Charles Teves
The Lopez family’s ABS-CBN Corp. reduced its net loss by 54 percent to P2.6 billion last year, thanks mainly to higher advertising and consumer sales.
Despite not having its franchise renewed, it is still devoted to producing engaging content and narratives for local and international markets. This is done through strategic collaborations and partnerships.
In the previous year, ABS-CBN recorded consolidated revenues of P19.19 billion, 8 percent higher than the previous year’s P17.82 billion.
Advertising revenues accounted for P6.39 billion of the total amount, while consumer sales brought in P12.80 billion.
In the meantime, expenses and costs rose to P23.45 billion, a 4 percent increase from the previous year’s P22.53 billion.
ABS-CBN merged its proprietary and operated streaming platforms into “IWantTFC” to grow its digital and international businesses, thereby removing geographical limitations for news and entertainment content in specific regions worldwide.
Moreover, the corporation granted licenses for over 180 titles to multiple regions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and various global OTT platforms, which yielded over P528 million.
After Sky Cable’s franchise expired, ABS-CBN redirected its attention to expanding its broadband subscriber base. Despite the absence of direct-to-home (DTH) services, Sky Cable generated P8.40 billion in revenues.
To optimize the value of its content and products, ABS-CBN’s board of directors approved the sale of its interests in Sky Cable for P4 billion. Lopez Inc. and Sky Vision Corp., other shareholders, also agreed to sell their shares in Sky Cable to PLDT. PLDT is expected to pay approximately P6.75 billion for all Sky Cable’s issued and outstanding shares.
