Pangilinan media group plans joint venture with ABS-CBN

LOCAL media conglomerate MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. (MediaQuest), which operates TV5 Network, Inc., a major player in the television market, will soon establish a joint venture with ABS-CBN Corp.

“The model we are working on… (is) a joint venture… using the platform of TV5 as the broadcast platform of both TV5 and ABS-CBN,” MediaQuest Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on Thursday.

“We are not acquiring ABS-CBN, we are not acquiring any shares in ABS-CBN,” he noted.

In terms of equity, he said it will start at approximately 35% for ABS-CBN and 65% for MediaQuest.

ABS-CBN, a former broadcast giant, will utilize some of its assets for the partnership.

ABS-CBN was forced to stop its broadcast operations in May 2020 after former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s allies in Congress denied its franchise renewal application.

ABS-CBN President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo L. Katigbak said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting last week that the company had yet to decide whether a new franchise aligns with its strategies and plans.

“As of today, our partnership with them is in the form of content licensing or content sharing agreements,” Mr. Katigbak said of ABS-CBN’s partnership with TV5.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin