Following its loss of broadcast franchise in 2020, media giant ABS-CBN immediately shifted its focus to its non-license-requiring platforms. They produce content meant to cater not only to Filipino viewers but also to global audiences.
ABS-CBN may be struggling at the moment to steal the thunder from GMA Network (the reigning no.1 television network in the country) with its limited free TV reach. Its efforts to recuperate through its online and digital platforms have been doing wonders for the embattled media giant so far.
To date, the station owns some of the most subscribed—including the no. 1—media channels on the social media platform, Youtube, ABS-CBN stands poised to reclaim parts of its former glory—or maybe, all of it.
With an estimated 32.7 million subscribers, as of February 2021, ABS-CBN Entertainment bested the official Youtube channels of the three biggest TV networks in Thailand (CH3Thailand, WorkpointOfficial, and One31), while GMA Network’s eponymous main account lags at no. 5 with 22.1 million subscribers. Reported figures by the leading global video measurement and analytics platform, Tubular Labs.
To gauge how much help it is lending to ABS-CBN’s strong online presence–it is uncertain. It tries to compensate for its multi-billion losses amid the advertisers’ shift to GMA Network and other franchise-bearing media entities.
The interesting thing to note–is the big chunk of advertisers are increasingly migrating to more contemporary platforms, like Youtube and Netflix, where audiences’ purchasing power is reportedly higher. It capitalizes on a ‘pull’ marketing scheme compared to the risky, hit-and-miss push kind of traditional approach.
The current trend in local audience’s viewing habits–suggests Filipinos have been increasingly replacing terrestrial television with streaming platforms as a source of news and entertainment, is not something surprising anymore. In the US, for example, households have been progressively abandoning cable and satellite television, raising streaming video subscriptions to unprecedented levels in the past few years.
Replicating this pattern in the local setting may still be a long shot, yes. However, strong indications that an active consumer migration between traditional television and digital video platforms is happening means the local television is getting there.
It seems very important to acknowledge such a trend in analyzing how ABS-CBN managed to turn things around, following its tragic losses last year.
Take T-Series’ eponymous Youtube Channel, for example—with over 170 million subscribers and 145 billion views (As of February 2021)–the Indian-based and owned channel sits as the no. 1 channel in the video-sharing platform. Such a powerful presence. It also makes it one of—if not the—biggest earning Youtube content creators. In 2018 alone, the company raked over USD100million in ad revenues from its network of Youtube channels. In ABS-CBN’s case–losing its franchise might have cut the Network from its most potent revenue stream, but it found a promising alternative revenue-generating ecosystem—and that is Youtube.
Perhaps, it also should be noted that other than its Youtube channels, ABS-CBN also has its other streaming services—iWantTFC, KTX.ph—as online revenue-generating platforms. YouTube, however, as it is to many media conglomerates, remains one of the biggest income generators. And to ABS-CBN, its combined number of subscribers from all its channels has already soared past 60 million. The advantages it can get as far as its financial recovery is concerned–cannot be overstated.
Other than ABS-CBN Entertainment, ABS-CBN maintains ABS-CBN News, Pinoy Big Brother, ABS-CBN Star Music, ABS-CBN Star Cinema, iWantTFC, ABS-CBN’s It’s Showtime, and Idol Philippines, whose subscribers stand at 11.8 million, 4.2 million, 6.2 million, 4 million, 2.1 million, 1.4 million, and 1.8 million, respectively, which altogether, created a profitable market for the Kapamilya Network.
Nevertheless, while the Network may be already getting a hefty sum from these venues, getting to the day when they can cover up for what the media giant lost in the wake of losing its franchise, remains a long way to go.
But then again, as the entire local television itself gears up for a complete digital migration, dominating Youtube, and other digital streaming platforms much earlier than its contemporaries, gives ABS-CBN an extra-advantage, should the impending online battle among the country’s media conglomerates, finally goes full-throttle.
