ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN was a Philippine commercial broadcast network that served as the flagship property of the ABS-CBN Corporation, a company under the Lopez Holdings Corporation. The network was headquartered at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Quezon City, thatand had additional offices and production facilities in 25 major cities, including Baguio, Naga, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, and Davao, where ABS-CBN's production and post-production facility in Horizon IT Park is located. ABS-CBN was colloquially referred to as the Kapamilya Network; its brand was originally introduced in 1999 and was officially introduced in 2003 during the celebration of its 50th anniversary, and was used until it was forced by the National Telecommunications Commission to cease and desist from free-to-air broadcasting due to the lack of congressional franchise. ABS-CBN is the largest media company in the Philippines and is the oldest television broadcaster in Southeast Asia. The network is metonymically called as "Ignacia," due to the location of its headquarters, the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center, situated along Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City.
ABS-CBN is the first television network in Southeast Asia to broadcast in color and one of the oldest commercial television broadcasters in Asia. It has also been the leading television network in the Philippines with advertising revenues of 21.2 billion pesos for the 2015 fiscal year.
ABS-CBN ceased broadcasting in 2020 following the expiry of and failure to renew its legislative franchise. Since the shutdown, the former network has rebranded itself as a mass content company and produced television programs, films and other entertainment content through partnerships with independent production companies and broadcasters, including former rival TV broadcasters A2Z, TV5, GMA Network, BEAM TV, and the startup All TV which took over its formerly used frequencies and all of the terrestrial stations. The network's social media accounts are mainly managed by ABS-CBN Digital Media, which have nearly 100 million followers across multiple social media websites. The network's entertainment YouTube channel is the most-subscribed and most-viewed channel in Southeast Asia, with over 50 million subscribers and over 50 billion views (as of October 2024).
Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) was founded on July 11, 1946. It was established by James Lindenberg, one of the founding fathers of Philippine television and an American electronics engineer who went into radio equipment assembly and radio broadcasting. In 1949, James Lindenberg shifted Bolinao to radio broadcasting with DZBC and planned the introduction of television to the Philippines in 1953.
In 1951, Lindenberg partnered with Antonio Quirino, brother of then-Philippine president Elpidio Quirino, to try television broadcasting. In 1952, BEC was renamed Alto Broadcasting System or ABS (with Alto Sales Corporation as its corporate name). Alto was a contraction of Quirino's and his wife's first names, Tony and Aleli. Despite little money and resources, ABS was able to put up its TV tower by July 1953 and imported around 300 television sets. The initial test broadcasts began in September of the same year. The first full-blown broadcast was on October 23, 1953, at a party in Quirino's home. The first program to air was a garden party at the Quirino residence in Sitio Alto, San Juan. After the premiere telecast, the station followed a daily four-hour schedule from 6:00 to 10:00 PM.
ABS-CBN's first television broadcast was on October 23, 1953, as Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) on DZAQ-TV, three months after the first broadcast of Japan's NHK General TV and Nippon Television. It is the first television network in Southeast Asia to broadcast in color, the first television network in the Philippines to formally launch a digital terrestrial television service, and the first broadcast television network in the Philippines to formally launch in HD.
The flagship television station of ABS-CBN was DWWX-TV (ABS-CBN TV-2 Manila). As such, the network was informally referred to as "Channel 2" or "dos" (Spanish for two) even if the network was seen in other channel numbers elsewhere in the country. The network operated across the Philippine archipelago through the ABS-CBN Regional division which controlled 80 television stations. Its programs are also available outside the Philippines through the global subscription television channel The Filipino Channel (TFC). From 2011 to 2020, the network had on test broadcast for digital terrestrial television using the Japanese standard ISDB-T in select areas in the Philippines. On October 3, 2015, ABS-CBN started to broadcast in high-definition quality through its affiliate direct-to-home cable and satellite television providers.
As of May 5, 2020, all terrestrial broadcast operations have halted completely as per a cease-and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission. All frequencies formerly assigned to ABS-CBN have since been reassigned to other networks (including AMBS' All TV, which ironically, would be begin simulcasting selected ABS-CBN programs nearly two years later).
The ABS-CBN logo features three main elements: the vertical line rooted in a horizontal origin, the three extending circles, and the text ABS-CBN.
ABS-CBN's logo also has a horizontal version, usually used to save space as the main vertical logo usually takes up more space. The design of the horizontal version of the logo contains the ABS-CBN text, split into two parts, "ABS" and "CBN", without the dash connecting them, and ABS-CBN's iconic symbol squeezed in between them.
The first logo to have a horizontal version going by this design was the logo launched in 1986. From September 14, 1986, up until the final sign-off of the main ABS-CBN terrestrial network on May 5, 2020, the elements of the horizontal logo, text, and symbol were evenly sized. Since 2004, starting with the logo of ABS-CBN Store from 2004 to 2014, the horizontal logo is slightly larger than the Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) and Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) names.
ABS-CBN Studios is a Philippine television production and distribution company and the entertainment division of ABS-CBN, that was founded in 1962. It produces television programs mainly for the now-defunct main ABS-CBN terrestrial television network and its successors Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, All TV, GMA Network and TV5.
ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, known on-air as ABS-CBN News (formerly known as ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs), is the news and current affairs division. The division is the country's largest international news gathering and broadcast organization, maintaining several foreign news bureaus and offices through ABS-CBN's Global division.
ABS-CBN Regional (formerly ABS-CBN Regional Network Group) is the regional network division of ABS-CBN. It was responsible for simultaneously airing most of the shows seen on ABS-CBN's flagship station in the provinces, with all stations (including Cebu, Bacolod and Davao) reopening in 1988 after suspension due to martial law enacted in September 1972. Manila's flagship station reopened after the People Power Revolution in September 1986. ABS-CBN Regional had several stations in each region outside Mega Manila to ensure nationwide coverage.
The local stations also produced their own newscasts which air prior to TV Patrol and another local programming which air on Sundays. The launch of the local game show Kapamilya Winner Ka! (now renamed as Kapamilya, Mas Winner Ka!) in the Visayas and Mindanao, Bagong Morning Kapamilya in North Luzon (Baguio and Dagupan), the 17th local TV Patrol in Southern Tagalog (Region IV-A), and the 18th local TV Patrol in Palawan (IV-B; the network had an affiliate station) provided more relevance to regional audiences.
On April 15, 2011, Regional launched Choose Philippines, a new website promoting tourism in the Philippines by sharing photos and stories of the most extravagant places, culture and arts.
ABS-CBN Regional ceased its operations on August 28, 2020, after almost 32 years following the denial of its legislative franchise on July 10. Currently, some of ABS-CBN Regional's TV frequencies are acquired by now-affiliates Advanced Media Broadcasting System and ZOE Broadcasting Network for its networks All TV and A2Z respectively (with ABS-CBN's transmitter equipment for its former frequencies now being leased to and subsequently acquired by the aforementioned).
In late 2022, ABS-CBN Regional gradually resumed operations as a sales and marketing arm, primarily promoting ABS-CBN programs aired on various free-to-air channels with which it has agreements, such as A2Z, All TV, GMA Network and TV5. Additionally, they restarted hosting regional events featuring ABS-CBN talents and personalities after years of hiatus due to the pandemic.
By January 2025, ABS-CBN Regional had returned to content production, launching its first post-shutdown weekly local magazine show, Bisaya Ni. The program airs on A2Z's Cebu station and its sister stations across the Visayas and Mindanao.
In 1992, AGB Nielsen Philippines was founded. In 2007, TNS Philippines started to offer media research through Kantar Media Philippines (formerly Kantar/TNS). In 2008, AGB Nielsen Philippines released the list of all-time highest rating shows in the Philippines, with 7 of the top 10 highest rating shows all from ABS-CBN with the shows like The Battle: Pacquiao vs. Morales, Rosalinda, Esperanza, Meteor Garden, Pangako Sa 'Yo, Miss Universe 1994, and María Mercedes.
Throughout the years, ABS-CBN has been involved in several controversies and scandals involving its talents, employees, and programs.
On July 22, 2004, during the arrival of Angelo de la Cruz (a truck driver who was held hostage and threatened with beheading in Iraq abducted by armed rebels west of Baghdad while trucking fuel from Saudi Arabia) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, live breaking news coverage was aired on GMA Network and other television stations in the Philippines. GMA Network used audio-video coverage from Reuters, which the network was subscribed to. During the broadcast, a live feed from Reuters was simultaneously aired with its own live broadcast. During the first five seconds of the live feed, GMA Network noticed that the live feed from Reuters was also airing from its main competitor ABS-CBN. The live video was restricted only to ABS-CBN and Reuters did not inform GMA Network that the video coverage was only intended for ABS-CBN. The local Court of Appeals declined the case filed by ABS-CBN Corporation against GMA Network Inc. for allegations of illegal duplication of its live video footage. In a ruling, the local fourth division of the appellate court set aside the resolution of the local Justice Department, which approved the filing of the violation of Republic Act 8293 (or the Intellectual Property Code) against GMA Network. It ruled out that the act of GMA Network airing the live video coverage was focused on good faith since there was no intent to instigate damage to ABS-CBN. The local court also said GMA Network acted in good faith when it immediately stopped using the live video feed from Reuters upon learning ABS-CBN was also covering the event and its following exertion to authenticate the ABS-CBN Corporation restriction arrangement with the news service, Reuters. The court also stressed that apart from the lack of intent of GMA Network to affect the video from ABS-CBN, the action did not contravene Sections 212.4 and 185.1 of Republic Act 8293 since it was a short excerpt.
Two major incidents involving ABS-CBN have involved the network's variety show Wowowee. The first incident was a demand for tickets to a one-year anniversary episode of the show at the PhilSports Arena in 2006 caused a deadly crowd crush killing 76 people. Over a year later in August 2007, the show became entrenched in another scandal involving the possibility of a new game on the show being rigged as evident by a "mechanical glitch" which occurred during an episode, which grew greater after Eat Bulaga! host Joey de Leon and Wowowee host Willie Revillame started exchanging attacks on-air against each other during their respective and competing shows. The incident later led to a probe by the Department of Trade and Industry led by senator Mar Roxas (which was jokingly suggested by Joey during a speech he made on Eat Bulaga! in reference to the Hello Garci scandal, dubbing it "Hello Pappy").
In late 2007, ABS-CBN and GMA Network accused AGB Nielsen Philippines of tampering with the ratings during their 2007 ratings surveys.
ABS-CBN demanded ₱127 million from their former reality show star, Willie Revillame, citing copyright infringement due to stark similarities in Revillame's show, Willing Willie on TV5, and ABS-CBN's Wowowee. ABS-CBN listed five acts of plagiarism allegedly committed by Willing Willie in their complaint as follows:
A 25-page ruling dated May 22, 2015, dismissed the case against Revillame. After the Quezon City RTC demanded a ₱400 million bond from Revillame to answer any further damage the network might sustain, the fee was waived.
Since April 2017, ABS-CBN was attacked by former president Rodrigo Duterte, as the network refused to air his 2016 presidential campaign ads in favor of a smear ad paid for by-then vice presidential candidate Antonio Trillanes. However, according to the country's Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez, the controversial ad was within election law, under "Partisan Political Activity". Duterte publicly stated that he would oppose the 25-year franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, and former Laguna governor E.R. Ejercito supported his plan. Opposition lawmakers as well as labor groups objected to Duterte's stance on ABS-CBN, as the franchise's non-renewal would compromise the employees of the network; stating that the blocking of the franchise renewal had no merit. Opposition groups also claimed that the non-renewal of the franchise violates press freedom.
Under Philippine law, broadcasting networks require a congressional franchise (Republic Act) to operate television and radio stations for 25 years; the absence of one will lead to the suspension of its operations. ABS-CBN's legislative franchise, which was approved by the virtue of Republic Act No. 7966 (granted last March 30, 1995), was scheduled to expire on May 4, 2020, because the franchise would become effective fifteen days after its publication on the Official Gazette on April 19, 1995. At least 12 lawmakers have filed their own versions for a new franchise of the network. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano assured that Congress will tackle the franchise with fairness.
On February 24, 2020, the CEO of the network apologized to Duterte for not airing his political advertisements during his 2016 polls, which Duterte accepted, and Congress made its decision to investigate their franchise renewal.
During a Senate hearing on the same day, public services panel chair Grace Poe stated they were to investigate ABS-CBN's compliance with the terms and conditions of its franchise. The Senate concluded that there was no breach of laws or franchise terms.
On May 5, 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order to stop the network's broadcast, including its radio stations DZMM and MOR, following the expiration of its broadcast franchise the day before. The cease and desist order covers 42 television stations operated by ABS-CBN across the country, including Channel 2, 10 digital broadcast channels, 18 FM stations, and 5 AM stations.
The network subsequently signed off following TV Patrol. Along with the order, NTC wanted to recall ABS-CBN's assigned frequencies. ABS-CBN explained that it would not be in public interest to have the frequencies recalled, as this would hinder their ability to immediately restart broadcasts in the event a new franchise was granted. Additionally, there were fresh measures in the Congress to grant provisional franchise, which later rolled into a series of hearings to grant a fresh 25-year franchise. NTC was told to refrain from carrying out the recall by the Congress. On July 10, 2020, members of the House of Representatives, voted 70–11 to deny ABS-CBN's renewal franchise application, citing several issues on the network's prior 25-year franchise. According to a survey released by the Social Weather Stations following the rejection of the network's franchise renewal, 75% of Filipinos want the network back.
In January 2025, Albay Representative Joey Salceda filed House Bill 11252, the fifth bill that seeks to grant ABS-CBN's television and radio broadcasting franchise for another 25 years.
Channels and programs of ABS-CBN have been recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the responsible of several accolades in different categories, primarily the International Emmy Awards, although none of them won a single award.