GMA Network Inc. said it is unfazed by the entry of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. in ABC Channel 5 and will even pursue the case against its rival, a company official said yesterday.
GMA Network chairman, president and chief executive Felipe Gozon said the impact of the entry of PLDT and MediaQuest Holdings Inc. on ABC 5 remained to be seen.
“We have to wait and see what they are going to do. How much resources they are going to put in, it remains to be seen,” Gozon said.
Asked if the broadcast industry landscape would change with the ABC-5’s new management, Gozon said he was “not sure,” adding that GMA Network was already engaged in a “fierce competition” with rival ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.
“I think it may take some time for ABC-5 to reach the level as Channel 2,” he said.
He also said GMA Network was pursuing its case against ABC-5 and block timer Primedia, a company engaged in developing programming content for television and marketing of airtime, despite the change in management.
“The case is not criminal. It’s civil. We are claiming damages. It’s our opinion that the contract is illegal, that it’s in violation of the Anti-Dummy Law. It [case] will survive. It will not become academic,” Gozon said.
GMA Network earlier asked a Quezon City court to nullify the block time agreement between Primedia and ABC-5, citing a violation of the Constitution that restricts ownership of mass media to Filipino citizens.
