Pilipinas Central

Pilipinas Central is a terrestrial television channel, part of Central's global distribution network. It is owned by CPH Media Group, with CIMI Pilipinas having a 50% stake for the network including the brand licensing.
Its headquarters and main studios are located at the UP-Ayala Land Technohub in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City (which is nearby the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute), with branch offices at the Rufino Pacific Tower and Ayala Tower One in the Makati Central Business District. The flagship and main station is DWCE-TV.
The network is commonly referred to as the "Kasentro Network", using the Filipino term for "center"; a localized version of the parent network's "Centralist" branding. Its programming is available on cable and satellite TV providers nationwide. 
==History==
===Launch and early years===
Central applied for a license in Manila for a local station affiliate to the Board of Communications and the Telecommunications Control Bureau (a precursor to the National Telecommunications Commission) in March 1971, and the Board gave them a green light to go on, broadcasting on VHF analog channel 8. The network, and the station (with the call letters DZCE-TV), was launched at 4 PM on August 17, 1972. Unfortunately, both the network and DZCE was closed just only after being more than a month on the air, because of the then-president Ferdinand Marcos declaring Proclamation No. 101, or Martial Law. Marcos, ruling by decree, curtailed press freedom and other civil liberties; closed down the Congress and media establishments including Central. In April 1973, Central was given the green light by the government to return on the air, however with limited three-month permits. Programming during that time was supplied mostly via a blocktime agreement with Philippine Production Center Inc. (PPCI), a company led by former ABS-CBN executive Romeo Jalosjos. But due to limited licenses, difficulty in financial obligations, and disallowing foreign citizens and entities from owning and operating media companies in the Philippines, Central's foreign executives were forced to cede majority control to a consortium made up of station employees and local investors. This ownership would later be inspired by WWL-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA from 1989-1994; and CHEK-DT in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada since 2009.
DZCE was renamed into its present DWCE-TV calls by the time it was relaunched. The next years of the 1970s, the network expanded, with both DXCT-TV and DYCT-TV as its inaugural regional stations, then followed with 7 more stations launched between 1978-1988.
When Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., a senator who strongly opposed the Marcos administration, was assassinated on August 21, 1983, it was only a small item on television news. The iron grip that the Marcos administration had on television began to slip, as few channels broadcast the funeral. Central was also instrumental during the years preceding the People Power Revolution. The network, with Central News' Bill Bonds and his program Up to the Point, aired a television interview in 1985 with Corazon Aquino via that aforementioned program, and when she later announced that she would run for the presidency if she receives one million signatures. In February 1986, the network was also the first to report that Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile broke away from the Marcos administration. Much of its recruited employees during the Marcos administration, including key people from the network's Marketing and Engineering departments and two executives, were convinced to return to the relaunched ABS-CBN, which made it in near bankruptcy. Due to local regulations regarding media ownership, Philippines Central still remains under CPHMG's hands; managing it to license the Central brand from Capitol States-Central Inc.; which would become Central International Media Inc. that same year. However in 1998, CIMI, via its CIMI Pilipinas subsidiary, acquired a 25% stake for the network.
When democracy in the Philippines was restored in the People Power Revolution in 1986, television stations began to air, some with their original owners. The political instability of the country also added to the station's burden, when soldiers stormed into the studios for two days in a part of coup attempt to topple then president, Corazon Aquino. In 1988, Philippines Central became the second to introduce to provide a new dimension to viewers by broadcasting the network's programs in full stereo.
===Recent years===
On March 20, 1992, Congress passed Republic Act No. 7252, otherwise known as "An Act Granting the Republic Broadcasting System, Inc. A Franchise to Construct, Install, Operate and Maintain Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations in the Philippines," granting many networks, including Central, a legislative franchise for the operation of radio and television broadcasting stations, in particular, "to construct, install, operate and maintain for commercial purposes and in the public interest, radio and television broadcasting stations in the Philippines with the corresponding auxiliary, special broadcast and other program and distribution services and relay stations, and to install radio communications facilities for private use in its broadcast services" for a period of 25 years. This law became effective on May 12, 1992, fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette on April 27, 1992.
PH-CEN pioneered 24-hour broadcasting in 1994, and still continues to do so, only signing off (as of 2018) in Sundays as part of its regular transmitter maintenance due to NTC's rules and regulations for affiliated free-to-air TV stations. CENN launched a localized version of the news channel in 2000, under the name Pilipinas News 1.
Flagship DWCE-TV was the first in the Philippines to broadcast a live sports program in high definition during the 2000 Palarong Pambansa, as well as the first HD newscast (on October 28 that same year). The network utilized DWCE-HD in testing its own high-definition programming, and in 2006, began providing the station with a regular schedule of prime time programs in HD.
Following ABS-CBN's franchise non-renewal in 2020, Central acquired shows from the network that were affected by the shutdown. The network also expressed its willingness to hire displaced employees from ABS-CBN, including many retrenched employees of the said channel's news division, as well as those from the former regional stations. Central announced a partnership with ABS-CBN Studios in March 2021 to allow more of its popular content to air on free television across the Philippines. ABS-CBN programming can be seen during the afternoon hours.
==Programming==
Pilipinas Central programs are consisting of news and public affairs, sports programming, movie blocks and special presentations, local dramas and soap operas, anime series, foreign cartoons, reality shows, comedy and gag shows, informative and talk shows, and religious programs. These programs are different from the programming of its Western counterparts. The network is the official broadcaster of the (UAAP), which most games can be seen via the local version of the Sports Central Network. It also airs Catholic mass live from the church (usually from Veritas 846) every Sunday morning.
Its flagship news program is Newsnight Pilipinas, anchored by anchored by Pia Arcangel, Jiggy Manicad and Andrei Felix. It premiered on June 22, 1992. The English newscasts can be seen on Pilipinas Central right before BangonBayan at 5:00 AM.
==Identity==
The network virtually shares logos with the North American Central, altough PH-CEN has its own set of graphics and idents.
Category:Fictional television networks
Category:Fictional television network
Category:Central International Media Inc.
Category:Philippines
Category:Makati
Category:Quezon City
Category:Metro Manila
Category:Cebu
Category:Central Television Network
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1972