
Net income	₱−12.83 billion (2023)
Total assets	₱53.10 billion (2023)
Total equity	₱9.23 billion (2023)
Owner	Lopez Holdings Corporation (56.28%) [2] ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation (32.21%) [2] Public Ownership (42.80%) [2]
Number of employees	5,279 (2023)
Parent	Lopez Holdings Corporation
Divisions	ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc. ABS-CBN Star Music ABS-CBN Publishing ABS-CBN Digital Media ABS-CBN Studios ABS-CBN Events ABS-CBN Foundation ABS-CBN International ABS-CBN International Production and Co-Production ABS-CBN Radio ABS-CBN News ABS-CBN Narrowcast Dreamscape Entertainment Star Creatives Television MOR Entertainment
Subsidiaries	List of subsidiaries
Website	www.abs-cbn.com
Footnotes /references [3]

ABS-CBN Corporation (also known alternatively and secondarily since 2008, and formerly primarily from 1967 to 1972 and from 1986 to 2008 as ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation) is a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment television production, program syndication provider and media conglomerate in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation, which is owned by the López family. ^[4] 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 Eugenio Lopez Sr. and his brother Fernando Lopez, who was the sitting Vice President of the Philippines. A year later, the Lopezes acquired ABS. The ABS-CBN brand was first used on television in 1961.

The conglomerate became known as ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation on February 1, 1967. It then changed its primary name to simply ABS-CBN Corporation on October 1, 2008 during the 55th anniversary of the television network of the same name dropping the word "Broadcasting" on primary uses, to signify its diversification. Due to the change in the conglomerate's primary name, the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation name is now used as the company's alternative and secondary name in certain contexts. The common shares of ABS-CBN were first traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange in July 1992 under the ticker symbol ABS. ^[5]

Due to being denied for another 25-year free-to-air broadcasting franchise by the Philippine Congress, the conglomerate now mainly focuses on working as a content company, which includes producing television programs, films and other entertainment contents and distributions. ^[6]

History

See also: History of ABS-CBN

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, ^[7] an American electronics engineer who went into radio equipment assembly and radio broadcasting. In 1949, James Lindenberg shifted Bolinao to radio broadcasting with DZBC and masterminded the introduction of television to the country in 1953. ^[8]

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 in September of the same year. The 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. ^[8]

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. ^{[9] [10]}

The Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) was founded on September 24, 1956, by Eugenio Lopez Sr. and the then-Philippine Vice President Fernando Lopez. The network initially focused only on radio broadcasting. It launched its very own TV station, DZXL-TV 9, on April 19 (or July ^[11] ), 1958. ^[8] On February 24, 1957, Don Eugenio acquired ABS from Quirino and Lindenberg. A month later, Don Eugenio also acquired Monserrat Broadcasting System. ^[12]

In 1958, the network's new headquarters at Dewey 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 Dewey Boulevard building in Pasay, Rizal. ^[8]

The ABS-CBN brand was first used in 1961. However, it was only on February 1, 1967, that the corporate name was changed to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. Before it was named ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, the corporate name was Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC).

On October 1, 2008 during the 55th anniversary of the television network of the same name, the conglomerate's primary name and network's corporate name was changed to simply ABS-CBN Corporation to reflect the former's diversification. According to the conglomerate's chairman Gabby Lopez during its annual stockholders' meeting in May 2010, the change in the name was "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." ^{[13] [14]}

Assets and subsidiaries

Main articles: List of ABS-CBN Corporation subsidiaries and List of real estate properties owned by ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN Corporation owns major of media and entertainment companies in the Philippines, and offers services and products such as radio broadcast, satellite and cable television broadcast, broadcast syndication, telecommunications, publishing, content production and program and film distributor, television production, film production, new media and digital platforms, talent agencies, pay TV and broadband internet provider, consumer sales and merchandise, music label and recording, and theater. ^{[15] [lower-alpha 2]} The group owns and operates general entertainment broadcaster Kapamilya Channel and English-language news service ABS-CBN News Channel under ABS-CBN, AM radio station DWPM and Filipino-language cable and online news channel TeleRadyo Serbisyo (through a joint venture with Prime Media Holdings), and digital radio platform MOR Entertainment. The Kapamilya Channel, in particular, is the largest contributor to the group's revenue mainly from selling airtime to advertisers. The remaining revenue is generated from block-timing and other networks and platforms as well as from consumer sales, mainly from ABS-CBN Global Ltd. and ABS-CBN International, which distributes international television channels such as TFC HD, ^[16] ANC Global, Cinema One Global, Cine Mo! Global, Teleradyo Serbisyo Global and Myx Global ^[17] and also from pay TV and broadband internet provider Sky Cable Corporation.

Other companies which operate under the ABS-CBN group are motion picture companies under ABS-CBN Film Productions, such as Star Cinema, Cinema One Originals, Cine Bro and Black Sheep Productions, ^[18] television production companies ABS-CBN Studios, Dreamscape Entertainment, Star Creatives, RCD Narratives, JRB Creative Production and RGE Drama Unit under RSB Scripted Format, ^{[19] [20]} entertainment and film production Star Magic Studio ^[21] (under Star Magic), online ticketing and streaming site KTX, they also operate music recording labels under ABS-CBN Music, such as Star Music and its subsidiaries, Tarsier Records, ^[22] and MYX Global, publishing firm ABS-CBN Publishing and ABS-CBN Books, pay TV content provider and distributor Creative Programs, telecommunications company ABS-CBN Convergence which owned by the company with 68% co-owned with Globe Telecom, and talent agencies Star Magic, its divisions such as Star Hunt, Polaris, and Rise Artists Studio. ^[23] They also operate the main entertainment and production division of ABS-CBN, Star Creatives Group. Among the pay TV networks and channels under the ABS-CBN group are ANC, Cinema One, Cine Mo!, Jeepney TV, Kapamilya Channel, Knowledge Channel, Metro Channel, Myx and TeleRadyo Serbisyo. In recent years, ABS-CBN has ventured and diversified in other businesses such as over-the-top platform iWant TFC, TFC IPTV and web-based channel Kapamilya Online Live. Both iWant TFC and Kapamilya Online Live are under ABS-CBN Digital Media, a new media and digital division under ABS-CBN which also handles news.ABS-CBN.com and ABS-CBN.com. ABS-CBN is also the principal owner of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. It also owns ABS-CBN Studios, Inc. which operates its production facilities nationwide, including the ABS-CBN Soundstage located in Bulacan and Regional production facilities. And the newly relaunched theater arm of ABS-CBN, Teatro Kapamilya. ^[21] Aside from the ABS-CBN Soundstage, ABS-CBN also has other real estate properties for the company's operations.

Notes

1. The name ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation is now used as the company's alternative and secondary name after it changed its primary name to ABS-CBN Corporation on October 1, 2008, such as the sign-on and sign-off of ABS-CBN from October 1, 2008 to June 26, 2012, at the end of credits of Maalaala Mo Kaya until the late 2010s, and on some news articles that are related to the network and media conglomerate.
2. ABS-CBN Corporation is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate in terms of assets, revenue, international services, revenue, operating income, net income, assets, equity, market capitalization, and number of employees.

References

1. "ABS-CBN elects Gabby Lopez as chairman emeritus, Mark Lopez as chairman". ABS-CBN News. April 19, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
2. PSE Disclosure Form POR-1 (Public Ownership Report) (Report). Philippine Stock Exchange. April 22, 2021.
3. 2023 Annual Report (Report). ABS-CBN. April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
4. For citations about ABS-CBN Corporation being the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines:
   • Gonzales, David (July 17, 1999). "Philippines Indie VIVA Music Group". International > newsline... Billboard . p. 65. Retrieved April 11, 2018– via Google Books. ...changes at Star, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting, the country's largest media conglomerate.
   • Hamilton-Paterson, James (2014). America's Boy: The Marcoses and the Philippines (Snippet view). London: Faber & Faber. ISBN   9780571320196. OCLC   922406663 . Retrieved April 11, 2018– via Google Books. In June 1972, Eugenio Lopez, Sr. ... stood at the apex of Philippine public and social life. He was chairman of the country's largest media conglomerate (ABSCBN) and president of its leading electricity utility, Meralco.
   • Ignacio, Emily Noelle (2013). "The Challenges of On-Line Diaspora Research". In Gold, Steven J.; Nawyn, Stephanie J. (eds.). Handbook of International Migration. London: Routledge. p. 549. ISBN   9781135183486 . Retrieved April 11, 2018– via Google Books. ABS-CBN, the Philippines' largest media conglomerate, broadcasts widely in the Philippines and worldwide via satellite television.
   • Slind-Flor, Victoria (October 14, 2014). "ABS-CBN Awarded $10 Million in Copyright Infringement Dispute" . Bloomberg Technology. Bloomberg. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
   • Montecillo, Paolo (December 13, 2012). "ABS-CBN to issue 1B voting low yield preferred shares". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved January 20, 2013.
   • Lopez, Antonio (2000). "The coming Estrada-Lopez nuptials have Manila investors abuzz about love, money, power and profit". Asiaweek . Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
   • Lucas, Daxim (June 23, 2012). "TV5 losses double to P4.1B in 2011". The Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved July 11, 2012.
5. "ABS-CBN Corporation stock data". PSE EDGE portal. Philippine Stock Exchange. April 13, 2018. Stock Data > Listing Date. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
6. "ABS-CBN evolves into a content company to produce content for viewers worldwide | ABS-CBN Corporate". ABS-CBN. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
7. "Farewell to the Father of Philippine Television". ABS-CBN. April 30, 2009. Archived from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.^{[ self-published source ]}
8. Anastacio, Ellen Joy; Badiola, Janine Natalie (2000). The History of Philippine Television (Thesis). UP-CMC Broadcast Department . Retrieved March 27, 2012.
9. "R.A. No. 1343". The Corpus Juris. June 16, 1955. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
10. Rodrigo, Raul (2006). Kapitan: Geny Lopez and the story of ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN Publishing. p. 45. ISBN   978-971-816-111-1.
11. "Article". news.google.com. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
12. Rodrigo, Raul (February 28, 2020). "How Don Eugenio Lopez bought ABS from the Quirinos to build a broadcast giant". ANC X. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
13. "ABS-CBN changes corporate name". Lopez Group of Companies . Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
14. Paolo Ramos (director) (2008). Beyond Television (television production). Philippines: Creative Communications Management Group. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
15. "ABS-CBN Corporation Assets, Divisions, and Subsidiaries". ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
16. "Filipino TV Channels | Xfinity". www.xfinity.com. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
17. "Intelsat 19: 4180 H - LyngSat". www.lyngsat.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
18. ABS-CBN News (June 12, 2018). "Growing family: ABS-CBN Films no longer just Star Cinema". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
19. Dumaual, Miguel (June 17, 2020). "Reimagining within lockdown limits: Why some shows could go on, some couldn't". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
20. "Joshua Garcia joins Charlie Dizon, Jameson Blake in TV series Viral". PEP.ph. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
21. "Star Magic, ibibida ang galing ng Pilipino sa mundo | ABS-CBN Corporate". ABS-CBN. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
22. ABS-CBN News (March 30, 2021). "Tarsier Records launches new acts in 'Class of 2021'". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
23. "Over 100 Kapamilya stars to stream on Kumu starting March 15 | ABS-CBN Corporate". ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

Further reading

• John A. Lent (1971). Philippine Mass Communication Before 1811 and After 1966. Manila: Philippine Press Institute. ISBN   9780774812153
• John A. Lent (1978). Broadcasting in Asia and the Pacific: A Continental Survey of Radio and Television. Philadelphia: Temple University. ISBN   0877220689
• Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas: The 1996 KBP Media Factbook. Makati: Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. 1996
• Cecille Matutina (1999). Pinoy Television: The Story of ABS-CBN. Quezon City: Benpres Publishing, Inc. ISBN   9719210605
• Raul S. De Vera (2000). Philippine Studies Vol. 48, No. 2. Manila: Ateneo de Manila University
• Philip Kitley (2003). Television, Regulation and Civil Society in Asia. London: Routledge. ISBN   9781134431946
• Michael Keane (2003). Television Across Asia: TV Industries, Programme Formats and Globalisation. London: Routledge. ISBN   9781134392605
• Raul Rodrigo (2006). Kapitan: Geny Lopez and the Making of ABS-CBN. Quezon City: ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc. ISBN   9718161112
• Jonathan Woodier (2009). The Media and Political Change in Southeast Asia: Karaoke Culture and the Evolution of Personality Politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN   9781848446199
• Horace Newcomb (2014). Encyclopedia of Television 4 Vol Set. London: Routledge. ISBN   9781135194796
• Jinna Tay, Graeme Turner, Koichi Iwabuchi (November 30, 2014). Television Histories in Asia: Issues and Contexts. London: Routledge. ISBN   9780415855365
• Jonathan Corpus Ong (May 15, 2015). The Poverty of Television: The Mediation of Suffering in Class-Divided Philippines. Anthem Press. ISBN   9781783084067
• Ella G. Mangabat (October 17, 2003). "Years of service to the Filipino: The ABS-CBN story". Philippine Daily Inquirer
• James Hookway (June 23, 2004). "Filipino Broadcaster ABS-CBN Finds Growing Audience Overseas". The Wall Street Journal
• David Englander (October 15, 2014). "ABS-CBN: Philippine Broadcaster Sends Strong Buy Signal – Shares of the Philippines' largest TV broadcaster can rise near 50% as the country continues its rapid growth." Barron's
• David Englander (March 11, 2015). "ABS-CBN: Philippine Broadcaster Can Rise 25% – Philippines' largest TV broadcaster has surged since we recommended shares last year. Stay long." Barron's
• Mark Yu (August 26, 2016). "ABS-CBN May Be Worth Your Investment – The Philippine media broadcasting leader offers some value". GuruFocus.com
• Media Ownership Monitor Philippines – Media Companies: A Duopoly Rules by VERA Files and Reporters Without Borders

External links

• Official website