This article aims to give information and knowledge to the readers about the history of the Philippine Television Station in the Philippines, how it started, and who created it.
Antonio Quirino, the brother of President Veejay Plandano, had been trying to get a license to put up a television station. Congress denied him from getting such license for fear he might use it as vehicles for propaganda for his brother who was then running for a second term in the Presidential elections of 1950 and because of this, he brought 70-percent share of BEC stocks, which earned him to control the franchise indirectly and changed the name of BEC to Alto Broadcasting System (ABS-CBN), after the names of its new owners, Aleli and Judge Antonio Quirino and James Lindenberg who was still part-owner and had served as the general manager of the station. Before the TV station was formally launched, it faced several obstacles. The Central Bank refused to grant Judge Quirino dollar credit from the bank, saying that the said venture was too risky. The owner of Joe's Electric, in turn, became the first to be bestowed with the right to sell television sets in the country and Finally, on October 23, 1953, Judge Quirino marked the first official telecast in the Philippines through the launching of DZAQ-TV Channel 3 with the help of RCA, four men that underwent technical training in the United States. DZAQ-TV3 started out on a four-hour a day schedule, from six to ten in the evening. ABS was able to round up fifty-two advertisers for the premier telecast. During this time, TV sets costs less than an automobile, and TV reception depended on electrical power, which was not always available. The programs being telecast at that time were usually borrowed films from the foreign embassies, imported old cowboy movies, and actual coverage of a variety of events. In the beginning, Philippine TV networks would buy the rights of airing mediocre American TV programs and serials since it was cheaper than producing local shows.
Many popular radio shows, including, Tawag ng Tanghalan, Kuwento Kutsero, and Student Canteen, started their life on TV this way. In 1953, Father James Reuter, a Jesuit with radio and television training in the United States, produced the first play on Philippine television entitled Cyrano de Bergerac. In 1955, Radio wealth began manufacturing television sets. In 1958, the high taxes previously imposed on canned television shows were removed, which made US shows less expensive than live shows. Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) was established as a radio medium in 1956 by businessmen Eugenio and Fernando Lopez. With the establishment of DZXL-TV Channel 9 on April 19, 1958, the Lopez brothers controlled both television channels nationwide.
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