ABS-CBN bids farewell to iconic Broadcasting Center, Millennium Transmitter

As the media giant charts its future as a global storytelling company in the digital space.

On Wednesday, July 9, bosses, employees, and personalities gathered at its Quezon City headquarters for one major occasion for the entirety of ABS-CBN.

Apart from filming a new ident, the Kapamilyas were there to witness the start of the farewell bid to the historic facilities of the media giant, which are the Broadcasting Centre and Millennium Transmitter tower.

The transmitter became the first to go, with ceremonial switch-off of the tower that had beamed the Kapamilya network’s signals from 1969 to 1972 and again from 1986 to 2020 having taken place later in the day—effectively bookending the storied chapter of ABS-CBN as a terrestrial broadcaster.

The move came after the Ayala group acquired the 30,000 square-meter portion of the ABS-CBN Compound from the Lopez family for over PHP 6 billion last February 2025.

That time, the content production powerhouse also revealed that it plans to consolidate its operations in the remaining 1.4 hectare of the property, the adjacent ELJ Communications Center, that will continue to serve as the company’s main headquarters.

The turnover of the plot of land is expected to be completed by December 2026, with ABS-CBN reportedly vacating the studios at the Broadcasting Center in March of that year.

The “end of an era,” as many described, was also reflected in the speech made by Jamie Lopez, Head of Digital, during his speech at the upfront presentations and relaunching event of the company’s streaming service iWant on the same day.

“Today happens to be the start of our farewell bid to the whole building and the iconic Millennial Transmitter, which, for decades, marked the skyline as the physical representation of Channel 2,” said Lopez.

He continued, “And while we say goodbye to a symbol of our broadcasting era, we are well-positioned in the digital world, and welcome the relaunch of iWant and the opportunity it enables through its global reach.”

BROADCASTING CENTRE

Opened in 1968, the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Centre was touted as one of, if not the, most-advanced facility in the Asia-Pacific during its time, with the original transmitter opening a year later.

During the Martial Law era and as the Lopez-owned stations went off the air, the network owned by Roberto Benedicto made use of the facility, using it to produce programs for KBS-9 (later RPN), BBC-2, and IBC-13.

Eventually, the center also became home to the government-owned TV network, the Maharlika Broadcasting System, until the end of the Marcos, Sr. dictatorship in 1986.

The compound also became the location of a crossfire between groups during the height of the EDSA Revolution, during which it was successfully taken over by the pro-democracy group that beamed New TV-4 (now PTV) and gave updates regarding the uprising.

Upon its return in September 1986, ABS-CBN was not yet able to take hold of the entire center, as it shared the facility with PTV-4 until 1992.

Since then, the Broadcasting Centre has been used to film and produce multiple television series, variety shows, and newscasts of the television network.

It also was the location for the booths of Kapamilya AM and FM radio stations, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 and MOR 101.9.

At present, the center houses the studios for the flagship ABS-CBN programs ‘It’s Showtime’ and ‘TV Patrol,’ among others and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.

MILLENNIUM TOWER

As for the tower, it had a couple of upgrading works over the years, including the one in 1999 that gave it its name as the Millennium Transmitter.

Following the network shutdown in 2020, it was silent for over two years before the Advanced Media Broadcasting System (AMBS) leased the tower for ALLTV in 2022.

It was also AMBS that bagged the Kapamilya network’s former Channel 2 frequency after it was assigned by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that year.

ABS-CBN to sell portion of Quezon City compound to Ayala Land

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