This article is about the Filipino media and entertainment conglomerate. For the defunct free-to-air channel referred to as the Kapamilya Network, seeABS-CBN.
ABS was founded in 1946 by American electronics engineerJames Lindenberg as Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC). In 1952, BEC was renamed Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) with its corporate name, Alto Sales Corporation afterJudge Antonio Quirino, brother ofPresident Elpidio Quirino, purchased the company and later launched the first TV station in the country,DZAQ-TV on October 23, 1953. The company that would later be merged with ABS to form ABS-CBN was founded in 1956 as Chronicle Broadcasting Network, Inc. (CBN) byEugenio Lopez Sr. and his brotherFernando Lopez, who was the sitting Vice President of the Philippines. A year later, the Lopezes acquired ABS. The ABS-CBN brand was first used on television in 1961.
The conglomerate became known as ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation on February 1, 1967. It then changed its name to ABS-CBN Corporation in August 2007 where it dropped the word "Broadcasting" on primary uses, to signify its diversification.[7] Due to the change in the conglomerate's name, the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation name is now used as the company's alternative and secondary name in certain contexts. The common shares of ABS-CBN were first traded on thePhilippine Stock Exchange in July 1992 under the ticker symbol ABS.[8]
The company was founded on June 13, 1946,[2] as Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC). BEC was established by James Lindenberg, one of the founding fathers of Philippine television,[10] an American electronics engineer who went into radio equipment assembly and radio broadcasting. In 1949, Lindenberg shifted Bolinao to radio broadcasting with DZBC and mastermindedthe introduction of television to the country in 1953.[11]
National historical marker installed in 2003 at ABS-CBN's broadcast center in Quezon City commemorating the very first television broadcast by ABS
In 1951, Lindenberg partnered with Antonio Quirino, brother of then-Philippine PresidentElpidio Quirino, in order to try their hand at television broadcasting. In 1952, BEC was renamed as Alto Broadcasting System or ABS (with Alto Sales Corporation as its corporate name). "Alto" was a contraction of Quirino's and his wife's first names, Tony and Aleli, and is Spanish for "tall". Though they had little money and resources, ABS was able to put up its TV tower by July 1953 and import some 300 television sets. The initial test broadcasts began in September of the same year. The first full-blown broadcast was on October 23, 1953, of a party in Tony Quirino's humble abode. The television station was known asDZAQ-TV.[11]
On June 16, 1955, Republic Act No. 1343 signed by PresidentRamon Magsaysay granted theManila Chronicle its broadcasting franchise, leading to the formation of the Chronicle Broadcasting Network.[12][13]
The Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) was founded on September 24, 1956, byEugenio Lopez Sr. and the then-Philippine Vice PresidentFernando Lopez. The network initially focused only on radio broadcasting. It launched its very own TV station, DZXL-TV 9, on April 19 (or July[14]), 1958.[11] On February 24, 1957, Don Eugenio acquired ABS from Quirino and Lindenberg. A month later, Don Eugenio also acquired Monserrat Broadcasting System.[15]
In 1958, the network's new headquarters atDewey Boulevard was inaugurated, and all radio and television operations were consolidated into its two buildings – the radio stations at the Chronicle Building at Aduana Street,Intramuros,Manila and the TV operations at the brand new Dewey Boulevard building inPasay,Rizal.[11]
The ABS-CBN brand was first used in 1961. However, it was only on February 1, 1967, that the corporate name was changed to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. Before it was named ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, the corporate name was Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC).
In August 2007, the conglomerate's and network's corporate name were changed to simply ABS-CBN Corporation to reflect the former's diversification. The name change was announced publicly through "Beyond Television" plug the following year during the 55th anniversary of thenamesake television network in 2008. According to the conglomerate's chairman Gabby Lopez during its annual stockholders' meeting where the company announced further about the 2007 change on May 27, 2010, it was "a response to the changes in the media landscape brought about by technology. The media business has gone beyond merely broadcasting to encompass other platforms."[7][16]
The conglomerate owns and operates general entertainment broadcasterKapamilya Channel and English-language news serviceABS-CBN News Channel underABS-CBN, AM radio stationDZMM and Filipino-language cable and online news channelDZMM TeleRadyo (through a joint venture withPrime Media Holdings), and digital radio platformMOR Entertainment. It has ownership rights to franchises acquired, as well as shows, movies including restored ones, music, and idents produced by its divisions, subsidiaries, and production companies.
The Kapamilya Channel, in particular, is the largest contributor to the conglomerate's revenue mainly from selling airtime to advertisers. The remaining revenue is generated from block-timing and other networks and platforms as well as from consumer sales, mainly from ABS-CBN Global Ltd. andABS-CBN International, which distributes international television channels such asTFC HD,[18]ANC Global,Cinema One Global,Cine Mo! Global,DZMM TeleRadyo Global andMyx Global[19] and also from pay TV and broadband internet providerSky Cable Corporation.
It also operate music record labels under ABS-CBN Music, such asStar Music and its subsidiaries, Tarsier Records,[24] and MYX Global. The conglomerates's publishing assets include ABS-CBN Publishing and ABS-CBN Books, pay TV content provider and distributorCreative Programs, telecommunications companyABS-CBN Convergence (68% co-owned withGlobe Telecom). Its talent agencyStar Magic is composed of divisions such asStar Hunt,Polaris, andRise Artists Studio.[25]
In recent years, ABS-CBN has ventured and diversified into other businesses such as over-the-top platformsiWant,TFC IPTV and web-based channelKapamilya Online Live. Both iWant TFC and Kapamilya Online Live are underABS-CBN Digital Media, a new media and digital division under ABS-CBN which also handles news.ABS-CBN.com and ABS-CBN.com.
ABS-CBN is also the principal owner of theABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. It owns ABS-CBN Studios, Inc. which operates its production facilities nationwide, including theABS-CBN Soundstage located in Bulacan, and the newly relaunched theater arm of ABS-CBN, Teatro Kapamilya.[23] Aside from the ABS-CBN Soundstage, ABS-CBN also owns many other real estate properties used in its operations.
^The name ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation is now used as the company's alternative and secondary name after it changed its primary name to ABS-CBN Corporation in August 2007.
^Also known alternatively and secondarily since August 2007, and formerly primarily from February 1, 1967 to September 23, 1972 and September 14, 1986 to August 2007 asABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.
^ABS-CBN Corporation is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate in terms of assets, revenue, international services, revenue, operating income, net income, assets, equity, market capitalization, and number of employees.
^2023 Annual Report (Report). ABS-CBN. April 16, 2024. Archived fromthe original on April 26, 2024. RetrievedApril 26, 2024.
^For citations about ABS-CBN Corporation being the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines:
Gonzales, David (July 17, 1999)."Philippines Indie VIVA Music Group". International > newsline...Billboard. p. 65. RetrievedApril 11, 2018 – via Google Books....changes at Star, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting, the country's largest media conglomerate.
Ignacio, Emily Noelle (2013)."The Challenges of On-Line Diaspora Research". In Gold, Steven J.; Nawyn, Stephanie J. (eds.).Handbook of International Migration.London:Routledge. p. 549.ISBN9781135183486. RetrievedApril 11, 2018 – via Google Books.ABS-CBN, the Philippines' largest media conglomerate, broadcasts widely in the Philippines and worldwide via satellite television.
^Paolo Ramos (director) (2008).Beyond Television (television production). Philippines: Creative Communications Management Group.Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
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