It seems that the government is not yet done going after the struggling media giant ABS-CBN after MTRCB shared its plan to regulate content on Netflix and other online streaming services.
During the Senate hearing on Thursday, September 3, on the Internet Transactions Act, MTRCB legal affairs division chief Atty. Jonathan Presquito proposed for the regulation of Netflix and other streaming services.
According to the Presquito, regardless of the medium, all movies and television series should be reviewed by the MTRCB before it can be distributed for viewing public.
“Streaming services like Netflix are video-on-demand platforms. We have to regulate those platforms,” he said.
Coincidentally, MTRCB’s comment came after ABS-CBN launched the revamped iWant app to include TFC Online providing more content for Filipinos across the globe.
ABS-CBN is one of the biggest content producers in the country.
With its TV and radio shutdown and the small number of movies that are being produced, MTRCB was left with GMA and TV5 as the current main content producers which greatly affected their review mandate and the taxes that they will get from reviewing content.
Some netizens have also shared the observation that MTRCB is overreaching its mandate because they have less to do now since the ABS-CBN shutdown its free to air broadcast.
ABSCBN closure is converting PH into digital aggressively and MTRCB is losing its purpose. No more Movies to screen and less options in FREE TV. They want to venture into something they're not. There's a reason why you're called MTRCB–
MOVIE & TELEVISION –ONLY.
— Rod Magaru (@rodmagaru) September 4, 2020
https://twitter.com/majasuperstar/status/1301676892882268166
https://twitter.com/nickvillavecer/status/1301500113752215552
Apparently, ABS-CBN’s closure really affected not only the network but peripheral government agencies and different industries that are connected to the media industry.
That’s what Film Director Jose Javier Reyes said in one of his Facebook posts that the decision to deny the ABS-CBN’s franchise is not well thought of as it did not only affect ABS-CBN but also the government and other entities who are doing business with the media giant.
In his Facebook post, Reyes said ABS-CBN’s franchise denial made a big shift in the landscape of the media industry which affects not only the network but entities or industries connected to it.
“What ‘they’ do not realize is that the closure of ABS-CBN does not only mean the end of a network but a major change in the landscape of free tv, advertising, and other ancillary businesses & industries,” he said.
“The implications to the economy and the very structure of free entertainment are now undergoing this drastic shift that can obliterate the model of accessible entertainment as we knew it before,” he added.
