TV5 provides background on distribution of ABS-CBN frequencies

CHEERS TO TV5’s News ExplainED for giving more information on Villar-owned Advanced Media Broadcasting System Inc. (AMBS), the company to which  the National Telecommunications Commision (NTC) awarded frequencies previously assigned to media giant ABS-CBN. 

In under 6 minutes, reporter and veteran journalist Ed Lingao provided much needed background on the history of the company, the positions of the Villar family, technical details on digital and analog TV, and the implications of the awarding to ABS-CBN. 

First, Lingao said that AMBS operates a radio station, dwKS 103.5 K-Lite FM, and has been broadcasting since 1979. Previously owned by businessman Jose Luis Vera, AMBS applied to operate a digital television station in 2006. It was only in 2022 that its application was approved. 

In July 2020, ABS-CBN shut down its radio and TV broadcasts after  Congress denied its franchise renewal application. The NTC recalled frequencies owned by ABS-CBN in September 2020. In Manila, these frequencies included Channel 2 in the analog spectrum and Channels 16 and 43 in the digital spectrum.

Also in 2020, Streamtech, an Internet service provider owned by Manuel Paolo Villar, the son of billionaire and Duterte ally Manny Villar, bought Planet Cable. In 2021, Vera sold AMBS to Planet Cable. 

On January 5, 2022, the NTC approved the application of AMBS to operate a digital TV station, assigning to it digital Channel 16 and analog Channel 2 temporarily. The test broadcast permit is only for eight months, as the Department of Information and Communications Technology has set the full shift to digital broadcast nationwide by 2023.

Lingao said this means that should ABS-CBN re-gain its franchise, it can no longer have analog channels, because the analog spectrum is already full and is scheduled for  phaseout in 2023. In that scenario, ABS-CBN channels will be  granted only digital channels. 

The report also identified the other recipients of frequencies and channels previously held by the media giant. Channel 23 was awarded to Aliw Broadcasting Corp. owned by businessman Antonio Cabangon Chua. Meanwhile, Channel 43 was awarded to Swara Sug Media Corp. or Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) owned by Duterte ally Apollo Quiboloy.

This report should be followed by articles showing how political and vested interests rule the field of communication. The quality of media and the exercise of media freedom is affected by the interests of owners. When these are held by the same families or groups, the balance of power tilts against press freedom and media independence. More reports should also correctly note the background of these companies and their owners, with most of them seeking more power in the 2022 polls.