ABS-CBN Corp. said Thursday it is eyeing more partnership with local free TV networks and online streaming platforms to regain profitability sans free TV franchise.
“We are willing to work with any partner that is willing to bring our programs to their audience whether those partners are in free TV, pay TV, online streaming, and so on,” ABS-CBN president Carlo Katigbak said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders meeting.
The Lopez-led network earlier signed a joint venture agreement with Prime Media Holdings Inc. to produce various content and programs. Other partners of ABS-CBN are GMA Network Inc., TV5 Network Inc., Zoe Broadcasting, AMBS, Netflix, Viu, iQiyi and WeTV.
“We hope to increase our viewership to a far larger base than what we had before,” Katigbak said, adding that the company was no longer a broadcaster after its franchise was not renewed.
“Broadcasting never defined ABS-CBN. What we did best was to tell stories,” he said.
Katigbak said the company would focus on creating “stories that inform and inspire because the heart and soul of ABS-CBN is in storytelling.”
He said that as the company regains its stride in storytelling, its business is expected to continue to improve.
“Advertising revenues have grown side by side with ratings. In 2022, we registered a 21-percent improvement in ad sales to P6.4 billion from just P5.3 billion the year before,” Katigbak said.
He said the company’s net loss went down to P2.6 billion last year from P5.7 billion in 2021.
“We are confident in the upward trend of our numbers and expect 2023 to be even better than last year. It is still an uphill climb to profitability, but the light at the end of the tunnel has become sharper and brighter,” Katigbak said.
“While we are not yet where we want to be, we are certainly well on our way. We reiterate our commitment to regain profitability and to emerge a better and stronger company in the near future,” he said.