Prime.time programming

The weekly meetings of GMA Network, Inc.’s programming committee have become more productive since the hiring of Anna Teresa Gozon-Abrogar as programming consultant.

"The tone is set by the chairman. Before the June 1 meeting, for example, the chairman saw a ratings gap with our major competitor and asked for research and program analyses," said Gozon-Abrogar. "The meetings are now structured so that they don’t last the whole day. Some issues that require deeper research and more thought are not immediately discussed."

On average, the committee analyzes 10 programs per meeting. Discussions focus on how the programs compare against their competitors and how they can be improved on to further increase ratings. Based on the recent surveys conducted by AGB Phils. and Nielsen Media Phils., GMA Network has more programs in the top 20 list than any of its competitors in Mega Manila, which accounts for the bulk of TV household viewers in the country.

"Before Annette joined us, there was something lacking in the meetings. She reads all the scripts, which I don’t have the time to do. When she believes in something, she is willing to fight for it. In her job, being a lawyer is a plus but being my daughter is not. She has to argue her point better than everybody else," said chairman and president/chief executive officer Felipe Gozon.

Programming

Based on the job description, the role of the programming consultant is to oversee the programming grid, a job made easier since the company started to train its own pool of talents.

"Programming and the pool of actors/talents feed on each other. On the one hand, a drama, for example, is planned a year ahead. We need to know as soon as possible who will play what character. That makes pirating not a good idea. On the other hand, the creation of a talent center means that we have to constantly come up with programs that provide opportunities for them," said Gozon-Abrogar.

Gozon-Abrogar’s first input was tweaking the story line of "Mulawin", a fantasy cum soap programming, to start in the world of humans instead of in Ravenna, where the bird-humans live.

"I felt that our viewers would find it easier to relate to the characters if the story began in a familiar environment," said Gozon-Abrogar, who is fully involved in the ongoing productions of the fantasy series, "Encantadia" and the adventure series, "Sugo". "It’s important to differentiate the different soaps. We put in new elements like fantasy and adventure. We try to put in positive messages in our programs (like taking care of the environment in ‘Mulawin’) that children can easily absorb."

While innovations are crucial to higher ratings, the company has also been careful to give its TV viewers what they want. Based on an internal study of successful soaps, for example, a rich boy-poor girl romance has a higher chance of success than a poor boy- rich girl relationship. Another important sub-plot in a successful soap is the parent-child relationship in all its dizzying permutations.

"In this highly competitive business, it doesn’t pay to rely solely on gut feel. Being analytical increases your chances of coming up with a good programming grid," said Gozon-Abrogar.

Costs

For the first four months of 2005, GMA Network posted a net income of P2.2 billion, up by 27% from the year ago figure and already more than the 2005 target of P2 billion. Using internally-generated funds, the company fully pre-paid a P1.9 billion five-year loan due in November 2005.

"I don’t believe in following industry practices for its own sake. I believe in common sense. Business is practical, evolving from past experiences. We come up with original solutions in the context of the program problem. We incur costs only if the revenues are in," said Gozon.

Such pragmatism is seen in the company’s organization, which is manned by 800 regular employees. A talent pool, which includes behind-the-camera personnel, fluctuates at around 1,500.

"We are already number one in Mega Manila, which includes most of Central Luzon. Our objective now is to be number one outside Mega Manila, particularly in Cebu and Davao, which each account of 6% of Philippine TV household viewers," said Gozon.

Looking outside the country, the company is competing for top-of-mind recall of overseas Filipino workers through its international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. Currently aired in some parts of the United States, Japan, and Guam, the plan is to enter into different carriage agreements with foreign partners– first, in Malaysia and Saipan, and then in the Middle East, Canada, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong.

With such a healthy bottom line and an equally impressive business plan, it is not surprising that the most recent ASWJ (Asian Wall Street Journal) 200 survey ranked GMA Network seventh among leading companies in the Philippines, a notch higher than its closest competitor and the third consecutive year that the company was included in the survey’s top 20 list.

"Our challenge is to keep our momentum. That takes mental toughness and resolution from everyone in the company," said Gozon.