GMA 7

In 2022, COVID-19 dissipated as a pandemic, the worst in the last 100 years.

With mobility restored, people went out of hiding and from their self-composed and/or mandatory lockdowns, with a vengeance. This unleashed an unprecedented consumer spending that in turn triggered the biggest economic growth in 46 years – 7.6 percent in 2022.

In the first quarter of 2023, the 7.6 percent was followed by a GDP growth of 6.4 percent – the best in the ASEAN.

But then there was the bad news. “The war between Russia and Ukraine started and moreover, converged with other global disruptions: food shortages, energy crisis, rapid inflation and extreme weather events – compounding what is called the year of a perfect storm,” Yale-educated lawyer Felipe L. Gozon told stockholders of GMA Network, Inc. last May 17.

Amid such a complex and challenging environment, GMA remained on top – in ratings, audience share, financial strength and in a number of path-breaking innovations and in conquering new markets.

The milestones validate Gozon’s growing reputation, a hugely successful blue-chip lawyer before becoming the region’s best broadcast CEO. He has been at helm at GMA since 2000 to presage a singular ambition – beat the then No. 1 ABS-CBN.

GMA pummeled ABS-CBN to second place for several years running, long before Congress decided to deny the Lopez broadcast behemoth its franchise renewal in 2020.

“For GMA, 2022 was a year of ‘Strengthening Our Paths To Growth’,” gushed the long-time chair and CEO of the Philippines’ now unrivalled largest TV network.

“We fortified our core business while progressively creating foundational breakthroughs,” Gozon asserted.

In the whole of 2022, per Nielsen, the Kapuso Network Channel 7 remained the No. 1 Philippine TV network on air and online. GMA’s second free-to-air channel, GTV, also sustained its No. 2 rank. The other DTT channels, I Heart Movies and Heart of Asia, ranked 5th and 6th, respectively.

GMA snatched 28 of the top 30 programs nationwide. “We swept the top 12 spots with Lolong, 24 Oras and Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho landing at the Top 3,” Gozon reported.

This year so far, “we maintained our supremacy in ratings and content in 2023,” said Gozon.

Per Nielsen’s ratings covering May 1-11, 2023, GMA remained the leading channel nationwide with people audience share of 44 percent. Its sister GTV ranked second in Urban Philippines with 9.6 percent people audience share. GMA, in effect, has a commanding total audience share exceeding 53.6 percent, an unmatched dominance.

Two weeks ago, GMA launched the highly-anticipated mega series Voltes V: Legacy which is 100 percent Filipino-made.

Based on available data from May 8 to 11, 2023, Voltes V is now the top entertainment program in the Philippines. But before its TV launch, GMA released Voltes V: Legacy The Cinematic Experience, in over 70 SM cinemas nationwide. “It did very well at the box office and due to public demand, we extended its run in select theaters,” gushed Gozon.

Financially, GMA remained strong, despite a 4 percent drop in revenues in 2022 and 31 percent decline in the first quarter, with profits down 28 percent last year and 72 percent in January-March 2023.

Still, GMA revenues remained at P20 billion in 2022, thanks to P3 billion in windfall from election ads, and Gozon declared a whopping P5.35 billion in dividends this year.

Since 2007, when GMA went public, he has declared cumulative cash dividends of P45.99 billion, 96 percent of all profits made from 2007 to 2022. Gozon has returned the money invested originally by stockholders in the past decade and a half, many times over, a record few listed companies can match or dare to match.

GMA is owned by three major groups – Gozon’s with common shareholdings of 29.05 percent, Duavit 27.43 percent and Jimenez 27.51 percent.

In 2022, Gozon takes singular pride in GMA delivering “the biggest, the most comprehensive and the most trusted election coverage powered by more than 1,000 men and women of News and Public Affairs, together with our 51 organizational partners.”

On YouTube, the GMA News Marathon Coverage – Dapat Totoo live stream – peaked at more than 291,000 concurrent views, the highest among all news agencies. GMA’s digital advocacy, Dapat Totoo, won “Best in Audience Engagement” at the World Association of News Publishers’ Digital Media Worldwide Awards. “We are the first Filipino network to achieve this feat,” exclaims Gozon.

The last quarter of 2022 also marked the synergy of GMA News, GMA Regional TV, GMA News Online and Radio into a multimedia mega-newsroom we now call GMA Integrated News.

GMA Public Affairs continues to produce world-class TV documentaries, programs for the digital space and soon, on cinema. Two of GMA’s iconic programs, multi-platform leader Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho and The Atom Araullo Specials, won the World Gold medals at the prestigious 2023 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards.

Gozon is also mightily proud of GMA’s continuing to be the home of groundbreaking programs. “Our Entertainment Group produced the stellar masterpiece, Maria Clara at Ibarra, still No. 1 on Netflix since its premiere on April 14,” he notes.

Reports Gozon: “We also changed the pre-primetime habit of Filipino TV viewers with Family Feud Philippines, while the first season of Running Man Philippines, co-produced with SBS Korea, was well-accepted by the Filipino audience. Abot Kamay Na Pangarap continues to be the number 1 daytime program on TV and online.”

Enthuses Gozon: “Our unrivaled independence, distinct brand of journalism and innovative concepts have created for us the distinction of being the most-awarded Philippine broadcast network.”

Indeed, in broadcast, as in any media, there is nothing like being steadfast in being fair, balanced and assertive for truth every step of the way.

And that also explains why this paper, The Philippine STAR, has been the leading daily.

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