Getting The Slice of the Broadcast “Pie”

The Philippine broadcast landscape is set to change again with another telecommunications firm trying to toe-dip its entry in the not-so-crowded digital television space with a new channel that promises to be a differentiator to other channels in the country.

The new channel, called PIE Channel or Pinoy Interactive Entertainment, is a joint venture between Kroma Entertainment, 917Ventures, Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media, Inc., and ABS-CBN, and promises to shake up the television landscape by providing “memorable and rewarding experiences, prizes and connections for and with Filipinos,”, according to an article from the Manila Bulletin.

But looking at the premise of the channel as described by its leaders, I sense that this could either be a bold move, or a disastrous option.

Baking the Venture 

PIE TV was introduced alongside other sister companies of Kroma Entertainment, which is Globe’s entertainment and media investee company, in its launch last April 6. Other Kroma Entertainment subsidiaries include LIVE MNL (formerly Globe L!VE), Anima (formerly Globe Studios), Secret Menu, Paradise Rising, and Upstream, among others. 

(A little note: As we all know, Globe has to use a separate company to invest in media as its current ownership as a telco bars them to directly own broadcast or media companies, hence they used their investee companies under the 917Ventures Retirement Fund, Bethlehem Holdings and Jerusalem Ventures to undertake such move, talk about divine intervention!) 

In its audio-visual presentation shown at the launch, PIE TV aims to “change the viewing experience” of Filipinos and “connect audiences through meaningful experiences,” by becoming the first-ever “multiscreen” channel.

“Kasali ka sa kwento, panalo ka sa premyo,”, so goes their slogan. 

In a subsequent press conference, Jil Go, Kroma’s head of Broadcast and Publishing, said that PIE will allow audiences and brands to enjoy a “unique traditional proposition that is perfect for today’s changing customer habits,” 

https://www.tiktok.com/@popazrael/video/7083358910102424859?_r=1&_t=8RFrUnqn39l&social_sharing=v3&fbclid=IwAR3VCgKfvq1bOGWOKQrl0SWLbD0uAH7AFPreuTaFb8RszkoOyXUY04HCIxI

TikTok video from Sir Azrael Coladilla

“ABS-CBN will provide the expertise in terms of content creation, while Kroma will provide its experience in interactive and tech product mix that is fully-enabled with the 917Ventures portfolio companies such as GCash,” Go said. 

Widening Reach 

Okay, judging from the audio-visual presentation, which is obviously prepared by ABS-CBN, PIE TV, it seems, is a very different channel from the get go, and it will be different from the other channels and platforms ABS-CBN had made strategic alliances to. 

A bit of a background at first: We all know what happened to ABS-CBN in 2020, now, in the aftermath of what happened to the network, ABS-CBN forged alliances with two broadcast firms: Zoe Broadcasting Network and TV5, to air their content on free-to-air TV, (The Zoe deal was a full-on ABS-CBN clone with the major exception of some Zoe-mandated shows, while TV5, while still a full-service network, only chose to air select ABS-CBN shows from Sunday to Friday),. 

But ABS-CBN, obviously, wants to reach more audiences, and given that they want to have more outlets for their shows, they were in search of another friendly network who can give them either a schedule, or much better, a subchannel, to play around carte blanche, without having to think about adding mandatory shows (like Zoe’s) or riding on an existing network with existing shows (in the case of TV5). 

Hence, BEAM, or Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media, which is also an investee company of 917Ventures through Bethlehem Holdings, which is essentially, part of Globe Telecom, and the telco’s answer to TV5 (which is in turn owned by Mediaquest Holdings, an investee company of BTF Holdings, which manages the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund). 

BEAM’s current digital TV portfolio is in Channel 31 in Metro Manila and in Baguio, Naga, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga. Its current Digital TV channel is subdivided into six leasable SD channels, which they have offered to different entities, such as religious groups, home TV shopping companies, and some local content providers such as Island Living TV and Pilipinas HD of Chino Trinidad. 

BEAM was also home of some entertainment channels owned by Solar Entertainment, with formats such as The Game Channel and CHASE lived on Channel 31. And if you were alive in the nineties, you may have remembered Channel 31 as either CTV 31 (Cinema Television), or E! 31, which were programmed by its previous owner, Radio Mindanao Network (owners of DZXL 558, DWWW 774, and iFM)

Photo from The Manila Standard via Google News Archive. 

Now, rumors were abound that ABS-CBN was indeed planning to partner with BEAM TV to house again its content, knowing that BEAM, unlike ZOE, has a stable provincial TV footprint and, unlike TV5, won’t have to juggle with existing programming. It can also have a carte blanche on how it will program its network, knowing that BEAM only acts as a “carrier”, or a broadcaster that allows its channels to be programmed by different content providers and will not raise any qualms over content so as long as it is able to submit itself to the mandates of the Movie and TV Review and Classification Board. 

The rumors came true on the launch of Kroma Entertainment, which led to the creation of PIE TV, which, sadly, deviated from the original rumors that went before. 

User-Generated Channel Redux?

As I saw the channel’s AVP, I kept myself thinking on what would be the format of PIE. With the initialism “Pinoy Interactive Entertainment”, I thought that they may bank on something that could be watched on multiple screens, whether on the Digital TV box, on the mobile phone, or on computers or connected TVs. 

But when I saw a part of the AVP where they aim to make Filipinos “part of the story”, I felt a tinge of disappointment, because I think they are revisiting an old format that failed miserably for ABS-CBN. 

Enter CgeTV (pronounced as Sige TV), a user-generated channel and platform owned by ABS-CBN’s Creative Programs Inc, and ABS-CBN Interactive. 

The channel aimed to showcase user-generated content made by Filipinos in an effort to search for the next big “viral” star. It aired videos, which are either cringey or even malaise, made by its users called “CgeZens” and aired it on the channel. It also had a post-midnight show, “CgeTV In Da Loop“, which aired after ABS-CBN news shows. 

The channel was on air for two years, until ABS-CBN realized that hosting a user-generated video website, and showcasing cringey characters, is not a good way to showcase the network’s content prowess, and promptly shut down the network and the website in 2012. 

Now, While we are not yet privy yet to the contents that will be shown on PIE TV, I am concerned and alarmed that this so-called channel would either be a second-coming of CgeTV, or a re-jigged version o CgeTV with elements of another social media app, Kumu. 

Kumu, for the uninitiated, is a social-media application that has the elements of TikTok and YouTube, enabling content creators to go live and showcase their talents. Kumu allows creators to be paid when they have a huge following, and has also hosted interactive quiz shows for its users. 

Just to think of it, a TV channel that acts as a social media network? Its not a way to grab a significant share of the so-called broadcast pie (pun intended). 

Should we be hopeful on PIE? 

Any new channel launch is a welcome development in the broadcast industry, as it will not only add more content, but will also allow more production people to flex their creative muscles and create relevant shows to prospective audiences. 

With the proposition of the Globe-ABS-CBN joint venture channel PIE, one can think either positively or adversely, Positively if it can be able to muster enough programming bravado to create shows that can provide entertainment to everyone, and not just any other entertainment, but well-balanced entertainment which not only includes local content, but also acquired content such as movies and anime shows (yes, you should know by now that I am biased for anime shows here). 

But adversely, and if my hunch proves true, if PIE TV does stick to its proposition to be a “user-generated channel” and an “interactive channel”, then I don’t think this idea will fly with enough legs. I mean, come on, its just a rejigged version of CgeTV with the elements of Kumu, and those elements are better left being online than on-air. 

Besides, who the hell will watch cringey viral videos from assuming starlets who want to showcase their wares just to get noticed? 

I don’t want to increase my expectations for PIE TV, but I hope I could be proven wrong when the channel goes live on May. 

/FSD

ERRATUM: I mistakenly wrote “Advanced” in BEAM’s definition in the second paragraph, it is actually Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media. Sorry for the oversight.