This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Philippines’ Richest 2023. See the full list here.
From left: Felipe Gozon, Gilberto Duavit Jr., Menardo Jimenez
Courtesy of GMA Network
Declining advertising budgets and rising production costs haven’t spared GMA Network, the country’s dominant broadcaster. GMA’s net profit plunged 72% to 604 million pesos ($11 million) in the first quarter from a year earlier, while revenue dropped 33% to 3.7 billion pesos.
Felipe Gozon, CEO and chairman of GMA, says via email that inflation and higher fuel prices are battering the world economy, dragging down ad spending. The 2021 figures were also inflated by election-related ad spending. The broadcaster plans to shore up revenue by widening distribution and focusing on its digital offerings.
One of three listees whose wealth is tied to GMA, Gozon kept his net worth flat at $355 million; the other two are Gilberto Duavit Jr., GMA’s president and chief operating officer, and Menardo Jimenez, who was the company’s president for 27 years until he stepped down in 2001. Duavit’s fortune fell to $350 million and Jimenez’s edged up to $390 million.
GMA, which owns TV and radio stations nationwide and has a presence in 103 countries through its international channels and various digital platforms, is earmarking 1.8 billion pesos to increase distribution and production partnerships. In April, media conglomerate ABS-CBN agreed to air GMA’s international channels through its iWantTFC streaming platform, which targets Filipinos overseas. In June, GMA sold 14 shows to African free-to-air channels. It has production agreements with ABS-CBN and others to cut costs.
The digital space is a bright spot for GMA. Digital ad sales jumped 18% in the first quarter after stripping out the year-earlier election-related bump. Subscriptions to GMA channels on YouTube saw double-digit percentage growth in 2022, while its followers on platforms X, formerly Twitter, and TikTok soared.
To entice advertisers, GMA has introduced pricing based on incremental digital reach, used to measure the cost-effectiveness of campaigns. The approach should make GMA more attractive to advertisers, says Carlos Matthew De Leon, an analyst at Manila-based financial services firm COL Financial, although he expects GMA’s net profit to fall 16% and revenue to stay flat this year.