Chino Trinidad’s leap of faith Part 2

How did sports broadcaster Chino Trinidad finally turn his dream of an all-Filipino history channel from nothing?

To begin with, Trinidad shot everything himself, after a crash course in cinematography. He did all the driving with a small crew, did all the interviews, and just started compiling story after story after story for months. He used makeshift connectors for his cameras, borrowed lights, and sometimes used the flashlight of his cameraman’s cell phone flashlight as a fill light during interviews. That was in 2014, after the experience of a yeoman’s job organizing the “Pagpupugay” tribute to Filipino athletes. 

“The hardest part is having people believe in what you’re trying to sell, what you’re trying to build,” Trinidad remembers. “I approached moneyed persons. They would promise to help, but didn’t. One did offer to fund, but in exchange for ownership of PilipinasHD.”

So given the situation, how does a sportscaster and former basketball league commissioner put up his own satellite channel?

“When I started crunching the numbers, it came up to P150 million,” Chino explained. “But that included a congressional franchise, building your own studios, having a head office, getting a satellite link from the office to the head end of the satellite provider. I recomputed, it came down to P67 million. Who in the world would give me P67 million?”

Chino knew there was money in what he was doing, but it would take time. Sports, as it turned out, was only the tip of the iceberg. He sought – and found – stories of even greater heroism, and combed the country for those who were not given credit for their sacrifice and dedication to the nation, before they themselves were altogether forgotten. Unearthing all these tales of men and women who had nothing but gave it all for the country’s freedom fired him up even more, and the goal seemed less and less impossible as the days wore on.

Trinidad asked investors for P25 million, with a guarantee that they would get half their money back within six months of operation, and the balance within a year. It was a bold promise he would do anything to back up. Luckily, many of his colleagues and subordinates had also moved up the corporate ladder and stature, and proved to be a big help.

“The typical question I’m asked is ‘Who’s behind you?’,” Chino says. “This is built on what, boldness? It’s a leap of faith. It’s a leap of faith. PilipinasHD is my leap of faith. I laid everything on the line here. I could walk around in my underwear, and it wouldn’t be enough. The next question is what are my capabilities to sustain it. How deep is my library? How many Filipinos are there? Each family, each one, has its own unique story.” 

Chino looked at his own family tree as an example. One great-great aunt is lined up for beatification. One great-great grandmother was courted by Jose Rizal. But nobody knows. You have to go outside the big city. Blessed with a career that has allowed him to travel, Trinidad discovered how Filipinos are the most animated storytellers in the world. How could he ever run out of stories? And when he would cover the Olympics, Southeast Asian Games and other events, he would see how other nations were so proud of their heritage, of who they were as a people. 

“Then came Manny Pacquiao. Before, when you’d travel to America, when you feed them our Filipino passport, what do they see in you? They look at you as TNT (illegal immigrant) right away,” Trinidad recalls. “Imagine how embarrassing that was. They’d go through your luggage, the works. Then in 2003, I was transiting through San Francisco. I was prepared to answer all the degrading questions. The immigration officer said ‘Filipino! Manny Pacquiao!’ You know that feeling? I had chills.”

With those experiences keeping him going, he still faced the daunting task of raising funds for his new channel, or give up altogether. Satellite transponder rental alone was well over a million pesos a month, and he needed decoder boxes, too. People still had to get paid. Equipment needed to be purchased. The number were still staggering. Even if he looped his programming, Chino would still need substantial funds. In the meantime he had to make do. He borrowed from his friends and mentors from the Philippine Basketball League who were now in the PBA. He kept going. Then he tried approaching political candidates. One offered him all the money he needed, if he would launder it. He naturally declined. Starting to despair, Chino have himself an ultimatum: either he launched June 12, or not at all, and say goodbye to a dream.

“Sometimes, it’s like that,” he explained. “There comes a point when you have to tell yourself to wake up; you cannot live on boldness alone. And of course, my wife doesn’t complain, but I could feel it. We had sold our cars, we were deep in thing for a reason. That’s when I realized, I was being forged.”

Then he approached Benhur Abalos, who turned out to be a big history buff and promised to support. Chino could now build his content, converted one room at home and squeezed 20 people into 15 square meters. That was the turning point. God had answered his prayers. Looking back, Chino had already spent P18 million, a mystery he said only God can explain. Chino could now promote and join cable channel exhibits. Another investor came in. He caught the attention of major cable providers, and they were willing to pay him for his channel. 

“I’m not yet home free. But it’s easier to approach people because they now have something to see. 

PilipinasHD launched quietly on June 12, and will go full blast on June 28th at 6 pm. Chino Trinidad’s faith is now being rewarded.