HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. is a Philippine-based media conglomerate that provides radio and television broadcasting, as well as direct-to-home satellite services and print media. Though an affiliate of telecommunications company PLDT, MediaQuest is owned by the former's Beneficial Trust Fund (corporate entity - BTF Holdings, Inc.), a retirement pension plan funded through its Philippine Depository Receipts. PLDT does not directly own any media property as the current 1987 Constitution states that media companies should be 100% owned by Filipinos and the company's major shareholders include foreign entities such as First Pacific and
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone , commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked 55th in ''Fortune'' Global 500, NTT is the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of revenue, as well as the third la ...
. MediaQuest owns and operates national media firms TV5 Network (TV5) and Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), as well as pay TV provider and regional radio network
Cignal TV Cignal TV, Inc. (formerly known as GV Broadcasting System), also known by its legal trading name Mediascape Inc., is a Filipino media and telecommunications firm in the Philippines. A wholly owned subsidiary of the media conglomerate MediaQue ...
. MediaQuest also owns majority interest on newspaper companies ''
The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...
'' and Business World Publishing Corporation (''BusinessWorld''), and 30% of film production unit Unitel Group.


History

MediaQuest was established in the 1998 by PLDT through its Beneficial Trust Fund, a retirement fund agency. First with the acquisition of
Home Cable Home Cable was a cable television service in the Philippines. It covered parts of Metro Manila from April 27, 1992, until its closure on June 30, 2005, when it was folded into Sky Cable's operations. Beyond Cable Holdings, a 50-50 joint ven ...
, a direct-to-home cable TV subscription service and second largest cable TV company through Unilink Communications. On July 1, 2001, Home Cable merged its CATV operation to Sky Cable Corporation and created Beyond Cable Holdings, Inc. with an enterprise value of P14.5 billion. Beyond Cable Inc. controls 66.5% through Benpres Holdings and 33.5% through MediaQuest Holdings Inc. Home Cable ceased its operations on June 30, 2005 (which was replaced by SkyCable Silver). PLDT sold its stake in SkyCable to the owner by
ABS-CBN Corporation ABS-CBN Corporation is a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation which is owned b ...
and
Lopez Holdings Corporation Lopez Holdings Corporation (formerly Benpres Holdings Corporation until July 5, 2010) is a Filipino conglomerate founded by the brothers Eugenio Lopez, Sr. and Fernando Lopez, Sr. It has substantial holdings in the public service and utilitie ...
in 2008. In 1998, MediaQuest acquired Nation Broadcasting Corporation from the consortium of the Yabut family and then House Speaker Manny Villar. In 2001, MediaQuest bought a controlling stake in
GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...
. This was until 2006 when an attempt to acquire GMA was failed. MediaQuest attempted again to acquire the network in 2012 but the talks collapsed. In 2007, MediaQuest acquired GV Broadcasting Systems and its owner Satventures Inc., a direct-to-home satellite provider and radio network, from the Galang family. At the same year, it launched myTV as a mobile TV service. GV was later renamed as Mediascape, and officially launched its satellite pay TV service
Cignal Cignal (pronounced as ''signal'') is a Philippine satellite television and IPTV provider, owned by Cignal TV Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. Cignal's prepaid electroni ...
in 2009. In March 2010, MediaQuest acquired ABC Development Corporation and its blocktimer MPB Primedia Inc. from a joint consortium led by former PLDT Chairman Antonio "Tony Boy" O. Cojuangco, Jr. and Malaysia-based broadcaster
Media Prima Berhad Media Prima Berhad, doing business as Media Prima and stylised as media prima, is a Malaysian media company based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. It is Malaysia's largest media and entertainment conglomerate with business interests in television, pr ...
. In 2013, MediaQuest, through subsidiary Hasting Holdings, took over and later acquires the 70% ownership share on newspaper ''
BusinessWorld ''BusinessWorld'' is a business newspaper in the Philippines with a nationwide circulation of more than 117,000 (as of March 2014). Founded in 1967 as ''Business Day'', it is Southeast Asia's first daily business newspaper. History ''Busin ...
'' after contributing to the company's capital. The group has previously acquired an 18% stake in national newspaper, the ''
Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded br ...
''. In 2014, MediaQuest acquired a majority stake of 51% in ''
The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...
''. The Belmonte family, owners of the newspaper, retained a 21% stake, as well as management and editorial control. Pangilinan has since appointed Atty. Ray Espinosa as the company's new chairman of the board. In May 2022, PLDT named Smart Communications SVP/Head of Consumer Business Jane Basas as new President and CEO of MediaQuest Holdings, replacing Espinosa who remained as board member and retained his positions for Philstar/Hastings and Meralco. Basas previously served as President/CEO of Cignal TV from 2016 to 2020. In June 2022, ABS-CBN engaged into advanced talks with TV5's parent company, MediaQuest Holdings to allow its resources combined after Villar Group-backed
Advanced Media Broadcasting System Advanced Media Broadcasting System (AMBS) is a broadcast media company in the Philippines. Its main offices and facilities are located at Unit 906A of the Paragon Plaza Building and at the 3rd Floor of Starmalls EDSA Shaw complex, both in Ma ...
acquired ABS-CBN's former frequency, and slated to begin operations in October 2022 as AMBS-2. On August 10, 2022, ABS-CBN and MediaQuest Holdings signed a "convertible note agreement" as announced on the following day for the ABS-CBN's investment into TV5 Network by acquiring 34.99% of the company's common shares, with an option to increase it stake to 49.92% within the next eight years with MediaQuest remained as the TV5's controlling shareholder with 64.79% of TV5's common shares. Meanwhile, MediaQuest Holdings executed a "debt instruments agreement" by acquiring a 38.88% minority stake of ABS-CBN's cable TV arm Sky Cable Corporation through
Cignal TV Cignal TV, Inc. (formerly known as GV Broadcasting System), also known by its legal trading name Mediascape Inc., is a Filipino media and telecommunications firm in the Philippines. A wholly owned subsidiary of the media conglomerate MediaQue ...
, with an option to acquire an additional 61.12% of Sky Cable shares within the next eight years. After ABS-CBN and TV5 had a partnership deal, the House of Representatives has set a briefing and SAGIP Representative
Rodante Marcoleta Rodante Dizon Marcoleta (born July 29, 1953) is a Filipino politician serving as the party-list representative for SAGIP since 2016. He is a former House Deputy Speaker of the 18th Congress from 2019 to 2022. A successful member of the reli ...
commented that TV5 violated the broadcasting franchise with ABS-CBN deal. But a day later, the briefing scheduled was cancelled that supposed to happen on that day. On August 24, the two broadcasting companies agreed to pause their closing preparations for the deal following concerns from politicians and some government agencies. However, the agreement was terminated on September 1.


Assets


Television and radio

* TV5 Network, Inc. (TV5) * Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) * Mediascape / Cignal TV, Inc. (
Cignal Cignal (pronounced as ''signal'') is a Philippine satellite television and IPTV provider, owned by Cignal TV Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. Cignal's prepaid electroni ...
)


Motion picture

*Unitel Group (30%) **UXS Inc. **Straight Shooters *Cignal Entertainment


Print publishing

*Hastings Holdings (Philstar Media Group) **''
BusinessWorld ''BusinessWorld'' is a business newspaper in the Philippines with a nationwide circulation of more than 117,000 (as of March 2014). Founded in 1967 as ''Business Day'', it is Southeast Asia's first daily business newspaper. History ''Busin ...
'' (70%) **''
The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...
'' (51%)


Previous assets

*Beyond Cable Holdings - sold to Benpres Holdings in 2008 **
Home Cable Home Cable was a cable television service in the Philippines. It covered parts of Metro Manila from April 27, 1992, until its closure on June 30, 2005, when it was folded into Sky Cable's operations. Beyond Cable Holdings, a 50-50 joint ven ...
(1999–2005) * AKTV (80% owned by TV5, 20% minority share in Viva Communications subsidiary,
Viva Television Viva Television Corporation is a Philippine television production company owned by Viva Communications. History Viva Communications ventured into television production in 1986 with '' The Sharon Cuneta Show''. Cuneta's big screen success easily ...
) - defunct


See also

* PLDT


References

{{Philippine production companies and film studios PLDT subsidiaries Companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange Mass media companies of the Philippines Companies based in Makati Conglomerate companies of the Philippines