Now at the forefront of the media landscape, ABS-CBN has reached more than 50 territories worldwide and is now recognized as a premier source of world-class content through the efforts of its ABS-CBN Sales and Distribution team. Through various sales initiatives, our team was able to prove to the international buyers that our content can compete with the rest of the world. As a result, we have become a major global player, at par with the world’s best media and entertainment companies. With this, we not only generated high awareness for ABS-CBN dramas but Filipino dramas in general through our organization’s success in the industry. We have exported our content to the Asia Pacific region, Africa, parts of Europe, Middle East, and Latin America.

This year, we were able to open six new territories, namely Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand, not to mention Colombia, one of the top producers of Latin Telenovelas. More importantly, strategic partnerships ensued and landmark exclusive distribution deals were made which paved the way for the 7A Media distribution of ABS-CBN catalogue in Latin America in 2015. This resulted in the successful airing of “Bridges of Love” in Peru, becoming the first-ever Filipino series to air in the territory. Our scripted formats have also received high interest and awareness in Turkey, whose television dramas are the most sought after content in EMEA. We were also able to move our content from the traditional media space of linear TV and Pay TV to the digital regional and global OTT players like Hooq, iFlix, and soon, NetFlix. This resulted in a 135% increase in our net revenue, from Php 19 Million per year to Php 44.6 Million in 2015.

Our artists are also being recognized internationally because of ABS-CBN programs. Last January, Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla were hailed as the Best Foreign Actor/Actress in Vietnam for Got To Believe, while Jericho Rosales is now dubbed as the “Asia’s Prince of Drama”. On top of that, we were also given the honor to participate in one of the most important award-giving body, the International Emmy Awards. Our Former President and current Chief Content Officer, Ms. Charo Santos-Concio was tasked to be the iEmmys Gala Chair.

The initiatives took several years, as we labored to improve both the internal and external processes of the division. Numerous technical and marketing upgrades were employed, with our team serving as the catalyst for change and driver for the improvement of the content we produce. We have effectively positioned ourselves as a cross between the passion of Latin telenovelas and the quiet intensity of traditional Asian dramas.

At the heart of the achievement is our personal pride to prove to our global counterparts that Filipinos are great storytellers. This enabled the team to transcend boundaries and go above and beyond entertainment. We treated each and every one of our shows as an instrument to promote nationalism; our capacity to love that speaks of universal language; and highlighting Filipino values and traditions such as bayanihan, pakikisama, and pakikiramay. By showcasing our rich culture in our “Heartfelt Filipino Stories”, we broke the common Filipino stereotypes and seized the opportunity to let the world see Filipinos in a whole new light.