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| (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/ABS-CBN Corporation) |
More than six years after its indefinite absence from local terrestrial television due to the non-renewal of its legislative broadcast franchise, ABS-CBN is further embracing a new path forward as it confidently continues to reach millions of Filipinos locally and globally through stories brought to audiences across television, streaming platforms, cinemas, music, YouTube, and international partnerships.
Speaking virtually at the company's annual stockholders' meeting last August 11, 2026, ABS-CBN Corporation President and CEO Carlo L. Katigbak shared, “This is a new ABS-CBN that we are building, faithful to our mission of public service, but adapting to a different time and circumstance. We no longer depend on owning platforms to reach audiences, instead building partnerships that would have once seemed impossible.” Among the year’s major milestones was the monumentally successful “Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition” which strengthens the unprecedented television partnership between ABS-CBN and GMA Network which began in 2022. Through their joint film production and content licensing, production, and distribution agreements, several ABS-CBN shows and movies are allowed to be aired on GMA and GTV. “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” and “It’s Showtime”, programs that led their respective timeslots, demonstrate the continued strength of ABS-CBN’s television content despite the company’s shift toward a multiplatform strategy. ABS-CBN has also renewed its content-sharing arrangements with TV5 and maintains active broadcasting partnerships with Zoe Broadcasting Network Inc. for A2Z and Advanced Media Broadcasting System for ALLTV. The success of these programs and partnerships is particularly significant, showing how ABS-CBN can build major entertainment properties through partnerships rather than relying solely on its own broadcast infrastructure. “As a content company, ABS-CBN will continue to explore opportunities to create more content and serve its various publics as best as it can. We are open to working with other media companies under terms that are beneficial to the company,” said ABS-CBN Chief Partnership Officer Roberto V. Barreiro. Another major milestone is BINI which has emerged as one of the country’s biggest global music acts. The Nation’s Girl Group has surpassed two billion streams across music platforms and made history as the first all-Filipino group to perform at Coachella. BINI also expanded its international reach through a partnership with DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures, performing a song for the animated film “Forgotten Island”. “BINI’s global success is proof that ABS-CBN can channel its creative strengths to reach an international audience,” said Katigbak. The group’s undaunting rise to global fame proves how Filipino talent can be developed locally and eventually brought to audiences around the world.
Meanwhile, the ABS-CBN Studios-produced miniseries “The Silent Noise”, released exclusively on Prime Video, won Best Asian Content at the 2026 Global OTT Awards while “Sosyal Climbers” became a major Netflix success, topping the Philippine chart and entering the platform’s global Top 10 for non-English films. These achievements underscore the growing value of Filipino stories beyond the traditional television market. ABS-CBN continues to make its mark in cinemas as its film production arm Star Cinema produced the three highest-grossing Filipino films of 2025 with the films generating a combined box-office gross of approximately Php900M (900 million pesos): My Love Will Make You Disappear starring Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino (Php173M); Meet, Greet & Bye starring Maricel Soriano, Piolo Pascual, Joshua Garcia, Juan Karlos Labajo, and Belle Mariano (Php305M); and Call Me Mother starring Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre (Php392M). ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube channel has surpassed 55 million subscribers, retaining its position as the most subscribed media and entertainment channel in Southeast Asia. Its growing digital reach has allowed ABS-CBN to connect with audiences directly, reducing its dependence on traditional broadcast distribution. Beyond entertainment, Katigbak pointed to ABS-CBN’s continuing role in news and public service. The company’s Halalan 2025 marathon coverage generated eight million combined livestream views while “TV Patrol” continues to be a major newscast in the country and abroad. On the other hand, ANC remains one of the most watched channels for live and special marathon coverages while ASAP, the country's longest-running weekly musical variety show, staged two sold-out shows in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada last year. Despite its challenges, ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. assisted almost 30,000 families nationwide affected by natural disasters. For Katigbak, these results demonstrate that ABS-CBN’s stories remain relevant to Filipinos while increasingly reaching viewers outside the country. The company's continuing transformation is also reflected in its financial performance as ABS-CBN generated Php12.6B (12.6 billion pesos) in revenues, excluding SKY, in 2025 — its highest since 2020 — slashed general and manpower expenses by 54 percent, and reduced its outstanding debt by 58 percent to just under Php8.5B (8.5 billion pesos) compared to pre-franchise levels. Consolidated net losses, including SKYCable, improved by 23 percent to Php4.72B (4.72 billion pesos) in 2025.
Addressing the challenging transition from a traditional broadcaster to a content creator, Katigbak framed the struggle as a test of their core mission, stating, “These are not normal times for your company. We have been through one crisis after another, most of them existential in nature. Yet to me, this period in our history is a defining moment, not just for those of us who work here, but also for you, our co-shareholders. It is a chance to decide whether ‘In The Service Of The Filipino’ was just a compelling slogan that served us well in good times, or if it is the genuine reason for our existence, proven because we embraced it in impossible times. We recognize that we are not yet where we need to be. And while this has no doubt been a difficult chapter in ABS-CBN’s history, we continue to believe with complete confidence that the momentum you are seeing will carry us through to profitability. Our revenues are recovering. Our cost base is significantly lower. Our debt is reduced. And our losses continue to narrow.” Amidst the challenges, Katigbak expressed confidence that the next chapter will be about proving that ABS-CBN can rebuild a company strong enough to serve the Filipino for generations to come. This is the “new ABS-CBN” — the premiere media and entertainment company in the Philippines which adapts to the changing times in the local entertainment and broadcast industry and evolves, in more ways than expected, into a multi-platform entertainment and content company that continues to find new ways to bring Filipino stories to the Philippines and the world.
