TV5 Network trims losses in 2018

TV5 Network, Inc. reduced its losses by as much as 30% in 2018, according to its president Vincent P. Reyes.

However, Mr. Reyes told reporters on Thursday that it would be “very, very difficult” to achieve its target of breaking even by end-2019.

“I think the more important thing is in 2018 we improved our bottom line, in fact by 30%, over last year… I would be the first to say, it’s going to be very, very difficult to (break even) by the end of the year. But I think I am confident in the fact that we have assembled a team that is going to be able to take advantage of any such opportunity that who knows, will allow us to achieve that target by the end of this year,” he said.

While TV5’s transition into a sports network in a drop in advertising placements in 2018, Mr. Reyes said it also allowed the network to reduce losses by eliminating costly entertainment content.

“We knew that… the ads spent in sports are not going to be as big as the ads spent in entertainment. However, the cost for us was a lot, lot lower as well than being in entertainment, and to the magnitude of about 30% to 35%. That’s why it resulted in better bottom line numbers for the network,” he said.

“I think the partnership with ESPN was very important because it gave us a lot of content at a cost which was not as prohibitive as it was when we used to do general entertainment,” he added.

Aside from starting a partnering with ESPN in 2017, TV5 is relaunching its “AksyonTV” channel into “5 Plus” on Jan. 13.

Mr. Reyes said 5 Plus will target the younger audience with content ranging from extreme sports to esports tournaments. For the simulcast of Radyo5 news programs that used to air in AksyonTV, he said these will be moved to the Cignal platform.

“(5 Plus) going to give us another platform to monetize. Before, honestly, we had some difficulty monetizing Aksyon because there wasn’t a definite identity and it was very hard,” he told reporters.

“I think it’s (5 Plus) going to be a big part in our revenue targets. It plays a much, much bigger role than it (AksyonTV) used to have. So, I think it’s going to be a big help, and the benefits of 5 Plus should be felt — if plans don’t miscarry, it should be felt by the entire organization,” he added.

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. — Denise A. Valdez

https://www.bworldonline.com/tv5-network-trims-losses-in-2018/