Television was first introduced to the Philippines in October 1953, with the first commercial broadcast by Alto Broadcasting System (now ABS-CBN). This made the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country and the second Asian country to air television broadcasts. During the late 1940s, Filipino engineers and students conducted academic experiments related to broadcasting. From 1975 to 1978, the Philippine Academy for Television Arts and Sciences (PATAS) presented the SINAG Awards. The Star Awards for Television, the country's oldest existing television awards show, is presented annually by the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) after a vote by members of the press. The Philippines does not operate any independent public broadcasting television networks. However, there are several government-owned networks.
History
The Early Years (1946–1959) James Lindenberg, nicknamed the "Father of Philippine Television," was an American-born Filipino engineer who established the Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) on June 13, 1946, following his work assembling transmitters. The company was named after Bolinao, Pangasinan, the hometown of his wife, Soledad S. Lindenberg. In 1949, he became one of the first individuals to apply for a license from the Philippine Congress to establish a television station. Lindenberg's application was approved on June 14, 1950. However, due to the scarcity of raw materials and strict import restrictions under the Import Control Act, he decided to shift to radio broadcasting instead. Lindenberg's failed attempt to establish a television station resulted in the BEC falling under new management. Antonio Quirino, a judge and brother of the then-president of the Philippines, Elpidio Quirino, attempted to get a license from Congress that would allow him to set up a television station. However, Congress denied his request, primarily out of fear that he would use the station as a tool to spread propaganda about his brother, who was running for a second term in the presidential elections of 1953. As a result, Quirino bought a 70% share in BEC, which indirectly granted him control of a television franchise. He changed the name of BEC to Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) after the names of its new owners: Aleli and Judge Antonio Quirino. After the name change, Lindenberg continued to serve as the co-owner and general manager. Before its official launch, the television station encountered numerous challenges. For example, the Central Bank of the Philippines refused to grant Quirino credit, stating that the venture was too risky. Due to this, Quirino asked for help from his friend Marvin Gray, whose family was friends with David Sarnoff, the then-president of Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Through Gray's intervention, Quirino was able to get assistance from the RCA. Before the first telecast, Quirino imported 120 television sets using the 60,000 pesos loan that he had received from the owner of Joe's Electric. In exchange for the loan, Joe's Electric was the first corporation granted the rights to sell television sets in the Philippines.
On October 23, 1953, Quirino marked the first official television broadcast in the Philippines with the launch of ABS DZAQ-TV Channel 3 (DZAQ-TV 3). With the help of RCA, four men underwent technical training in the United States: Arcadio Carandang, Romualdo Carballo, Harry Chaney, and Jose Navarro. The ABS studio was first established in a makeshift barn that was on Florentino Torres Street in Manila. Using a transmitter acquired from RCA, its telecasts reached neighboring provinces far beyond the initial expectations that broadcasts would only cover Manila. While the four engineers were sent to the United States for training, most ABS personnel gained their expertise through hands-on experience. The station's first transmitter was located in San Juan, Rizal. DZAQ-TV 3 began with a four-hour daily broadcast schedule, airing from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Although ABS secured 52 advertisers for its premiere telecast, selling commercial spots for regular programming proved challenging as radio advertising remained a more cost-effective option for advertisers at the time. The programs aired at that time were usually borrowed films from foreign embassies, imported cowboy movies, and coverage of a variety of real-world events. When the station ran out of new features, stage plays were adapted to television. In 1953, less than a month after the first telecast, Father James Reuter , who had radio and television training, produced the first play on Philippine television entitled Cyrano de Bergerac. The three-hour-long play was aired live, and all the actors were students. In the beginning, Philippine TV networks would buy the rights to air American TV programs and serials since it was cheaper than producing local shows. To entice advertisers, as well as to encourage increased viewership, simultaneous airing of programs on radio and television resorted to promotional gimmicks. Many popular radio shows, including Tawag ng Tanghalan, Kuwentong Kutsero, and Student Canteen, started their lives on TV this way. In 1955, Radiowealth Inc. was one of the first companies in the Philippines to begin manufacturing television sets, with other local manufacturers like Carlsound and Rehco following close behind. As more assembly lines were established and the industry continued to grow, the normally prohibitive cost of having to buy television sets or their various components overseas was dramatically reduced. The following year, businessmen Eugenio and Fernando Lopez started the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN), which was initially a radio-centric enterprise. However, when the Philippines lifted a high tax on imported TV shows in 1958, CBN began to branch out into the television industry as well. Early that same year, CBN acquired ABS from Quirino and merged the two companies under a new name: the Bolinao Electronics Corporation. With the establishment of DZXL-TV Channel 9 on April 19, 1958, the Lopez brothers were now in control of two of the largest networks in the Philippines. As a result of this merger, the combined ABS (DZAQ-TV Channel 3) and CBN (DZXL-TV Channel 9) television stations moved to their new studios in Roxas Boulevard in Pasay, and the ABS radio facilities moved to the Chronicle Building in Manila’s Intramuros District, which also housed the CBN Radio studios.
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