ABS-CBN moves to expand offshore business this year

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. has stepped up efforts to strengthen its international operations by renewing a deal with its satellite provider in a bid to further expand the company’s offshore business this year.

ABS-CBN Global Ltd. recently signed a 10-year contract with American satellite service provider, PanAmSat8, which allows the network to broaden its programming reach across the globe.

The contract was formalized in a signing of agreement between the network’s chairman and chief executive officer Eugenio Lopez III and David Bell, PanAmSat vice president for Asia-Pacific, with Ruben Jimenez, ABS-CBN senior vice-president for engineering and Ma. Celia Fernandez, ABS-CBN assistant vice president and project head, executive offices.

Jimenez said the network is very satisfied with the contract which provides support to its expansion abroad. He added that the network has been enjoying a long-term relationship with the satellite provider since 1993 wherein ABS-CBN was the first Asian broadcaster to sign a pre-launch agreement for PanAmSat2.

"We’re very happy with the provision in this deal that allows us to augment our service in the countries where we operate because that’s the major goal of ABS-CBN Global for this year," Jimenez said.

Bell, on the other hand expressed enthusiasm on the renewal of the agreement by saying his company considers ABS-CBN as its major customer in Asia Pacific and the major focus of its business in the region.

"ABS-CBN has been a PanAmSat customer since 1993, and we have been through several contracts together, all of which have been long-term in nature. We view this as a partnership, and we’re very excited to be working so closely to move forward and respond to the needs of ABS-CBN," Bell said.

The contract, according to Bell, is a continuation of their current services with provisions for further growth for the Lopez-led network.

PanAmSat8, a geo-stationary satellite located at 166º east, which is at the middle of the Pacific Ocean, covers from the US West Coast all the way up through Asia, Japan, China, Australia across to New Zealand, and a little bit out to the islands in the Pacific.

"It spans the globe. So in one transponder, the network gets the connectivity for distribution of material here and overseas, for uplink and downlink," Bell added.

ABS-CBN Global broadcasts The Filipino Channel (TFC), a 24-hour cable channel carrying an all-Filipino programming, via direct-to-home satellite service in various parts of the world. Its subscribers grew to 176,830 worldwide in 2003 and the company is banking on its international operations as one of the significant revenue drivers in 2004. The said subsidiary is expected to post a double-digit growth for the parent company.