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MANILA, Philippines — After Congress shut down broadcast giant ABS-CBN in 2020, several House lawmakers have filed bills seeking to restore its franchise. A recent noncommissioned survey found that only around 10% of Filipinos oppose the move.
At a press briefing on Thursday, March 6, public opinion research firm WR Numero presented findings from a nationwide survey of 1,814 Filipinos, gauging public support for granting ABS-CBN a franchise to install, operate and maintain stations again in the country.
Conducted from February 10 to 18, the survey found that only 3.5% were strongly opposed, while 6% were against it.
Meanwhile, seven in 10 Filipinos expressed support for bringing back the media giant’s franchise, while around one in five remain undecided.
The highest opposition came from respondents in Luzon (excluding Metro Manila), though still a minority as it only stands at 12.4%.
The strongest support was recorded in Metro Manila, where four in five respondents favored reinstating ABS-CBN’s 25-year franchise.
Despite regional variations, the survey found that a majority in every region supported congressional efforts to restore the network’s franchise.
No significant differences were observed across socioeconomic groups, with opposition remaining steady at around 10% regardless of income class.
Where ABS-CBN’s programs are. Since losing its franchise in May 2020 after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order, ABS-CBN has continued to air its programs through content partnerships and block time agreements.
These include collaborations with Villar-owned Advanced Media Broadcasting System (AMBS), which operates ALLTV on Channels 2 and 16.
ABS-CBN has also partnered with GMA to co-produce programs like It’s Showtime. It recently inked a deal to jointly produce the reality show "Pinoy Big Brother."
The House legislative franchises committee voted in July 2020 to reject the network’s franchise renewal.
How far have the bills moved in Congress?
At a House legislative franchises committee hearing on February 5, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) reported that GMA Network dominates free TV, holding a 92.8% market share in 2020 following ABS-CBN’s shutdown.
Market share refers to the percentage of an industry's total sales that a company accounts for, calculated by dividing the company's annual sales by the industry's total sales for the same period.
Rep. Johnny Pimentel (Surigao del Sur, 2nd District), who first filed a bill to grant ABS-CBN a franchise in 2022, pointed to this as evidence of a lack of competition in the industry.
The PCC said it welcomes new competitors, including ABS-CBN, as long as they comply with regulatory requirements, adding that increased competition would benefit the media landscape.
Meanwhile, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) noted that while over 30 players remain in the industry, none have matched the scale and content production capabilities of ABS-CBN.
The KBP described the pre-shutdown media landscape as a duopoly between ABS-CBN and GMA, which at least ensured two major players in the market.
Before its shutdown, ABS-CBN held a 51% market share, while GMA accounted for 45.49%, according to the PCC.
When asked whether frequencies would be available for ABS-CBN should Congress grant a new franchise, the NTC confirmed that several remain open.
To date, five bills seeking to grant ABS-CBN a franchise remain pending with the House legislative franchises committee, most of which have been stalled since 2022.
