People's Television Network
People's Television Network is the state-operated television network of the Philippine government. Founded in 1974, PTV is the main brand of People's Television Network, Inc. , one of the attached agencies under the Presidential Communications Office.
PTV, along with government-owned media companies Radio Philippines Network, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation and the Presidential Broadcast Service-Bureau of Broadcast Services, form the media arm of the PCO and acts as a primary state television broadcaster that focuses on news, information and public service programming. Its head office, studios, and radio tower are located at Broadcast Complex, Visayas Avenue, Barangay Vasra, Diliman, Quezon City.
As a government-run station, PTV received funding from the General Appropriations Act and sales from blocktimers and advertisers, among others. PTV also runs two digital television channels Radyo Pilipinas - Radyo Publiko and PTV Sports Network.
History
Prior efforts of forming a government TV network
In 1961, the Philippine government, through the Philippine Broadcasting Service established DZRP-TV on VHF channel 10 which it time-shared with two other organizations. It was financed by government subsidy; however, the channel was short-lived due to problems of its frequency allocation.Martial law period
On September 28, 1972, after declaring martial law in the Philippines, Marcos ordered the takeover of ABS-CBN Corporation and turned over its facilities to Kanlaon Broadcasting System, controlled by Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto. ABS-CBN's facilities were later transferred from KBS to the government-owned Maharlika Broadcasting System. Under the Marcos regime, crony-owned media companies broadcast or published news and entertainment meant to project a positive image for the regime and to conceal some of its wrongdoings.The current government television network began operations on February 2, 1974, as Government Television, a division of the National Media Production Center. It was first headed by Lito Gorospe and later by Press Secretary Francisco Tatad. GTV first utilized the Solana Building in Intramuros, Manila before relocating to the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Bohol Avenue, Quezon City. In 1976, it began color broadcasts, the last national network to do so, when it became the long time home of the Philippine Basketball Association for almost two decades. Come 1978-79, the GTV network was programmed, not only by the NMPC, but also by blocktimers linked to Radio Philippines Network and the Ministry of Information.
GTV was renamed Maharlika Broadcasting System in 1980 under the leadership of Minister of Information Gregorio Cendaña. By then, it began expanding with the opening of provincial stations nationwide, including 3 stations in Cebu, Bacolod, and Davao that were once operated by pre-martial law ABS-CBN.
MBS-4 was captured by rebel soldiers during the 1986 People Power Revolution. On the afternoon of February 24, 1986, the facilities were utilized by Radyo Veritas personnel as well as former ABS-CBN technicians and news anchors. Ad-hoc committees were formed to run various aspects of the station with Tony Santos for behind the scenes production, Fr. Efren Datu for radio operations, Orly Punzalan for TV, and Jose Mari Velez for news.
Contemporary period (since 1986)
In the immediate aftermath of the People Power Revolution, the network continued to broadcast under the interim brand New TV 4. However, programming was mostly impromptu outside of special events and scheduled newscasts in the morning, afternoon, evening and late night. Production aspects were mainly performed by volunteers who continued to work under the new regime while erstwhile anchors who worked under the Marcos administration left.Channel 4 was formally rebranded as People's Television two months later in April 1986. Broadcasters Tina Monzon-Palma and Jose Mari Velez were tapped by President Corazon Aquino to handle the newly rebranded station for a few months, before Palma and Vélez returned to GMA 7. It later became the official Philippine rightsholder for the broadcasts of the 1988 Summer Olympics along with RPN.
On March 26, 1992, President Cory Aquino signed Republic Act 7306 turning PTV Network into a government corporation known formally as People's Television Network, Inc. The law also granted its congressional franchise for a period co-terminus with its corporate existence. Under Philippine law, no broadcast company can operate without a legislative franchise from the Philippine congress, an authority that limits and regulates operations of telecommunications and broadcast media such as television and radio.
Shortly after he took over the mantle of government in June 1992, President Fidel V. Ramos appointed PTV Network's first board of directors. The Network was given a one-time equity funding for capital outlay. Since 1992, PTV has been operating on revenues it generates on its own. Republic Act 7306 stipulates that the government shall not appropriate funds for the operations of the network.
In 1992, PTNI went on full nationwide satellite broadcast using a transponder from PALAPA C2. Its flagship station PTV-4, which is based in Quezon City, boasted of a 40-kilowatt brand-new transmitter facility sitting on a tower. With its 32 provincial stations across the country, the network has extended its reach and coverage to approximately 85 percent of the television viewing public nationwide.
PTNI was given the Hall of Fame Award for Best Station and for Most Balanced Programming in 1987 and the Catholic Mass Media Awards in the two succeeding years after. It has aired several pioneering and award-winning educational, cultural and public service programs for their relevance and production excellence. In 1996, PTV won the award for Best TV Station ID in the PMPC Star Awards for Television.
PTNI pioneered educational and cultural programming. Some of its award-winning programs were Tele-aralan ng Kakayahan, Ating Alamin, Small World and its successor Kidsongs, For Art's Sake, Coast to Coast and Paco Park Presents. In the 1990s, at the core of its educational programming is the Continuing Studies via Television or CONSTEL, a program aimed at upgrading teaching skills of elementary and secondary teachers of Science and English. Institutionalized by Department of Education, Culture and Sports, CONSTEL Science and English are being used in teacher training by the Regional and Divisional Leader Schools of the Department of Education, culture and Sports and in Teacher Education Institutions of the Commission on Higher Education.
PTNI also became the official broadcaster of major international sports competitions. It has covered the Olympic Games, starting with the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, except Barcelona Olympics in 1992, the Beijing Olympics in 2008, London Olympics in 2012, Rio Olympics in 2016 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. PTNI was the carrying station of the South East Asian Games in 1991, 1995, 2005, and 2007, missing from 2009, and resuming at 2017; Asian Games from 1986 to 2006 and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2007 and 2009. During these coverage, PTNI has received commendations from various sports organizations. In 1996, it received a presidential citation from then President Fidel V. Ramos for the successful coverage of the Atlanta Olympic Games.
On July 16, 2001, under the new management appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, PTNI rebranded as the National Broadcasting Network carrying a new slogan "One People. One Nation. One Vision." for a new image in line with its new programming thrusts, they continued the NBN name until the Aquino administration on January 8, 2012.
NBN expanded its broadcast reach with the launching of NBN World on February 19, 2003, in cooperation with the Television and Radio Broadcasting Service. This global expansion signals new directions for NBN as it becomes accessible to the rest of the world, particularly the millions of Filipinos overseas. NBN can be seen in Australia, North America and the Asia-Pacific. NBN was transmitted via satellite nationwide using Agila 2 before moving to ABS 1 in September 2011.
Prior to 2010, NBN main studios in Quezon City and its regional stations in Baguio, Cebu and Naga were planned to be equipped with the most modern news gathering equipment for them to compete with the major television networks. A new Harris Transmitter has been installed increasing Channel 4's transmitter power from 40 kW to 60 kW. NBN's digital channel also became available on UHF channel 48 using the Japanese digital TV standard.
In 2011, NBN continued to enhance its digital broadcasting capabilities with equipment donated from the Japanese government.
This equipment will also allow NBN to begin broadcasting emergency alerts when necessary.
Although the branding is officially known as the National Broadcasting Network, in August 2011, the "People's Television" brand which was retired in 2001 was reintroduced as a secondary brand until a few months later, PTNI became a primary brand on October 6, 2011. The People's Television and National Broadcasting Network names and logos were then concurrently used from October 6, 2011, to January 8, 2012, as the NBN logo is still used on the network's sign-on and sign-off until the said date of January 2012.
On July 2, 2012, PTV launched its new logo and its new slogan "Telebisyon ng Bayan " with a Balangay station ID.
In March 2013, President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act 10390, superseding the old Charter, in which the management will be under reorganization and the government will infuse P5 billion to PTV to revitalize the station and make it "digital competitive" in spite of GMA Network's questionings of the law, fearing that it may enter competition. PTV has earned P59 million generated revenues for the first and second quarter of 2014.
PTV started their modernization program since 2012, including the acquisition of studio technical equipment, cameras, vehicles and high-powered transmitter for the main office in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, together with few regional offices, included in their plans is the rehabilitation of PTV stations in Naga, Baguio, Iloilo, Cebu, Zamboanga, Cotabato, Calbayog, Tacloban, Pagadian, Davao and Dumaguete.
Despite being operated with little or no budget, the new PTV still managed to cover the biggest events in the country including the 2013 National and Local Elections, 2013 Central Visayas earthquake, Typhoon Ondoy, the visits of US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis, the APEC Philippines 2015. and the 2016 National and Local Elections. PTV also reintroduced its broadcast of the station's digital clock embedded on the lower left part of the screen in 2013, 7 years after Radio Philippines Network abandoned its longstanding practice for 32 years.
In 2005, several Radyo ng Bayan programs were also aired on then NBN with the Visayas Avenue studios used for some of them, under the Tinig ng Bayan banner. In 2014, the partnership between the two was revived with an all new morning news program, RadyoBisyon, which is also simulcast on IBC-13 and heard in Radyo ng Bayan stations nationwide, broadcasting from its own studios and the RnB radio booth. Before the launch, RnB - as part of the Philippine Broadcasting Service - had already, since 2012, been simulcasting News @ 1 and News @ 6 on radio on all its stations.