Separate stock exchange filings show that revenues declined for two TV networks, with one suffering PHP 12.8 billion in net losses last year.

Two of the Philippines’ top TV networks, ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network Inc., both suffered a decline in revenues last year, according to separate stock exchange filings. 

GMA’s revenues amounted to PHP 18.64 billion, which is a 13% decrease from 2022. ABS-CBN, on the other hand, recorded a revenue of PHP 18.51 billion last year. This is a slight decline from its PHP 18.55 billion revenue in 2022. 

In addition, stock exchange filings also show that GMA’s profit went down by 42% last year to PHP 3.17 billion. Net losses likewise ballooned for ABS-CBN to PHP 12.8 billion. In 2022, the company recorded a net loss of PHP 2.6 billion. 

What Caused Their Revenues to Dip? 

According to a report, the decline in advertising sales for 2023 had a negative impact on GMA’s revenues. The company’s advertising sales dropped to PHP 17.18 billion from PHP 20.23 billion in 2022. 

The report explains that advertising sales made up 90% of GMA’s revenue last year. 

“The absence of a little over PHP 3 billion worth of political advocacies and advertisements made a huge dent on the company’s top line,” said GMA.

The dip in ABS-CBN’s revenue may be considered slight in comparison to GMA, and this is due to 16% increase in advertising revenue. However, this was offset by a decrease in consumer sales, according to the Inquirer report. 

Recent Collaborations 

Considered rival networks, both companies have been collaborating on multiple projects in recent years. A notable collaboration between the two networks is the movie Rewind, which stars two of GMA’s biggest stars, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera. 

The movie, which is co-produced by ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema, earned PHP 902 million at the worldwide box office. This makes the film the Philippines’ highest grossing film of all time. 

More recently, ABS-CBN’s noontime show It’s Showtime began airing on GMA. Its pilot episode on GMA had a rating of 9.6% based on the Nielsen Philippines National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) People Ratings.