GMA 7 to boost regional network

GMA Network Inc. plans to spend just under a billion pesos for its expansion this year, mainly involving the setting up new regional stations to specialize in localized content and the widening of the company’s reach in rural areas.

Officials said capital expenditures for 2012 reached P956 million, up by about 7 percent from P896 million in 2011. This year’s capex budget, GMA president Gilberto Duavit Jr. said, would be “around the same” as 2012, all to be funded using internally-generated funds.

Bulk of this would be for the expansion of its rural network, where close to half of all television viewers reside.

This is in response to the recent expansion of coverage by research firm Kantar Media of rural areas covered by its ratings reports. Kantar Media reports are used by GMA’s rival ABS-CBN in citing its own ratings dominance, while GMA uses AGB Nielsen.

“Previously, it was just urban but now, we have rural areas. If my recollection is correct, north of 44 percent of homes are considered rural,” Duavit said.

Last year, GMA opened two new studios in Bicol and Ilocos to deliver localized content, particularly news and other public affairs programs, to the two key Luzon markets.

Apart from widening the reach of its free-to-air signals, Duavit said the company would also pursue possible partnerships with local telcos or other entities that could help GMA distribute its content over the Web.

“It’s a very high priority of ours,” Duavit told reporters in a recent briefing. “We’re open to all options and we’re carrier agnostic on this,” he said, indicating possible talks with both Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecom Inc.

GMA was almost acquired by the PLDT group last year, but talks fizzled out due to undisclosed issues. The transaction would have given PLDT control over two major television networks, GMA and Associated Broadcasting Corp., operator of TV5.

Globe Telecom, meanwhile, is run by conglomerate Ayala Corp., which has no investments in any major media organization.

Duavit said any partnership would have to be “mutually beneficial to both parties,” but declined to elaborate.