ABS-CBN no longer a network but a 'content creator,' according to Laurenti Dyogi
Almost three years after going off the air on May 5, 2020, ABS-CBN is no longer operating as a network but as a "content creator," according to the company's head of TV Production, Laurenti Dyogi.
The media exec confirmed this in a recent interview with the press that was posted on the YouTube channel of Kapamilya Online World on Friday, March 10.
During the interview, the director discussed ABS-CBN's upcoming teleserye which was co-produced with long-time rival GMA. The new drama, titled Unbreak My Heart, will be aired on GMA "soon," according to Dyogi.
While the shows of these companies have long been pitted against each other, the exec explained during the interview that things are taking a different turn with Unbreak My Heart and other ABS-CBN shows. This is because it is no longer operating as a broadcast network but as a content creator instead.
"Di ba ang saya, ABS lang yung nakikita tayo kahit saan," Dyogi began. "For now, we're not a network anymore because we don't have a branch. We're a media company, we're a content creator now."
With that in mind, ABS-CBN is taking its content to platforms "with the biggest range" and, according to Dyogi, "GMA has the biggest range right now because they're the number one station."
"We're very thankful to them for partnering with us in the same way A2Z has been with us from the start and now Channel 5 and all the other OTP platforms that's been collaborating with us," he added.
Prior to their upcoming drama, ABS-CBN and GMA teamed up to air Star Cinema's hit movies, including I Love You, Hater, Ang Babae sa Septic Tank, Just The Way You Are, and No Other Woman, on GMA's local channels.
These partnerships, according to Dyogi, are part of ABS-CBN's practice of being open to each opportunity that comes its way as it aims of reaching a global audience.
"Sa lahat ng tumutulong, nagbubukas ng oportunidad, we welcome them," Dyogi continued. "Our mindset right now is really collaboration kasi we would be honest, we cannot do it on our own, it would be difficult to do it on our own."
"Iisa lang naman ang pangarap natin, which is to go global, so hanapin natin ang paraan—whether it's Netflix, Viu, whether that's Amazon. Kapag nagbukas ang pinto sa atin, ginagawan natin ng paraan na makatrabaho sila."
ABS-CBN stopped its TV and radio broadcasts after its franchise expired in May 2020. Two months later, in July 2020, Congress junked the media company's petition to renew its franchise.
In January 2022, the National Telecommunications Commission awarded ABS-CBN's analog and digital frequencies to Advanced Media Broadcasting System, Inc. owned by billionaire Manny Villar.