Five years after going off the air, the Lopez family’s ABS-CBN Corporation is poised to return to profitability—not by reclaiming lost broadcast frequencies, but by reinventing itself as a global content powerhouse.
Company president and CEO Carlo L. Katigbak said that ABS-CBN is on track to become profitable within the next 18 months, thanks to an aggressive pivot to digital content, strategic partnerships, and international expansion.
“We are already at an optimum level of spending,” Katigbak said. “The advertising market is improving, our direct-to-consumer businesses are gaining traction, and we’re very enthusiastic about growing our international revenues.”
Since the non-renewal of its congressional franchise in 2020, ABS-CBN has shifted away from its traditional identity as a national broadcaster.
With its former broadcast frequencies now reassigned to other companies, rebuilding its free-to-air television network is no longer viable—even if Congress were to grant a new franchise.
ABS-CBN’s shift in strategy has enabled the media conglomerate to maintain national visibility despite not owning a free TV platform—and to open new doors internationally, where content consumption is booming among global Filipino communities and beyond.
After years of restructuring and reinvestment, the company’s financial outlook is steadily improving. Tight cost control, an upswing in advertising demand, and increasing returns from its global and digital businesses have brought ABS-CBN closer than ever to turning a profit.
“We hope to achieve profitability within the next 18 months,” Katigbak said.
