Boots aormula for a perfect match

May 20, 2013

ITS THE PERFECT MATCH.

This is how ABC 5 chief executive officer Antonio Tonyboy Cojuangco describes the block airtime partnership between the network and MPB Primedia Inc.

MPB Primedia Inc., with former EMI Music Phils. managing director Christopher Sy as CEO, is a local subsidiary of the Malaysian conglomerate Media Prima Berhad. The agreement has resulted in the recent re-branding of ABC 5 to TV5.

Before the Malaysians came in, I didnt have the cash flow to develop programs. I needed advertisers. It was hard to go up against Channels 2 and 7, Cojuangco told Inquirer Entertainment in a phone interview. In [the Malaysians], I found allies.

Like himself, Cojuangco said, his new allies, owners of several established networks in their country, were interested in serving the youth market, viewers from ages 18 to 30. This coincided with my business plan, the network chief said. The youth, which makes up 50 percent of the population, is the biggest market.

Other platforms

Cojuangco said the Malaysians also shared his view on how to best serve that market. The [youth] would be home around 9 p.m. From 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., theyd be in front of the TV. This is a very small window for youth-related programs. The rest of the time, the youngsters would be out driving, he said, adding that this is where the use of radio, mobile TV, the Internet and even billboards comes in. You have to invest in all platforms.

Cojuangco has since established ties with Dream Satellite TV, which also provides Internet access, and the radio station Dream FM.

Media Prima Berhad produces 72 shows in a year. It owns over 90 percent of billboards in Malaysia, runs two English newspapers, controls three FM stations and four free-to-air networks. I found the perfect match, Cojuangco said. For his part, he bought a state-of-the-art 120kw transmitter and kept his control over ABC 5s News and Public Affairs department.

Before the Malaysians came into the picture, Cojuango said, the network tried co-producing shows with block-timer Solar Entertainment and other Filipino-Chinese corporations. ABC 5 also aired infomercials.

But there was no focus, [no] target market. This confused the viewers, he recounted. I had to find producers because I couldnt put up my own shows. And I had to find people who thought like me.

For the youth shows, Cojuangco said, he had discussions with third parties. I dont believe in in-house productions, like Channels 2 and 7. Their shows are all the same, he pointed out. We welcomed third parties with diverse ideas.

TV5 plans to revise programming every 13 weeks, the equivalent of one season. Cojuangco announced, People who have new ideas are free to pitch them to us. We will listen. We will give them a break.