Television in the Philippines

James Lindenberg, an American engineer dubbed the "father of Philippine television," began assembling transmitters and established Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) on July 11, 1946.

The Congress, however, denied him from getting such a license for the fear that he might use it as a vehicle for propaganda for his brother who was then running for a second term in the presidential elections of 1953.

[6] The programs aired at that time were usually borrowed films from foreign embassies, imported old cowboy movies, and actual coverage of a variety of events.

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 life on TV this way.

In April 1955, the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) was established as a radio medium in 1956 by businessmen Eugenio and Fernando Lopez.

In 1958, the combined ABS (DZAQ-TV Channel 3) and CBN (DZXL-TV Channel 9) television stations moved to their new studios in Roxas Boulevard, Pasay and the ABS radio facilities moved to the Chronicle Building in the Intramuros District of Manila, the home building of the CBN Radio studios.

Another local show that has had a prevailing top rating is Tawag ng Tanghalan, the amateur singing contest hosted by Lopito and Patsy.

BEC's DZAQ-TV Channel 3, following the success of the first-ever locally produced television drama Hiwaga sa Bahay na Bato in 1963, staged in 1963 the first-ever test television broadcasts in color using the NTSC system of the Radio Corporation of America and would begin to broadcast in color in 1966.

Channel 3 also beat others when it came to educational television initiatives with a one-hour daily slot in the early years of the decade, with Inter-Island 13 following suit.

Moreover, it was favored by advertisers like Procter and Gamble, the Philippine Refining Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Del Rosario Brothers, and Caltex.

IBC-13 followed up with Mayor Villegas Reports, co-produced with the Manila city government, and National Television News (in English) featuring future NewsWatch anchor Harry Gasser.

Aside from ABS-CBN's pioneer satellite broadcasts, stations opened up one after the other in many parts of the country beginning in 1961, when DYCB-TV Channel 3, the pioneer provincial television channel, was opened in Cebu City, bringing four hours of locally produced programming with relays of Manila programs.

ABS-CBN, as a network, ceased operations for the next 14 years, and its studios became the broadcasting center of Benedicto's KBS and the government's GTV.

The Benedicto networks—BBC, KBS, which became Radio Philippines Network (RPN) in 1975, and IBC—served as vehicles of propaganda for the Marcos government while also broadcasting local and overseas entertainment and sports.

The 1974 Miss Universe Pageant, the 1975 Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier heavyweight fight, and the 1981 visit of Pope John Paul II were shown worldwide.

During his historic funeral procession, GMA was allowed only ten seconds of airtime coverage exclusively on the late night news program The 11:30 Report.

Afterward, GMA founder Robert Stewart decided to move back to the United States and retire following his utter dissatisfaction with the Marcos regime.

In 1986, in the aftermath of the historic People Power Revolution which ended the 20-year dictatorship of Marcos that forever altered television history, the Benedicto networks BBC, RPN, and IBC were sequestered by the Philippine Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

During the latter part of the 1980s, as the once insurmountable RPN and IBC suffered from gross mismanagement and financial crisis which took a toll on their ratings, the struggling ABS-CBN surged ahead to be the undisputed number 1 from 1988 onward.

During the middle 1990s to 2000s, many UHF stations were launched such as SBN 21, Studio 23, Net 25, Citynet 27, RJTV 29, CTV 31, UNTV 37, and NBC 41 among others.

In 2007, ABS-CBN Corporation applied for a license from the National Telecommunications Commission to operate a digital terrestrial television service in the country.

On July 11, 2009, ABS-CBN launched Balls HD in Sky Cable, the first-ever high-definition television channel in the country.

From the 1990s to 2001, they air weekly foreign cartoons and animes like Pokémon (GMA); The Simpsons, Dragon Ball (RPN); Macron 1 (ABC); Time Quest (IBC); The Real Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman: The Animated Series, Beast Wars: Transformers, Digimon (ABS-CBN) which they air on their evening timeslots were targeted children 12 years old and below.

During 2000s to 2010s they air Up-Late Programs like Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman (GMA); The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A.

for Saturdays and for Sundays they air Specials or Movie Blocks for around 10:00 p.m. Teleseryes are a staple and popular genre for Philippine Television which broadcasts every weekdays.

All major TV networks in the Philippines produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedies, horror, fantasies etc.

Fantaserye or telefantasya is a genre of Philippine television programming which mixes soap opera, telenovela, fantasy, myth, magic and enchantment.

The popularity of bodabil (vaudeville) in the first half of the 20th century had an impact on the earliest noontime variety television shows in the Philippines.

However, a few TV networks have succeeded in producing only these kinds of shows, with varying degrees of success in terms of viewership and ad income.