2013 will be better for TV5 – MVP

MANILA, Philippines – TV5, the country’s third largest media group, will be “better” this 2013, its chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said late Tuesday, January 15.

At the sidelines of the network’s trade launch in Pasay City, Pangilinan said that after TV5’s operator, ABC Development Corp., extended its losses in 2012, the combination of new programs and cost management efforts will improve performance in 2013.

“I think it should do better this year — better programming, better talents, better revenues,” he told reporters. “We are looking at a more competitive, more energetic, more innovative TV5 this coming year.”

He added that capital expenditures for 2013 is “around P6 billion,” similar to 2012. It will be spent to launch new programs and complete a state-of-the-art Media Center in Mandaluyong City.

“The news part [of the Mandaluyong facility] should be finished by first quarter this year,” he added.

Having once described TV5 as his favorite among the different businesses under the diverse portfolio of conglomerates Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) that he controls, he added that the media industry is a “manpower industry” since bulk of the expenses are spent on people on-cam and off-cam.

The media group lost around P2.8 billion in the first half of 2012, adding to the financial hemorrhage since the Pangilinan group acquired the network in 2009 with an original goal to get in the black in 3 years. While the revenue goals are yet to be met, Pangilinan said the group has already learned how to reduce operating costs. 

He said the network enjoys a “modest [audience] share” in Metro Manila and Luzon, and had a “strong performance” in the last quarter of 2012 from Visayas and Mindanao. – Rappler.com