IBC turns third player

October 11, 2012

Just a 4-month after it revamped its programming lineup with new shows, sequestered TV station IBC-13 as the Kapinoy network is now the No.3 most watched station nationwide, according to a survey conducted by the AGB Nielsen Media Research data on National Urban Television Audience Measurement for the role of the country's third-biggest network in local television. It has financially among the government-owned networks RPN-9 and PTV-4, while IBC-13 is better than ABS-CBN, to compete with major TV networks in certain time slots as the Philippine TV landscape had been characterized by a strong rivalry

Sources said that while Viva had an airtime block agreement with IBC-13, management of the company that owns Viva Communications, Inc., is now reportedly keen on acquiring the sequestered TV outfit.

I think the plan now is to acquire IBC-13 to allow Viva Entertainment to air as more Viva programs with PBA as given a full program lineup, the source said. Acquiring IBC-13 would be to do for Viva Entertainment since they would be spending for the improvement of the government station’s facilities, the same source said.

The head office of the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC-13) has received reports from all its provincial relay stations that irate basketball fans have threatened to allowing their facilities for their telecast the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) games and more Viva-TV programs, they have helped IBC 13 rise from its financial slump and mediocre ratings. Vic Del Rosario is still keen on acquiring a government-owned broadcasting network to strengthen his group’s presence in the television industry, the researcher looked into marketing communication strategies that the network employ in order to improve network survival and competition advantage.

Rosario, who chairs Viva Entertainment, told reproters that the possible acquisition would depend on the government’s privatization plan of International Broadcasting Corporation of Channel 13, we will now adding more entertainment programs as well as sports shows including basketball, boxing and billiards. Under the agreement, Viva Entertainment will also finance the the rehabilitation of IBC 13’s transmission and facilities. The Aquino administration plans to privatize IBC 13 and RPN to raise more revenues.

With the primetime block, IBC-13 is now earning a monthly revenue of Php12 million for an average of Php73 thousand per hour. Its daytime block, meanwhile, is offered at Php25-50 thousand per hour. IBC-13 posted last 2011 a net income before tax of Php55.92 Million. In addition, this thesis discussed how important TV brand management was for network survival and competition advantage, especially in the case of IBC. For IBC, building a stronger presence both in the rural and urban areas and creating stronger relationships among the viewers were essential to the identified communication concerns, marketing communication strategies for TV, TV branding, product life cycle, network survival and competition advantage.

We have definitely eaten into the audience share, Canoy told Inquirer last Monday thanks to the president Noynoy Aquino administration as well as sequestered by the Philippine Commission on Good Government (PCGG) with IBC increased its viewership ratings and has established its position as a strong number three in the Philippine television industry continuing to prevent IBC's provincial and relay stations from airing the programs of Viva-TV on IBC-13, by a significant increase in their production costs by getting the biggest stars, the best production values, and the technological audience reach. The network will continue to challenge industry by presenting new programs while IBC will not be sold because its still up for privatization.

In its last July of airing, IBC-13 captured 23.5 percent of viewership in key cities according to the survey on the Nielsen Media Research. ABS-CBN placed first at 42.2 percent and GMA 7 landed the second spot at 37.3 percent, IBC new management is chairman Orly Mercado, president and CEO Boots Anson-Roa, sales and marketing Tessie Taylor, general manager Eric Canoy and vice-president Lito Ocampo Cruz must be a rotation among the commercial TV networks regarding the coverage of the trial, the first of its kind in the country’s telecommunications and broadcast industry worked long and hard for the rehabilitation of the sequestered network, which is now up for privatization. .

Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel Corporation, earlier said the company is interested in the the privatization of IBC-13 and RPN 9. Any venture into TV will provide synergies with SMC’s telecommunication business. The conglomerate owns Liberty Telecom, '''Eastern Telecommunications Phils. Inc., and Bell Telecommunications'''. The two established networks have already signed up the major stars, so IBC may now have to build up its own roster of popular players, will likely raise the floor price for Channel 13. We need to make from P25 million to P30 million a month to keep it afloat. We're barely making half of that. We have to costs by cost measures and introducing new programs, Ms. Boots said. There is also steady increase in all-day viewership and its morning belt is consistently at double-digit share levels. The Senate’s decision to allow one more commercial television channel to cover the impeachment trial of President Aquino has sparked another bitter corporate war behind rival networks ABS-CBN and GMA-7.

Analysts said that Viva Entertainment’s blocktime agreement with IBC 13 makes sense because it could reach a coverage and in prepreration for a possible acquisition of IBC 13 assets for making big-budget. We beating ABS-CBN 2 and GMA 7 in the same time slots. IBC is the No.3 slot in the network with Viva-TV programming, Canoy told Inquirer Entertainment. IBC become more aggressive for surging ahead in the ratings. She added that things are looking up for the company as non-primetime sales for programs aired before 5 p.m. to 12 midnight slot doubled, while creative selling of content has been adding P3 billion a month to the company's revenues.

We believe that ABS-CBN and GMA are both doing well in serving their respective markets. So we dedicated to focus our efforts to the market segment that like to watch local drama series during primetime," Mr. Canoy said now have the market-driven strategies by integrating programming, merchandising and sales that IBC-13 ran a TV plug for the station, amid the station's aggressive ads and promo.

Pointed out the network's progress in terms of viewership and audience share versus the other competing stations of the two giant networks. "To date, IBC-13 is at its highest level in the morning block with close to 23% audience shares and is at a close fight with network giants ABS-CBN and GMA with both having 26.07% and 27.2% audience shares, respectively.

Earlier reports said IBC-13’s assets and franchise were valued at P1.2 billion while and RPN-9’s franchise was estimated at P800 million while registered a net income of P1.30 billion for the full year 2011 in privatization said IBC Board of Directors, while news media reported that ABS-CBN net income plummeted to P2.4 billion and GMA Network net income plummeted to P1.72 billion in the same period and revenue from P12 million of IBC.

IBC-13 become the country's No. 3 station announced new programs and a roster of stars. It has since been called the Kapinoy network with the battle despite the dominance of giant networks (GMA-7 is Kapuso and ABS-CBN is Kapamilya as well as TV5 is Kapatid), conducted by the AGB Nielsen Media Research.

As such, IBC-13 continues to be viewed by the industry as a network of value. This is clearly manifested in the latest evening primetime survey undertaken by AGB Nielsen, the firm which now surveys TV ratings. While the GMA and ABS-CBN networks easily grabbed the two top spots, with 30.5% and 20.9% of all viewing households, respectively, IBC-13 now garnered 15.8%, which is significant, especially if compared with TV5's 14.6%.

Despite a decline in viewership, the new production cost was attributed to the company's decision to improve new Viva-TV primetime programming on IBC through big-budget programs as Kapinoy, it introduced a new genre in Philippine primetime television. Viva Entertainment will upgrade IBC-13 nationwide as part of deal giving a blocktime from 5 p.m. to 12 midnight, seven days a week. To be aired are sports events such as the Professional Basketball Association league tournaments. The first involves 50 hours of airtime on Channel 13 and the second involves 10 additional hours, including five hours primetime, plus all the breakspots during primetime. If the buyer values ratings, he would view the Viva contracts as even beneficial, she says. It would also give the buyer time to work on his own programming and intend to engage Channels 2 and 7 in areas where theyre strong like producing new teleseryes during primetime. Our audience is very young, so we come up with kid stuff like anime.

The current peso-to-dollar exchange rate helped to complicate the net's problems. Once the country's top purveyor of Viva programs, IBC-13 got hit by a double whammy when the Asian crisis rendered foreign programs too expensive. Advertisers also cut their placements in more Viva-TV shows by 100%, IBC-13 programs that had cheaper rates and higher viewership.

He added presented the entertainment media that increase in advertising revenues of IBC-13 offers a new Viva-TV primetime lineup, led by the No.1 phenomenal animated fairy-serye Winx Club is No. 1 in the ratings and has generated more advertising proves that Smile Dong Hae (GMA) and Precious Hearts Romances: Pintada (ABS-CBN) can be beaten, along with action-crime fighting Totally Spies!, the No.1 phenomenal international game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and The Weakest Link, basketball PBA, new star-studded teleserye Esperanza and 5 Girls and Daddy, showbiz-oriented talk show Showbiz Star, new telenovela Mar de Amor and Korean drama I Need Romance which fills up to the television network's primetime schedule.

“Advertising revenues will more than double this year compared to last year,” he said, adding that the ratings of Viva-TV’s hit shows on IBC are doing very well that many continue to place advertisements during the time slots when these are shown, it introduced a new genre in Philippine primetime television.

"We were already have Pinoy to be a strong third among all TV stations, we were able to compete with the big networks to become number one during weekday and weekends," Mr. Canoy told reporters last week.

Canoy said Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (Mon, Tue and Thurs) and PBA (Wed and Fri) would compete with the news programs TV Patrol and 24 Oras. The newest imported Japanese anime series every Saturday like Crayon Shin Chan, Cyborg Kurohan and Sailor Moon which is dubebd in Filipino. Yuppies and young kids still are crazy about Japanese anime series. The new popular sports: the top-rating boxing-matches The Main Event, the billiards World Open 10-Ball Championship and coverage for the basketball league PBA.

Canoy was especially keen on the networks newest successful asianovelas are Wife Returns, Romance Town and I Need Romance, a Korean drama on Viva-TV since Filipino viewers acquired with KBS, MBC, SBS and tvN. It occupied the top spot in its time slot and it became so popular that the network's competitors to buy similar programs and shows. He said IBC-13 accounted for 10% of the total advertising load in the industry with a total of 130 advertisers in 2012, including the big advertisers like PCSO, DOH (Department of Health), Unilever, P&G, Colgate, Unilab, Nestle, Wyeth, San Miguel Corporation, Pfizer, Alaska, Novellino Wines, Universal Robina Corporation, Ajinomoto, Johnson & Johnson, Smart, PLDT, Globe, Rebisco, KFC, Lamoiyan, Pepsi Cola, Charmee Pantiliners, Pure Foods, Jollibee and McDonald's.

Despite a decline in their telenovela viewership, new popular Mexican soap opera of the newest imported telenovelas called Mar de Amor and Teresa, now is No. 1 in the ratings and has generated more advertising in its first month as the Spanish telenovela on Viva-TV while Pinoy viewers acquired with Televisa, and used to watching popular soap series in imports of Mexico, Korean and Taiwanese, he said.

Mr. Vic del Rosario said Viva-TV's local version of the game show Who Wants to be a Millionare?, has become the No.1 most watched TV program during Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and also every weekends in Mega Manila (Metro Manila and nearby provinces).

The show, hosted by veteran comedian Vic Sotto, now airs from Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m., also every Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m., starting to gain more viewers. The audience share of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? just new phenomenally. It now has an average of one million viewers per week, Mr. Rosario declared. Since then, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? number one in its timeslot in Mega Manila," he added. The show is gaining around against news programs GMA's 24 Oras and ABS-CBN's TV Patrol.

The TV executive said the show airing after Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, the phenomenal successful game shows The Weakest Link, is making a strong showing as well in its 7:30 p.m. timeslot, is hosted by Edu Manzano. "We are very pleased that the show is gaining ground against GMA's Aso ni San Roque, and ABS-CBN's Princess and I in the ratings race," Mr. Rosario said.

He said Viva-TV is also gaining a strong following every Sunday, with the No.1 teen drama anthology Dear Heart, comedy show Petra's Panniest, basketball league PBA, and the talent search Born to be a Star scoring large ratings numbers for the TV network.

Alongside from its improved ratings during primetime, Mr. Rosario said IBC-13 is also gaining ground in the Viva programming block, with its Filipino-dubbed animated series gaining a strong following.

"It was the localized version of the animated series Winx Club from Rainbow S.r.l become the No.1 phenomenal fairy-serye that first made IBC-13 number one in the prime time block than Smile Dong Hae (GMA) and Precious Hearts Romances: Pintada (ABS-CBN)," Mr. Rosario said a worldwide phenomenon. Released by Viva Video, Winx Club DVDs volumes 1 to 10 are now available on all record stores nationwide from Video City, continuously broadcast in over 130 countries with top ratings.

Hosts of more Viva-TV shows on IBC who helped pick out the raffle winners were: Anja Aguilar (Dear Heart, Born to be a Star), actor AJ Muhlach (5 Girls and Daddy, 1 vs. 100), Cristine Reyes, Richard Yap and Cesar Montano (Esperanza), Sam Pinto (Daily Top 10), Dolly Anne Carvajal (Showbiz Star), Edu Manzano (The Weakest Link) and Christopher de Leon (Who Wants to be a Millionaire?).

Former Ch 2 talents beef up IBC-13 slots
September 27, 2012

IBC-13 HAS SOUGHT THE HELP OF FORMER ABS-CBN employees to beef up its programming to the No.3 in viewership as the Kapinoy network will get a better chance at beating rival networks with GMA and ABS-CBN, according to network president and CEO Boots Anson-Roa.

Roa identified Maria Ressa, former ABS-CBN vice-president for news and current affairs, as IBC-13's officer in charge for news while Boots managed to make her presence felt in the television industry and Freddie M. Garcia, former ABS-CBN president and CEO, and independent director, is now as IBC's vice-chairman.

Snooky Serna as the female broadcast journalists, who used to the ABS-CBN talent for a Filipina film and television actress, is now the news anchor of the hour-long flagship news program Express Balita at 4:30 p.m. with her new co-anchor Noli Eala.

Serna was a last resurfaced on ABS-CBN soap operas of show business as new career while Snooky become IBC's newscaster while projecting a new image, more corporate - looking this time.

As early as now, the new team is already infusing changes in the news department, Boots told Inquirer Entertainment on Friday. The shows now have more segments with both local and foreign news from top stories, metro news, foreign news, global news, CCTV reports, business news, weather, sports news and entertainment news. They are now more responsive to the audience and more interactive.

Also part of the new IBC news team is Liezl Castro, former news anchor for ABS-CBN, Robert Arevalo, a former carrier of ABS-CBN, Riki Kwek, former reporter of ABS-CBN, Cecille Lardizabal, former ABS-CBN news reporter and Jun del Rosario, former reporter of Hoy Gising!, and also Larry Ng, a former anchor for ABS-CBN.

Alfie Lorenzo, formerly a reporter for dzMM, is now a writer of Linawin Natin with Jarius Bondoc, a public affairs program aired Monday nights and also with Snooky, a public service program aired Saturday midnight.

Also part of the spruce-up is extending the airtime of Express Balita from 30 minutes to a full hour, Boots pointed out. Meanwhile, Robert Tan, a former ABS-CBN reporter, is now anchors of the late-night newscast Ronda Trese at 11:30 p.m., along with new anchor Cahy Eigenmann-Bordalba.

This is just the first phase. Viewers should watch out for more, she said. Right now, it’s important that we first build a credible image for our news team. With Maria and Snooky’s help, we can solidify our platform.

Since February, Boots added, IBC 13’s international channel IBC Global has been available in Europe, Middle East, Canada, North Africa, Japan, Asia, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe, Australia and the United States on Dish Network. For this project, the network tied up with Pilipinas Global Network, Ltd.

Next on the drawing board, Boots said, is the strengthening of the network’s entertainment programming as well as from IBC Classics. A leading FM radio stations iDMZ become the #1 internet danze mix radio in the Philippines, iDMZ has the target for dance music and remixed music in the Asian market and mass market.

IBC-13 recently started producing Kapinoy shows for the female audience. It has come up with three such shows like Nora Mismo, Cooltura and Good Take in non-prime time slots.

Chin-Chin Gutierrez, former ABS-CBN talent, will be hosting Good Take, which airs every Thursday nights.

Julia Montes and Enrique Gil, who are also with ABS-CBN’s Star Magic talent, will host the dance show DMZ-TV, which airs every Saturday nights at 8 p.m.

The network has also consulted, Viva Entertainment, which is responsible for the primetime hours (5 p.m.-12 midnight), on how to reprogram said grid with recently the Viva programs where the PBA games are shown.

Boots denied rumors that IBC-13 is interested in getting senior vice president for Star Magic (ABS-CBN talent center) Johnny Manahan to help. But she hinted on talking with a director who is responsible for a number of box-office hits for ABS-CBN.

Channel 13 turns third network as the Kapinoy network
October 9, 2012

Thus declared Boots Anson Roa, president and CEO of the state-run Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation for Channel 13, which is up for privatization this year, is now No.3 behind the giant networks ABS-CBN and GMA, according to the survey in AGB Nielsen-Media Research.

We need to make the station more viable, Boots told Inquirer Entertainment in an interview at the IBC-13 office in Broadcast City last week. Additionally, the network also relaunched a new advertising campaign and brand name Kapinoy, which emphasized the new IBC lineup as being more distinct and new than what was being aired by its competitors at the time.

We want people to know that will not be sold because privatization is good, we are beefing up our cultural and current events programming while the network battle despite the dominance of the two giant networks, according to the new owner Eric Canoy and vice-president Lito Ocampo Cruz, appointed by President Noynoy Aquino.

Boots is confident that privatization will not get in the way of the reprogramming they will not be sell. If the shows are good, Im sure the prospective buyer will take them into consideration, she said, couldn’t really put her stamp on the nation’s programming and even the non-prime hours were sold to blocktimers, like religious groups and telemarketing outfits. Everybody who started with Channel 13's became famous as newscasters, directors, writers and talents even begin to name all of them. At the IBC headquarters at Broadcast City in Diliman, Lito detailed the future of the network and what great things this new board has in the market.

For women

As the two giant networks offers big-budgeted teleseryes, reality shows, noontime entertainment and other mass-oriented productions, Boots said IBC-13 was determined to improve prime time programming (This month will be very exciting), when it propping up its non-prime time hours with three new shows, while IBC become more aggressive with surging ahead in the ratings.

Cooltura is an educational program for the Filipino culture in the Philippines from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, according to Tessie Taylor, sales and marketing for programming, and is hosted by Cathy Eigenmann-Bordalba every Monday to Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Nora Mismo is a public service program that links up families with domestic problems and government agencies that can assist them. The show airs Mondays to Friday and is hosted by superstar Mr. Nora Aunor and Bobby Yan airs weekdays at 11 a.m.

Families 

Good Take, hosted by Chin-Chin Gutierrez earned for IBC 13 its 2011 Anak TV Seal Awardee for best adult educational program, features inspirational and success stories about ordinary people, said Taylor. The show airs on Thursday nights at 12 midnight.

Kids

KapinoyLand, with characters are Mr. Pinoy together with Ms. TV, Radiogirl and Newspaperboy for children of the sequestered to play games, singing and dancing. It premieres on Mondays to Fridays at 3:30 p.m., before the children's television program Barney and Friends.

If, we now have programs geared toward the male and female audience, specifically mothers and fathers. In the daytime, it’s mostly families who watch television, Boots explained. At night, we address more boys, girls and kids audience by airing sports shows with the Philippine Basketball Association, we also gained more viewers.

IBC 13 now supplements its monthly income with its earnings from Viva and other block timers, as well as with RPN 9's rental of the facilities, provided new programming of Viva, packaged it and promoted it. Currently on air is popularity of basketball tournaments PBA on Viva-TV for basketball league, The Main Event for boxing fans and the World Open 10-Ball Championship for billiard fans as well as the Viva Tagalog movies showing of local movies Viva Box Office and Sinemaks, phenomenal fairy-serye Winx Club, new animated crime fighting action-serye Totally Spies!, newest star-studded teleserye like Esperanza and 5 Girls and Daddy, teen drama anthology Dear Heart, game shows Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and The Weakest Link, newest talent search Born to be a Star, anime like Crayon Shin Chan and Cyborg Kurochan, plus new imported asianovelas like Wife Returns, Romance Town in daytime and I Need Romance as well as new telenovelas like Teresa and Mar de Amor, they have helped IBC 13 rise from its financial slump and mediocre ratings.

According to Boots, Viva Entertainment, which has a programming contract with IBC-13, is responsible for the network's primetime hours from 5 p.m-12 midnight where the PBA games are shown.

Viva Communications, Inc.

Boots said she recently consulted Viva chairman and CEO Vic Del Rosario on how to reprogram said hours, which supplies 50 hours of sports and other programming per week to IBC.

Right now, what you see on primetime are basically the PBA games and the Viva programs that you also see on IBC viewers on a more mass-based level with shows. There’s because those programs already have a target, Asian market and now have a mass market.

I can’t divulge right now what the programming thrust will be. Viewers should watch out for this, said Boots.