MANILA, 29 June 2003 — Media giant ABS-CBN will soon have a competitor in the overseas market as rival GMA-7 sets its international launch in the first quarter of 2004, Manila newspapers said.
GMA Network, Inc. finally decided to take on ABS-CBN’s monopoly of the international cable market and will fast-track plans to launch its cable channel in the US by the first quarter of 2004, Businessworld reported.
These come as GMA claims it is neck-in-neck with rival ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. in terms of viewership share in Metro Manila.
“Based on April surveys conducted by two independent groups, we are tied with our rival at 14 percent viewership in Mega Manila... Soon, we will launch our international channel initially in North America, both East and West Coast,” GMA president and chief executive Felipe L. Gozon said in a speech last Tuesday.
ABS-CBN operates The Filipino Channel or TFC, a 24-hour channel available to Filipinos living in North America, Asia, Middle East, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
GMA’s senior vice president for finance, Felipe S. Yalong, said there are already talks with two major cable suppliers in the US on who will carry GMA’s signal.
