- ABS-CBN partnered with Manuel Villar’s ALLTV to regain free TV exposure
- The deal offers short term revenue relief but limited profit upside
- Free television advertising continues to decline industry wide
- Digital streaming and content licensing remain ABS-CBN’s strongest assets
Six years after losing its free to air broadcast franchise, ABS-CBN is attempting another comeback. This time, it is doing so through an unexpected alliance with Manuel Villar, one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen and a former political rival.
Under a licensing agreement finalized just before Christmas, ABS-CBN’s most popular entertainment programs will air on Villar’s fledgling television network ALLTV. The shows are set to replace content previously carried by TV5 after that partnership collapsed under the weight of unpaid advertising revenue obligations.
For ABS-CBN, the deal is less about triumph and more about survival. Since Congress rejected its franchise renewal in 2020 during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the once dominant broadcaster has struggled to stabilize its finances and restore advertiser confidence.
An Unlikely Partnership With High Stakes
The partnership raised eyebrows across the business community. ABS-CBN was once among Villar’s harshest critics when he ran for president in 2010, an election he lost to the late Benigno Aquino III. Yet business realities have a way of overriding old rivalries.
Market observers describe the alliance as pragmatic rather than strategic. ABS-CBN brings premium content and decades of audience loyalty. ALLTV offers access to free television viewers that ABS-CBN has been largely shut out from since its shutdown.
Neither side appears to have overwhelming leverage, but both stand to gain something they currently lack.
Analysts see the agreement as a financial lifeline for ABS-CBN, albeit a limited one. Advertising revenue from free TV is no longer the growth engine it once was.
Still, even modest cash inflows can help a company that has posted cumulative net losses exceeding 45 billion pesos over the past six years.
A Business Still Under Pressure
The numbers underscore how far ABS-CBN has fallen. Before losing its franchise, the company generated nearly 43 billion pesos in annual revenue.
Since then, it has cut more than half of its workforce, sold assets, and scaled down operations to preserve cash. Its share price has dropped more than 70 percent, making it one of the weakest performers on the Manila stock exchange.
Losses have narrowed recently, but the business remains fragile. Capital has shrunk dramatically, leaving little room to invest in new programming or large scale production. The recent termination of its deal with TV5 added further strain, forcing ABS-CBN to settle nearly a billion pesos in unpaid advertising shares.
Industry experts warn that free television itself is a sunset business. Advertising budgets are shifting toward digital platforms where targeting is more precise and returns are easier to measure. Even with broader exposure through ALLTV, profitability in the near term remains uncertain.
Digital Strength Offers a Path Forward
If there is a brighter side, it lies online. ABS-CBN has quietly rebuilt much of its influence through digital channels. Its streaming service iWantTFC has grown into one of the largest Filipino content platforms globally, supported by millions of users and hundreds of thousands of paying subscribers.
The company has also become a key supplier of Filipino programming to international streaming platforms, expanding its reach well beyond the Philippines. These deals, combined with digital advertising and subscriptions, now account for a significant portion of revenue.
In 2024, ABS-CBN generated 6.7 billion pesos in advertising revenue, roughly a third of total sales. While that figure is far below pre shutdown levels, it shows that the business is no longer in free fall.
The alliance with ALLTV may help reconnect ABS-CBN with mass audiences, but its long term recovery depends on digital growth, disciplined spending, and sustained content demand. The revival, if it comes, will be gradual rather than dramatic.
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