Changing Media Terrain & May 2013

Tuesday, 22 February 2011 02:13

Written by Malou Tiquia

The midterm election in 2013 is 14 months away from May 2012 and 20 months away from May 2013. Why the timelines? Because a serious candidate for national elections (running for the Senate) would need a good 18 months to prepare and 14 months to prepare for a local position. The difference lies in the nature of the constituency.

A national office need to cover more ground and airwaves is the best solution to that as you near January 2013 or airwaves allow you to be anywhere 1440/7. Still the traditional ground sortie may be cheaper than the air option but the ground is backbreaking while the air allows one to be in Manila, in an air-conditioned room and just dialing the line to connect. But that is not just what needs to be analyzed these days. The changing media terrain can affect the over all plan of candidates preparing for 2013.

TV5, DZMM teleradyo, QTV (GMA News TV over UHF), DZIQ, Radyo 5 in FM, shift of GMA to all digital, cable and the switch from analog to digital TV will create the needed push in the kind of media mix a national candidate will have to formulate and implement. The local candidate on the other hand will have to contend with cable and local programming.

TV5 has changed TV habits in a major, major way. It redefined prime time. Before it was all news, now the media planner and buyer will have to contend with Willing Willie at primetime where your Classes D and E are predominantly trooping. TV5 after redefining primetime, again redefined a telenobela launch of Babaeng Hampaslupa, with no advertisements and after a week of soap, all parts of the series shown were viewed in one fell swoop on a Saturday where TV5 is miles away in terms of programming. Interestingly, the Manny Pangilinan led network has commenced the construction of a state-of-the art “Media Center” located at the corner of Reliance and Sheridan Streets in Mandaluyong City.

DZMM teleradyo is still leading the pack in this genre. The teleradyo format has been copied in various platforms just like DZRH in radio, live streaming and cable. DZMM teleradyo allowed the convergence of TV and radio over cable and this has led to DZMM content being bought by local cable providers allowing the teleradyo format to be seen live in other segmentized cable viewers. The DZMM formula captured Class A and B into their niche market which used to be populated by Class D and E. From opening your cable in the morning to watch DZMM to shifting to radio while on your way to work, market, grocery, school to returning home and switching on cable to continue listening to DZMM whole day has led one to believe that radio is not about to fade, at least not yet. GMA and TV5 have no teleradyo and that makes ABS CBN the leader of the pack.

Not to be belittled is the move of GMA7 to launch an all news programming over free TV that is Q, now called Q-TV 11 while ABS-CBN’s ANC is in cable. The ANC Channel though is a 24-hour news and current affairs programming while Q-TV 11 is available from 6 a.m. to 12 midnight. TV 5 also launched Aksyon TV on Channel 41 as the network’s free-to-air- news and sports channel on cable.

We also thought that radio will soon fade together with print but lo and behold two radio stations went to air one after the other: DZIQ, which leverages on the PDI brand and is on live streaming online. Radyo 5 in FM, which again in the tradition of its counterpart in TV, redefines programming and introduces AM style to FM. The said programming is also online.

With all the changes happening in the media landscape, a national candidate for 2013 will have to understand the terrain and go for a strategy of convergence and reach. What is clear is that national candidates will have to include in their arsenal an on-demand production team so that it can be competitive and leverage on the growing media assets as touch points to targeted audience. It appears in all of these, content will be king.

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