GMA-7 still in search of right telco partner

MANILA, Philippines – After its failed deal with the business group led by Manuel V. Pangilinan, GMA Network, Inc, the country’s second biggest media group, is still looking to partner up with a local telecommunications company as part of its convergence plans.

Gilberto Duavit, president and COO of GMA said they are open to discussions and are “reviewing possible partnership fits which will result in prospective discussions with telcos pertaining to the availability of GMA-7 content on smart devices.”

When asked if they were already in talks with any telco companies following the collapse of the almost year-long negotiations with the Pangilinan group, which controls giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Duavit said “We are telco-agnostic in that sense. It’s simply a matter of what would be most mutually beneficial.”

Duavit said their convergence plan is still going ahead in line with consumer demand.

“The idea is to make our content available beyond conventional television. There is the emergence of handheld devices where we foresee our content being made available,” said Duavit.

Convergence

Both major broadcasting networks, ABS-CBN and GMA, have been looking to marry their content with local telco companies to create new revenue streams amid changing consumer demands and technology.

The Pangilinan-led group, which controls not only PLDT but the broadcast group that operates 3rd liner TV5, has pursued the acquisition of GMA-7 to provide content that will complement its traditional telco services amid declining returns. However, the much-awaited 2012 deal between Pangilinan and GMA did not push through after a series of failed talks starting from December 2011. This is the two group’s 3rd attempt to partner.

PLDT said that its unit MediaQuest Holdings Inc.’s discussions for a possible acquisition deal with major shareholders of GMA-7 have been “terminated” because they could not arrive at “mutually accepted terms.”

Globe Telecom Inc., the second biggest telco firm and PLDT’s rival, has also expressed interest in partnering up with a broadcasting network. Globe president, Ernest Cu, had said he and ABS-CBN CEO Eugenio Lopez III have “always been talking” on “what do we partner with.” .

Cu said there are no talks yet with GMA-7 but Globe isn’t ruling them out. – Rappler.com