TV5 and GMA Network executives said they are welcoming the arrival of new competition with the Manny Villar-owned Advanced Media Broadcasting System (AMBS), Inc.
In an interview during the contract signing for Top Class on Monday, February 28, Cignal TV and TV5 CEO and president Robert P. Galang said, “Well, we welcome them. The industry really is open.”
Galang added that this will bring more choices of content to Filipinos.
“Having more (industry) players, the winner will be the Filipino audience. They get to choose from a wide array of content across different platforms.”
Currently, TV5 has partnership deals with different content producers, including ABS-CBN. Galang said the network is open for more partnerships in the future.
“We have to respect ABS for being great creators of content, and when it would be beneficial for TV5 and for ABS as well to add more hours, then we will do so,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a recent virtual interview, GMA Network executives also welcomed the new competitor as it will open more jobs to others.
“Ang dami na naman nating nakalaban, di ba? Ang dami na rin nating naabangan na in, one way or another, tumapat sa atin. This is a game. So, maglaro tayo nang maayos. So, let’s see — may mananalo, may matatalo,” said Joey Abacan, GMA first vice president for program management.
“I welcome it! Because, you know, in a way, marami rin namang magkakatrabaho na ibang mga tao. Magkakapatid tayo sa industriya. So, every time na may sumusulpot na ganyan, merong magkakatrabaho. Merong magkakaroon ng programa.”
He commented that competing with themselves is “corny” and “scary”.
“(Kung tayo lang), ang corny naman di ba? Naramdaman mo yun nung una, paano kaya tayo papagalitan ngayon? Yun pala, kinakalaban na natin ang sarili natin. Nakakatakot, di ba? So, mas maganda yung meron ka ring competition, so that you know, you see the other side of the fence as well.”
Lilybeth Rasonable, senior vice president for GMA Entertainment Group commented, “We’re confident naman because we have good shows and we have good producers.”
Founded in 1994 by the Vera family, AMBS is owned by the Villar Group-backed Prime Asset Ventures through Planet Cable. In January 2022, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) granted broadcast frequencies to AMBS that were previously assigned to ABS-CBN Corp.
