TV5 (Philippine TV network)


TV5 is a Filipino free-to-air commercial television and radio network based in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, with additional studios and transmitter facilities in Novaliches, Quezon City. TV5 Network Inc is the parent company of TV5, which is a subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, the de facto multimedia arm of telecommunications company PLDT, Inc.
TV5's main television station, DWET-TV, broadcasts on VHF Channel 5 for analogue broadcasting, UHF Channel 18 for digital, and UHF Channel 51 for digital test transmission. The latter is licensed to its sister company, Mediascape/Cignal TV. The network owns and operates seven TV stations and has 14 selected affiliate stations across the Philippines.
TV5's programming is available throughout the Philippines, and its content can be accessed internationally via satellite through Kapatid Channel International, AksyonTV International, and PBA Rush.

History

Early years (1960–1986)

On June 19th, 1960, Joaquin "Chino" Roces, owner of the Manila Times, obtained a radio-TV franchise through Republic Act 2945. He established the Associated Broadcasting Corporation, with the initial studios located along Pasong Tamo in Makati, Rizal. ABC's first radio stations were DZMT, DZTM, and DZWS. Established in July 1962 as DZTM-TV Channel 5, ABC became the seventh television network to operate in the Philippines. From July 1962 to September 1972, ABC operated radio and television services.
On September 23rd, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law, resulting in the forced shutdown of ABC and the Manila Times.

Return and growth (1986–2003)

After the People Power Revolution in 1986, Chino Roces advocated for the network's reinstatement with President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino. Following Roces' death in 1988, his son Edgardo Roces took over efforts to revive the network. Edward Tan and Edgardo Roces secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase capitalization. Soon after, they received a permit to operate from the National Telecommunications Commission. In 1990, ABC completed construction of its studio complex and transmitter tower in Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. Test broadcasts began later that year, featuring Japanese documentaries.
On February 21, 1992, the network returned to the air. The flagship station adopted the call sign DWET-TV and the corporate name became Associated Broadcasting Company—using the initial 'C' instead of 'Corporation' to reflect the new management.
Early in the network's revival, it expanded to Cebu, Davao, Baguio, Naga, Bacolod, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, and General Santos. By the end of 1993, the network ranked third in ratings, with two more stations planned in 1994 ahead of its satellite broadcast launch.
On February 4, 1994, ABC launched nationwide satellite broadcasting. The network experienced rapid growth under the network's Chief Operating Officer Tina Monzon-Palma. On December 9, 1994, ABC obtained a 25-year legislative franchise through Republic Act No. 7831, which authorized the network to establish and operate television and radio stations countrywide.
In 2001, ABC started producing local versions of popular game shows, including The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune, and Family Feud. The move came during a period of game show popularity among Philippine networks, influenced by the success of Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation's Philippine editions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and The Weakest Link.

Cojuangco era (2003–2008)

In June 2003, the joint consortium of Tan and Roces sold ABC TV and radio stations to a group led by businessman Antonio "Tony Boy" Cojuangco Jr. Cojuangco, the former chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and owner of Dream Satellite TV and Bank of Commerce, formally acquired the assets in October of the same year. Cojuangco became the president and CEO of ABC, with Jose T. Pardo, a former secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, serving as the Network's board chairman.
Under the new management, significant changes were introduced, including strengthening the news and public affairs division, modernizing broadcast equipment, and acquiring broadcast rights for Philippine Basketball Association games. The network executives, led by Roberto Barreiro, also coined a new slogan, "Iba Tayo!". With the last slogan, "Come home to ABC!", ABC aimed to differentiate itself by offering fresh and distinct programming formats, targeting the growing middle to upper-class youth market. While implementing these changes, ABC continued to support the Family Rosary Crusade. It featured the religious pre-identification campaign "Please Pray the Rosary" before its programs, although this was gradually phased out during the network's programming revamp.
In 2005, ABC received the "Outstanding TV Station" award at the 2005 KBP Golden Dove Awards, and several programs on the Network also received awards in their respective categories.
In early 2007, ABC implemented budget cuts that mainly affected its news department, resulting in significant layoffs and a diminished capacity for coverage before the 2007 general elections.
In November 2007, ABC launched new sports programming, including NBA basketball, professional boxing, and WWE events, as part of a five-year deal with Solar Entertainment. Due to high costs and poor ratings, the programs were dropped throughout 2008. The NBA review show "House of Hoops" was cut back and eventually cancelled by April 2008. The PBA, which was previously aired on ABC, did not have its contract renewed and instead found a new home on RPN through a partnership with Solar Entertainment, leading to RPN's privatization by Solar in 2011.

First TV5 era (2008–2018)

ABC-MPB Primedia partnership (2008–2010)

In March 2008, "Tony Boy" Cojuangco announced a partnership between ABC and MPB Primedia Inc., a local company backed by Media Prima Berhad of Malaysia. The partnership was a long-term strategy to enhance ABC's competitiveness in the network wars between ABS-CBN and GMA. MPB Primedia Inc. was established as an asset for Media Prima's proposed private equity fund to invest in media companies in Southeast Asia. Under the agreement, MPB Primedia Inc. produced and sourced entertainment programs, while ABC would continue to be responsible for news programming and station operations. MPB Primedia was granted rights to schedule and manage sales of ABC-5's airtime. Christopher Sy was appointed CEO of MPB Primedia, Inc., but resigned in January 2009 due to reported differences in management style.
ABC aired its final broadcast at around 22:00 PST on August 8, 2008, with its late-night newscast Sentro as the last program. A countdown to the Network's relaunch followed until 19:00 PST the next day when it officially rebranded as TV5. The Network retained its alternative programming line-up but aimed to cater to "Progressive Pinoys, including those 'young at heart to market classes C and D. TV5 unveiled its upgraded 120-kilowatt state-of-the-art stereo TV transmitter. Some ABC programs, such as Shall We Dance, Nick on TV5, Kerygma TV, Light Talk, and Sunday TV Mass, were carried over to TV5's line-up. The TV5 Ani''MEGA, a programming block focused on Japanese anime series, was launched on the network.
Under the new management, TV5's audience share increased from 1.9% in the second quarter of 2008 to 11.1% in September 2009. That same month, TV5 began airing two hours of Singaporean contents produced by MediaCorp's studios division, mainly its Mandarin dramas and English sitcoms, dubbed in the Filipino language, such as The Little Nyonya starring Jeanette Aw, Under One Roof starring Vernetta Lopez and Moses Lim, and Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd'' starring Gurmit Singh.

Acquisition by PLDT, the Kapatid Network years (2010–2018)

On October 20, 2009, Media Prima announced its intention to divest its share in MPB Primedia / TV5, along with its affiliated ABC TV stations, and sell it to MediaQuest Holdings, the broadcasting division of PLDT. The decision was driven by the company's losses during the year. The acquisition was officially announced by Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan on March 2, 2010; he had previously intended to acquire ABC as early as 1999. New programming was introduced through a trade launch at the World Trade Center and on April 4, 2010, the network rebranded itself as the "Kapatid" network to compete with ABS-CBN and GMA Network.
On October 1, 2010, TV5 took over the management of MediaQuest's Nation Broadcasting Corporation stations. DWFM was relaunched as Radyo5 92.3 News FM, a TV5-branded news radio station, on November 8, 2010. DWNB-TV was rebranded as AksyonTV, a news channel based on TV5's newscast Aksyon, on February 21, 2011. TV5 experienced success and outranked GMA Network to become the second most-watched network in key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, including Iloilo, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. The Network shared the top spot with ABS-CBN in General Santos.
On December 23, 2013, TV5 began broadcasting from its new headquarters, the TV5 Media Center located in Reliance, Mandaluyong.
In 2014, TV5 acquired the Filipino broadcast rights to the 2014 Winter Olympics, the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Despite financial struggles, TV5 remained operational, with a strong following among male and younger viewers. The network's programming, such as the PBA via Sports5 and the TV5 Kids block, contributed to its popularity. TV5 celebrated its fifth anniversary under the management of Manny V. Pangilinan with a trade launch of 2015 shows at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza on November 26, 2014.
TV5 started each year with a New Year's Eve countdown called "Happy sa " at the Quezon Memorial Circle, a tradition that continued until 2017.
In 2015, the Network changed its corporate name from ABC Development Corporation to TV5 Network, Inc.
TV5 experienced growing financial difficulties, including losses and debt, primarily due to a reduction in advertisers and the effects of digitalization. This situation led to employee layoffs in September 2015. The network's in-house entertainment division was disbanded, and its Chief Entertainment Content Officer, Wilma Galvante, ended her consultancy agreement. Consequently, TV5's workforce significantly decreased from around 4,000 employees in 2013–2014 to approximately 900 by late 2021.
Unable to produce original content until 2020, TV5 appointed Vicente "Vic" Del Rosario, CEO of Viva Entertainment, as the Network's Chief Entertainment Strategist. Changes were implemented in TV5's entertainment programming, including the formation of the Viva-TV5 joint venture Sari-Sari Channel and the outsourcing of Viva Television for entertainment shows. The partnership was announced at a trade launch in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig on November 25, 2015. However, several new shows were cancelled due to a lack of advertising support and poor ratings. TV5 renewed its partnership with Viva Entertainment in October 2020, focusing on local versions of foreign programming and TV remakes of Viva classic films.
From January 2016 until December 31, 2018, TV5 and Cignal, through Hyper, served as the official free-to-air and pay television partners, respectively, for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Philippines.
In July 2016, TV5 started airing selected programs from MTV and MTV International as part of a deal with Viacom International Media Networks. The new MTV on TV5 block included shows like Catfish, Ridiculousness, and Ex on the Beach.
On September 8, 2016, TV5 cancelled its locally produced programs Aksyon Bisaya and Aksyon Dabaw due to cost-cutting measures. The personnel remained employed to continue filing reports for the national edition of Aksyon.
TV5 President and CEO Emmanuel "Noel" C. Lorenzana stepped down on September 30, 2016, and was replaced by basketball coach and Sports5/D5 Studio head Vicente "Chot" Reyes. Following Reyes' appointment, the Network announced a retrenchment of approximately 200 employees as part of TV5's digitalization efforts.
In April 2017, TV5 acquired the rights to air WWE programming after Fox Philippines decided not to renew its contract with the WWE.
On October 12, 2017, TV5 Network announced its partnership with ESPN, obtaining the licensing rights for PBA, UFC, PSL, and the NFL, as well as access to ESPN programs and content. The partnership led to the formation of the ESPN5 brand, which aired on TV5 and AksyonTV. The move was part of TV5's temporary shift from a general entertainment station to a sports and news channel.