CDO: Gateway to serbisyong totoo in Northern Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines - The past decade saw GMA 7 topping TV ratings in Luzon and Mega Manila. This could be attributed to the right mix of news and entertainment programs that capture the plight of people in the areas and address their needs. The Kapuso network is also consistent in bringing its signature serbisyong totoo — and balitang totoo — wherever it goes. Its Regional TV plays a vital role in exploring new regional territories and winning them.

GMA’s recent invasion happened in Cagayan de Oro City when it launched its Northern Mindanao originating TV station or hub, following the hubs in Ilocos and Bicol last year. The station will service 1.4 million TV households comprising an area that ranks second to Mega Manila in terms of having widest reach. This development means more local news and up-to-the-last-minute updates will be heard from Mindanaons. The CDO station is GMA’s gateway in Northern Mindanao.  

“We do not have an originating station in Northern Mindanao which is a very crucial area,” says Rikki Escudero, VP for Regional TV and head of Expansion & Production Services of News and Public Affairs. “We have a station in Davao but it is in Southern Mindanao. The island of Mindanao is so widely spread with wide-open spaces. The needs of viewers in Northern Mindanao are not adequately covered by just one station in Mindanao… In Bicol, there was enough time to build out and to have it done before the elections. We needed to up an originating station or hub. So, all the satellite links were needed to be up before the elections because this (station here) is our gateway in Northern Mindanao.” The station finds its home at the Centro Mariano Bldg. along Osmeña St., Cagayan de Oro City.

Asked how the GMA Regional TV team looks for a place to build a station, Rikki answers, “We go out as a team that goes to a certain province or region to explore areas where it is best to build out originating hubs or originating stations. We submit position papers or management studies. And of course, the approval will come from the management. It’s an economic-political-viewership study that is a bit tedious to go into. The studies we submit to management should be complete in terms of what programs we will recommend for the station with the corresponding equipment.”

Engineer Elvis Ancheta, VP for Transmission Regional Engineering Department, says the signal and the transmitters of the regional stations have been upgraded to reach more TV households. This can also be seen in the state-of-the-art, digital studios using USB-based equipment to send audio and video materials via the Internet.  

The CDO station will showcase the Northern Mindanaons’ unique and diverse “desires and needs.” “There’s no way to cover such a large area with just one originating station,” says Rikki. “However, we always want our originating station economically viable.” It means there’s enough space to spread and reach out for the station. GMA also taps local talents to lead its news and production team and assures them of right compensation.

What content do Manila-based and other regional viewers expect to watch from the Northern Mindanao station?

Rikki recalls that the Northern Mindanao used to be known for pineapple and banana plantations due to its great weather, with rain but no storms. And this changed in the past few years seeing the devastation left by Sendong. With that, updates on weather disturbances, reports on disaster preparedness and national government initiatives addressing the plight of the people and declaration of areas under state of calamity will comprise the news stories from this region. Since the 2013 elections are fast-approaching, an influx of election-related news is also expected. The CDO-based news team is all eyes on the political rivalry of Vicente Emano and Oscar Moreno.    

GMA 7 is confident to capture all the action and drama in Northern Mindanao because the CDO hub has a complete reportorial team with a live broadcast capability feeding news to Manila, other regions and international territories.

Aside from news, televiewers can look forward to lifestyle shows headlined by talents from Northern Mindanao. After all, GMA is also an entertainment provider. Do you remember shows like Let’s Fiesta, Istayl Naton (of Iloilo and Bacolod), Istayl Nato (Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao), Istayl Natin (Pangasinan and nearby provinces), Singgit and Bongga (Cebu and Iloilo)? This proves that interesting subjects are not all Metro Manila-centric.

“We’re not content with just Luzon and Mega Manila,” says Rikki. “We believe we have more to offer in terms of programs and we want to make sure that the people in the Visayas and Mindanao also see, feel and hear our service.”

GMA 7, as Rikki puts it, “moves fast. However, it moves deliberately,” if I may add, in bringing serbisyong totoo to the regions.