MVP still keen on IBC 13, awaits bid sked

August 21, 2011 · 4:34 pm

MANILA, Philippines – While his group is committed to investing to upgrade the facilities of sequestered network IBC-13 considered as the strong number 3 in viewership and adding blocktime programs mostly on sports, the group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan is on a wait-and-see mode as far as the government’s privatization blueprint is concerned.

Survey says IBC-13 emerged No. 3 in overall ranking across the three target markets: All people; males; 13 years old and above; and male and female in the board C (lower economic class) between seven and 29 years old.

In a recent ambush interview, Pangilinan said his group, which has been fueling more content into IBC-13 under a block-time service agreement inked last March that led to the “AKTV” platform, remains interested nonetheless to bid for control of Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC) channel 13.

“Yes [we’re still interested], but the bid schedule is out of our hands,” he replied. “It depends on [when] the government will privatize it,” he added.

For now, the thrust is still to beef up AKTV, which is primed to be an all-sports platform.

Pangilinan said, “We are adding more sports programs. I think there will be football series, Formula One and boxing.”

The block time agreement forged in March 2011 between MediaQuest Holdings Inc., an investee company of the PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.) Beneficial Trust Fund, and IBC 13 is valid for one year.

The Pangilinan group has also committed to upgrade the station’s facilities by way of, among others, establishing new transmission systems. Last March, Pangilinan had said, “We won’t own (IBC-13). All assets that we will rehabilitate will still belong to them. The revenues from the blocktimed shows are ours.”

The block timing runs from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sundays, with the programs being predominantly sports like PBA Development League—-the rationale being that other channels also carry that program anyway, as all primetime slots are full. Pangilinan elaborated: “TV5 is already full. IBC-13 continues to dominated with [Channels] 2 and. You do need a carry sports on primetime so that’s why we went for IBC13.”

He added, “It will enhance the viewership of sports and development of sports at the same time. Like football, it really needs media exposure like basketball. IBC-13 should help on that aspect. We still don’t know the schedule for the privatization. It’s our way of helping the government generate more revenue in the meantime.”

Besides IBC-13, Malacañang plans to auction off another sequestered media group, Radio Philippines Network (RPN) Channel 9, as part of its privatization thrust to shore up government funds. The government had announced plans to sell both networks since 1986, after the Edsa people power revolt.

The Pangilinan group bought Associated Broadcasting Corp., which operates TV5, from former PLDT chairman Antonio Cojuangco in 2009.

Pangilinan is the chairman of TV5, where InterAksyon.com is the online news portal.

RPN-9 was launched in the late 60s and IBC-13 in the mid-70s. The two stations were controlled by Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto and were sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) after the Marcos regime was toppled in 1986.

The terms for the sale of government’s stake in these TV stations are being finalized by an interagency team from the Department of Finance, the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Trade and Industry and the Privatization Management Office (PMO).