GMA Network Inc. is pursuing more content partnerships with local and foreign companies to generate new revenue streams as the advertising industry slows.
Felipe Gozon, GMA chairman and chief executive, said at the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting the network is working on various initiatives to address the slowdown caused by global events as the Russia-Ukraine war, rising fuel prices, higher inflation and rising unemployment and underemployment.
GMA revenue dropped 3.9 percent to P21.56 billion last year from P22.45 billion in 2021 due to the industry-wide reduction in advertising spending.
Its net income also went down 27.7 percent to P5.44 billion from P7.53 billion in the previous year.
Despite the decline in net income, however, Gozon said 2022 still proved a “stronger year” for the company.
Gozon said the GMA is getting into distribution partnerships with other platforms and deals with various producers outside the network to generate additional revenue other than the traditional advertising sales.
“Recently, we signed a distribution deal with TFC/iWantTV for Europe and the Middle East. We are pretty excited about the deal. We also work with TAPE, Regal, VIVA, ABS-CBN and even independent producers,” he added.
The network has introduced a pricing innovation called incremental digital reach (IDR) which provides incremental audiences to advertisers within the digital space.
“This means we are able to monetize our content on-air and online,” he added.
In terms of digitalization, Gozon said GMA has 19 operational DTT stations nationwide and in the process of completing or implementing 19 additional DTT stations for the rest of 2023.
Gozon said the network has maintained its supremacy in ratings and content in 2023.
“Based on Nielsen’s ratings covering May 1-11, GMA continues to be the leading channel nationwide with an audience share of 44 percent. GTV ranked second in Urban Philippines with 9.6 percent audience share,” he said.
