ABS-CBN Corporation expects its performance in 2023 to be better than last year as it continues to position itself as a content producer by forging partnerships and increasing its online presence.
ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo L. Katigbak
“As we regain our stride in storytelling, we expect our business to continue to improve as well. Advertising revenues have grown side by side with ratings,” said ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo L. Katigbak during the firm's annual stockholders' meeting.
He added that, “We are confident in the upward trend of our numbers and expect 2023 to be even better than last year. It is still an uphill climb to profitability, but the light at the end of the tunnel has become sharper and brighter. While we are not yet where we want to be, we are certainly well on our way.
While the firm has lost its franchise and broadcast frequencies, Katigbagbak noted that, “broadcasting never defined ABS-CBN. What we did best was to tell stories. Stories that informed and inspired. Stories that entertained and connected. Stories that galvanized people to action and stories that ignited change. The heart and soul of ABS-CBN is in storytelling.”
“Today, we have sharpened our focus on being unsurpassed storytellers. We know that depends on working with the country’s premiere talent in acting, writing, directing, producing, reporting, and music.” he said.
Katigbak said “We embrace the country’s best talent and are open to finding new ways of working with anyone who has a unique and meaningful story.”
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN has decided to shed off all assets that are not relevant to storytelling in order to raise cash to improve its production quality and quantity and to improve returns to shareholders by becoming an asset-light of content-rich company.
“The old ABS-CBN used our own platforms to deliver our stories to our audiences. The new ABS-CBN is learning to partner with many different platforms to reach our previous audience and to expand to a new set of viewers,” he explained.
Katigbak noted that, “To be a Kapamilya no longer means watching Channel 2. Today, you can enjoy watching our shows or movies on several broadcasters, multiple streaming platforms, and various online sites. If we do our job right, by the end of our transformation, we hope to increase our viewership to a far larger base than what we had before. Partnerships have power; we aim to harness that in our quest to reach a larger audience.”
“We also harbor ambitions to reach an international audience and establish the ABS-CBN name in the global arena,” he said.
Last year, in partnership with Nathan Studios, ABS-CBN produced a series entitled Cattleya Killer, which will premiere globally on Amazon Prime.
This follows the firm’s co-production with Electric Entertainment for the series Almost Paradise, which was filmed in Cebu and aired on the WGN Network.
“These are small steps that are helping us learn how to write and produce for global markets. They are also medium-term investments in building new capabilities and markets for your company,” said Katigbak.