GMA Network's Road to Digital Television Thickens

Fresh from its solid financial performance and strong surge in television ratings within the second half of 2015, GMA Network Inc. is all poised to launch its own digital terrestrial television service that could rival ABS-CBN's TV Plus digibox in terms of service, features and affordability. It should happen within the year, but the company needs to find the right business model to make it successful in the local markets. And this is where I begin my concerns about the network's transition to digital terrestrial television.

Television stations in the Philippines need to have a huge chunk of investment to implement their own transition that would benefit millions of Filipino households following the National Telecommunications Commission's release of guidelines on the said implementation. According to GMA Network's chairman and CEO Felipe Y. Gozon, the company will invest up to Php1.5 billion for its shift to clearer viewing and it is studying to add one or two channels to their digital TV service. Well, I just hope that it fulfills its promise to have exclusive channels to their arsenal as the road to digital television thickens.

However, as far as GMA is finding the right time to launch the said service which is said to be smaller than its rival's digibox, it seems that its efforts are far from the recent developments made by other television stations. In fact, ABS-CBN has began expanding its digital terrestrial television service within parts of Visayas and Mindanao, more particularly in Metro Davao. Meanwhile, Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media Inc. or commonly known as BEAM TV has added new digital TV sub-channels which include the DZMM Teleradyo alternative Radyo Inquirer 990 AM TV.

With the shift to clearer viewing just a few years away, let's just hope that GMA Network will further exert more than its efforts to make watching its shows more accessible for the greater good.