Entertainment is our business

Gilberto “Jimmy” Duavit, Jr., president and chief operations officer of GMA Network Inc., has definitely found his niche.

He may not have been entered politics like his father or his brother, but running one of the country’s largest, if not the biggest, television and radio conglomerate, together with company chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon, seems to be more his liking and his cup of tea, so to speak.

In between running GMA and cooking up his next film, Jimmy answers some questions for “Spare Time.”

You were born into a political clan. Did you ever think of going into politics? Why the entertainment business?

Duavit: Interestingly, I was being prepared for, and oriented towards a career in politics since I was very young; with the clear entry to have been the Congressional elections of 2001. I joined GMA Network as EVP and COO the year before, having been previously active in the Network’s Board of Directors owing to my family’s investment in the corporation. The crossroad came in late 2000 when the decision to resign from GMA and file my certificate of candidacy or remain in GMA Network and move forward from there had to be made. After much contemplation and a discussion with my father, I chose to stay with GMA, a decision I have not regretted.

While not deliberate, the work I did prior to joining GMA was somehow related to the entertainment business or the production of content; both of which have been of interest to me from a young age. Providential, at least to some degree, considering the work I do now.

Among the films that you’ve been part of, which one are you most proud of and why?

It would be “Jose Rizal”. It is not widely known that the film was produced as part of the Network’s commitment to the Centennial celebration. This, together with the subject of the film and the significance of Dr. Jose Rizal to Philippine Independence demanded that the film do justice to both the event and the national hero.

Subjectively, I still consider “Jose Rizal” as the finest Filipino film ever made, at the very least with respect to its outstanding production values. A very close second would be “Muro-Ami”.

When you assumed the position of president of GMA Network Inc., were you ever daunted by the tough task facing you considering that competition in the TV industry has become more intense?

Quite honestly, no. It helps a lot to have been a part of our getting to where we are today. It will be recalled that when we started our key competitor had a virtual monopoly of the TV audience from sign-on to sign-off, aside from having all the resources in the world. We confronted that reality then with far less than we have today and through sheer determination, creativity and a new way of seeing and doing things eventually won. In many ways, the competition then was no less intense than the competition now. From a certain perspective, the challenges remain basically the same; save for some admittedly significant changes in the dynamics within our business space as driven by evolving technologies and viewer habits. “Malaking tulong yung nakaranas at sanay sa hirap” as the saying goes.

Do you consider yourself tech-savvy? What personal electronic gadgets do you use other than your mobile phone?

I guess it can be said that I am. I am currently Officer-In-Charge of the Network’s Engineering Group and maintain oversight over our post production department among my present functions. As to the former, I am involved to some extent in the design and/or selection of the technical solutions to be adopted in the areas of signal transmission, content production, media asset management and play-out and, in the case of the latter, participate to some degree in providing inputs pertaining to moving-image and audio post-production solutions. I am now also working more closely with our New Media tech gurus on our Digital Plan which is being tightened up in tandem with all the relevant groups.

On the matter of personal electronic gadgets, I end with just a laptop and a mobile phone! I do, however, have a passion for music and sound reproduction to which most of my “angst for gadgets” is intensely focused.

In taking GMA into the digital age, what are your thoughts and aspirations?

The digital age presents a combination of challenges and opportunities for companies such as ours. On one hand we have the consumers increased access to alternative content and the exponential growth of social media to contend with, while on the other hand, the broadening options to expand both the distribution and promotion of our content and brand are there to optimize, whether these be created or existing. In other words, while media consumption continues to evolve, it is imperative that we are present wherever the viewer goes and remain a key, if not his primary choice in satisfying his need for content.

How did GMA perform last year and what are your expectations for this year?

Performance-wise, last year was both a challenging yet gratifying year for GMA. On the financial side, we saw a significant reduction in our top and bottom lines; owed in large part to the economic issues plaguing both Europe and the United States which led to ad-spend cut backs from a number of our largest advertisers. This was further aggravated by the absence of advertising which amounted to roughly P1.880 billion as booked in 2010. While we still managed to grow our total business from regular, trade advertisers, the growth, as tempered by the aforementioned cut backs, was unable to compensate for the absence of the political ad revenue.

We are optimistic that this year will prove to be a far better year than 2011. Starting the year as the leader in the National ratings, roughly 70 percent of our revenue target for this year has already been accounted for through commitments from our big volume advertisers. Alongside this, our International business continues to grow as propelled by the recent launch of our 3rd international channel offering, GMA News TV and the increasing number of pay-TV systems which will be carrying our two existing channels within the year. Indications that government spending will increase significantly this year are also causes for optimism.

What’s your favorite place in the world and why? Any places that you would like to visit in the near future?

Next to home, Hawaii! Hawaii is the place where my wife, Rosanna and I regularly vacation with our twin boys, Javi and Jaime. Aside from being very beautiful, the weather there is great.. never too warm or too cold, the air very fresh and clean, the atmosphere very relaxed and the people, very warm.

Places I would like to visit in the near future are Rome and Florence. While I’ve been to both many years ago, the circumstances of the trip then did not enough opportunity to fully appreciate or experience what both cities have to offer. Other places would be St. Petersberg in Russia and perhaps Prague.

Any business personalities that you admire? Why?

One business personality I admire would be Henry Ford. Despite what many consider to be legitimate criticisms with respect to his ideological predispositions, I consider Henry Ford to be the consummate visionary and industrialist.

Steve Jobs, who conceptualized and democratized personal computer ownership and as a result changed the way we live is also on my list.

How would you compare the Philippine broadcasting industry with those of its neighbors in the region? Have we achieved world-class status?

In certain terms I see our local broadcasting industry as being rather less mature than those of our neighbours in the region. Per capita and consumption figures considered, our spot rates are still far below those of our regional peers despite our viewer penetration levels.

Content-wise, while I do not honestly think that we have attained world-class status, I firmly believe we are capable and will eventually attain it. The Filipino is creatively competitive and is surely capable of producing content that is of world-class standards. The “gap”, as I see it, continues to be our inability to rationalize the attendant costs in relation to potential revenues. Korea, as an example, now produces content with not only its proprietary market in mind, but also with the international free or pay TV as well as video distribution markets as well. As a consequence, Korean television is able to consistently raise its quality bar to world standards and grow in profitability in the process. It is not inconceivable that Philippine broadcasting achieve this. It’s just a matter of time.

 How would you describe competition in the local tv industry?

In one word, fierce! With the possible exception of the Telecoms, the local TV industry in its battle for audiences is perhaps the fiercest in all aspects.

 Is GMA really for sale? The price being quoted by Atty. Gozon seems too steep?

Ah! Now we get to the rumors!

To clarify, GMA is not for sale and has not been offered to any party that may have an interest in acquiring the company. This, of course, is quite different from saying that the company may be for sale at the right price as our Chairman has been quoted as stating. Further, Atty. Gozon has not quoted a price for the company. The figures publicly uttered by Atty. Gozon in some interviews were simply mentioned by him in reaction to the rumors at the time that GMA had been acquired by the PLDT Group for P 500B. The numbers were mentioned in jest and were intended to imply how outrageous the amount of P500B was thought to be.

 Do you collect anything? Please tell us about it?

Yes, vinyl records! This follows from my passion for music, particularly the classics. Being what is referred to as an audiophile, I am infected with the obsessive desire to achieve the most accurate reproduction of recorded music as a means to enjoy and experience music at a level second only to, or approximating that of an actual, live performance. To this end, I have always found vinyl (records) and analog tape to be superior formats or sources of the recorded music as compared to digital CDs, SACDs or even the more recently available high resolution digital data formats.

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