There is a brewing big(ger) ‘partnership’ between the two giants in the local media landscape.
On Friday, June 3, 2022, media monitoring website Media Newser Philippines shared a bombshell revelation. According to MNP, the Lopez group’s media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation is seeking to strike a new deal with MediaQuest, owners of TV5, Cignal, and the PhilStar group. Moreover, Media Newser says that the deal might close by this month’s end.
In the rumored partnership, both firms are said to be getting an equal “50-50 stake.” Apart from that, there could be a synergy between the firms’ production, newsgathering capabilties, and even operation. While the specifics were not disclosed in the said report, it seems that a pending takeover of airtime by ABS-CBN on TV5 is on the way, as it was said that ‘TV Patrol’ is being touted to be added to the Kapatid network’s primetime block — only being barred by the existence of the network’s own flagship newscast. For the other side, they are keen to acquire the Sky Cable company from the Lopez group.
To date, only MediaQuest, through its Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan has commented on the matter. In an interview with Bloomberg, Pangilinan confirmed that they are in “evolving talks” with ABS-CBN. He also adds that nothing is cast in stone yet and declined to share further than that. As for the Kapamilya camp, they still remain mum on the matter.
But the current collaboration between the two media giants in the Philippines can be traced back to the aftermath of ABS-CBN’s free-to-air shutdown in 2020.
2020
July 2020
A few days after the Congress denied the franchise renewal bid of ABS-CBN, TV5 and MediaQuest chairman Manny V. Pangilinan said in an interview with the Philippine Star that their “doors are open” to Kapamilyas. He said that they are open to “talents, creatives, and [behind the scene personnel like] cameramen.”
August 2020
As part of the first wave of new entertainment programs on TV5, which also marked the network’s return to the genre after a few years as a sports-centric network, Kapamilya stars Ria Atayde and Jessy Mendiola headlined Kapatid shows ‘Chika, BESH!’ and ‘Fit For Life’, respectively.
Apart from that, Star Magic artists and ABS-CBN news personalities were also allowed to guest in other Kapatid shows. The list include the appearance of Karen Davila in Luchi Cruz-Valdes’ ‘Usapang Real Life’, and young ABS stars playing in gameshows ‘Fill in the Bank’ and ‘Bawal na Gameshow’.
October 2020
Perhaps, the biggest ‘exodus’ of sorts of Kapamilya stars happened when Brightlight Productions began supplying programs for TV5 in October 2020.
In ‘Sunday Noontime Live!’ alone, Brightlight got the services of several ASAP stalwarts. They got the show’s director Johnny Manahan, along with Piolo Pascual, Maja Salvador, Catriona Gray, Donny Pangilinan, and Jake Ejercito — all of whom, except for Ejecrito, has been on regular or semi-regular basis on ASAP prior to SNL. ‘Idol Philippines’ champ Zephanie, Star Magic artist Maris Racal, among others, also appeared in the musical variety program.
After SNL, was the reinvention of ABS-CBN’s Banana Sundae — Sunday Kada. The show, after all, featured most of ex-Banana stars except John Prats, Angelica Panganiban, and JC de Vera who all remained with ABS. Then-Star Magic artist Miles Ocampo, along with Jerome Ponce, Josh Colet, Chie Filomeno, Maika Rivera, Ritz Azul, and Daniel Matsunaga, were added to form the new ‘kada’.
Brightlight also produced weekly drama series featuring Kapamilya stars in ‘I Got You’, starring Beauty Gonzalez, RK Bagatsing, and Jane Oineza. Sitcom ‘Oh My Dad’ starred Ian Veneracion, Dimples Romana, Sue Ramirez, Adrian Lindayag, and Louise Abuel.
Korina Sanchez also jumped to Brightlight to continue her weekly magazine program Rated Korina, which at that time had to be cancelled after the current affairs division was abolished by ABS-CBN.
Finally, is the noontime variety show Lunch Out Loud, which got one of ABS-CBN’s go-to hosts for its reality and game programs Billy Crawford, along with several ‘I Can See Your Voice‘ singvestigators in Alex Gonzaga, Wacky Kiray, Bayani Agbayani, and ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan sa Showtime‘ judge K Brosas.
Kapamilya Channel also became available to the customers of Cignal and Satlite that month.
A2Z, the ABS-CBN blocktimed channel owned by Zoe Broadcasting Network, was also given a free live streaming channel of its own on Cignal Play.
November 2020
In the second batch of new TV5 entertainment shows, more Kapamilya stars were given opportunity to star in dramas via the Primetime Todo block.
Beauty Gonzalez was given a second Kapatid series via ‘Paano ang Pasko?’ (which will later be extended and retitled as ‘Paano ang Pangako?’ in January 2021). Jake Cuenca was casted in ‘Ate ng Ate Ko’, while Maris Racal topbilled in ‘Stay In-Love’. Former Myx VJ Alex Diaz was in the thriller drama ‘Carpool’, while Ryza Cenon (who transferred to ABS-CBN in 2018) gave life to ‘Bella Bandida’. Other Kapamilya stars were also assigned roles in the horror anthology ‘Kagat ng Dilim’.
2021
January 2021
In mid-January last year, Brightlight Productions announced, albeit abruptly, that their Sunday afternoon programs ‘SNL’ and ‘Sunday Kada’ will be on a season-break after their respective broadcasts on January 17. Meanwhile, the series ‘I Got You’ have already concluded its run the previous week by that time. Supposedly, a co-produced drama with Star Cinema titled ‘Love on da Move’ was floated to be the first ABS-CBN content to be aired on the station. But there were other (and bigger) events that ensued.
By the following week, the cloud started to dissipate and the well-kept secret was finally revealed. After years of competing head-on for the top spot in ratings, TV5 will begin airing ABS-CBN programs ‘ASAP Natin ‘To’ and the movie block ‘FPJ: Da King’ on January 24, 2021.
March 2021
TV5 and ABS-CBN Entertainment furthered their newfound partnership by including the Primetime Bida dramas into the fold. On March 8, 2021, ‘FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’, ‘Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin’, ‘Walang Hanggang Paalam’, and the finale week of ‘PBB Connect’ began airing on the Kapatid network.
May 2021
On May 8, 2021, TV5 reality-talent show Born to be a Star named its second champion — Jehramae Trangia. By the following week, she joined Kapamilya singers Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Janine Berdin, Elha Nympha, Zephanie, and Elaine Duran, for a production number on ABS-CBN’s ASAP.
On the 20th of May last year, TV5 rebranded with a new slogan and station ID titled ‘Iba sa 5’. In the video itself, the synergy between the two media giants wqas present when snapshots and clips from ABS-CBN Entertainment shows were inserted into the ID. Not just that, ABS-CBN also cross-posted the said TV5 station ID on their social media page.
After that, it was then ABS-CBN who returned the ‘favor’ by including TV5 in its Summer ID ‘Feel Good Pilipinas’. The ‘kapatid’ tag of the 5 network was even mentioned in the lyrics for the said ident.
July 2021
On July 12, 2021, the partnership between the two firms expanded when Star Cinema movies began airing on TV5’s afternoon movie block Cine Cinco. Months later, that expanded to other slots like Sine Spotlight every Sunday evening.
Aside from that, one notable instance of the closer ties between the two entities is when Hidilyn Diaz won the first gold medal of the country in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Instead of relying on still images, ABS-CBN news opted to show clips with courtesy of One Sports, and even the post-match interview by Cignal correspondent Gretchen Ho.
November to December 2021
In their 2021 Christmas Station ID, TV5 gave airtime to a handful of Kapamilya stars. They were Martin Nievera, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Zsazsa Padilla, Erik Santos, Angeline Quinto Maymay Entrata of ASAP, Coco Martin and Julia Montes of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, and Joshua Garcia and Charlie Dizon of Viral Scandal.
In line with the season of giving, TV5 and the rest of the MVP group tied up with ABS-CBN Foundation for a telethon special and disaster relief efforts.
Just as Star Cinema was kicking off its film productions anew amidst the new normal, Cignal and Smart collaborated with the Kapamilya movie studio to produce ‘Love is Color Blind’ starring DonBelle — Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano of He’s Into Her fame.
2022
January 2022
With the collaboration nearing its first full year, ABS-CBN launched a promotional material to encourage users to rescan their digital TV boxes. For the Kapamilya Channel and TV5 broadcast feed, both ABS-CBN TVplus and Cignal/TV5’s Sulit TV were being promoted side by side.
During the issue on the distribution of ABS-CBN’s former frequencies, ‘TV Patrol’ aired clips of NTC Commissioner Ed Barrios with Ted Failon on his Radyo5/One PH show. It was also the first time that Failon was seen and heard on Patrol since he left his anchoring duties there in August 2020. It may also be the earliest example (at least for this year) where the ‘synergy’ between the two conglomerates were felt in the news division.
May 2022
Just last month, the UAAP made a homecoming of sorts when it returned to Mother Ignacia by streaming Cignal’s Varsity Channel on iWantTFC. But there’s a catch — only international Premium subscribers are able to access the channel on the site and app. Local fans, however, will only be able to watch the UVC on Cignal Play Premium and Smart Giga Play.
Previously, ABS-CBN held the rights to broadcast UAAP games for 20 years, between 2000 and 2020. However, the contract expired a few months before the dissolution of ABS-CBN Sports in August 2020. In November 2020, the UAAP signed a 5-year-deal with Cignal and One Sports.
June 2022
In time with the opening of the Philippine Basketball Association’s 47th season yesterday, iWantTFC announced that beginning Thursday, June 9, 2022, premium customers of theirs outside the Philippines and USA will be able to access PBA games live and on-demand. It is still unclear as of the moment whether TV5 or Cignal’s PBA Rush will be used as the feed or there will be a separate broadcast feed for iWantTFC.
Like the UAAP, the PBA also returns to its former home. In 2011, a few months after RPN 9 was reformatted as the female-centric channel ETC, Solar Entertainment blocktimed Studio 23 to broadcast the PBA.
On this partnership moving forward
The connection between ABS-CBN and TV5 has been one of the most mutually beneficial in local television and entertainment business amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-shutdown era of the former. The inclusion of Kapamilya shows boosted the ratings of channel 5, while TV5 helped bring down walls in the local industry — a move that has led to even Star Cinema movies airing on GMA, as well as introduce the Kapamilya shows to their audience and vice versa.
While specific details and categorical answers remain elusive at the moment, the clues and the paced integration of some content between the platforms of both companies is proof that the collaboration has transcended even the biggest of partnerships that we have seen in the past. Aside from that, it will not just signify the birth of a new era in Philippine TV, but also the return of the ‘Star network’ in the homestead of its erstwhile rival. For TV5, it could also be its time to finally step into the spotlight after years of being relegated to the sidelines.
ABS-CBN is yet to comment or release a statement on the matter. Meanwhile, for MediaQuest’s part, a definitive answer is also yet to be given with regards to the expanse of the talks being carried out.