How ‘bridges on the air’ keeps Pinoys together for 60 years

(Editor’s Note: While Bibsy Carballo is on her month-long annual vacation abroad, representatives from the three networks will alternate in writing Live Feed: Butch Raquel for Kapuso, Peachy Guioguio for Kapatid and Kane Choa for Kapamilya. Every now and then, Bibsy will email a story from wherever in Europe she is.)

Television viewing is a common bonding activity for Filipino families. Though there’s the usual argument on who holds the remote control, nothing beats being in the comfort of your home, trading thoughts and comments with the rest of the family while watching a show.

iWantv! enables Filipinos in the country to catch up on missed episodes of their favorite programs.

Then the kids grow up, the parents get busier, or maybe life just gets tougher and the bonding activity is done less frequently, if not at all. Good thing that while time and distance seem to set the family apart, there are also “bridges on the air” that keep them together — programs and media platforms that give a sense of home to a person, wherever he or she may be.

“Bridges on the air” is a phrase first heard publicly in Philippine broadcasting history from former ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio “Geny” Lopez Jr. in the 1950s. The visionary that he was, he immediately saw the potential of the company in enriching the lives of Filipino people.

Driven by the slogan “In the Service of the Filipino,” the man fondly called “Kapitan” inspired his men and women to look out of the box for ways to make the media experience more meaningful to the people. Fast forward to today, it seems they have accomplished the mission as “bridges on the air” are now standing tall, creating communities and nurturing relationships across the globe.

ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio Lopez III said ABS-CBN aims for content that connects with Filipinos here and abroad through free television, but also through pay television, radio, cinema, magazines, records, mobile phones and Internet.

“It is our obligation to make sure our countrymen here and abroad are connected through the latest that digital technology can offer. The Filipino nation no longer ends on the shores of our 7,000 plus islands. The Filipino nation now encompasses almost every corner of this world. As with those at home, our brothers and sisters abroad look up to us as their bridge to government and to the powerful,” he said.

TFCtv connects the global Pinoys to their homeland through ABS-CBN news and entertainment programs that can be viewed online anywhere anytime.

ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel, TFCnow.tv, ABS-CBN Regional Network Group, DZMM, Tambayan 101.9, ABS-CBN Publishing’s magazines are some of the platforms that serve as virtual bridges that connect global Pinoys and overseas Filipino workers to their homeland, their friends and their loved ones on the other side of the world. They don’t only get to know about what’s happening back home, they also get to experience it in a way, as they are able to watch or listen to whatever their family is watching or listening to back home.

Busy bodies in the country also get to benefit from this virtual bridge. Whether they are in the middle of traffic or a lunch break, they can keep up with the rest of the family as there are now websites like iWantv! that enable them to catch up on missed episodes, mobile apps like abs-cbnNEWS.com that keep them updated, and even Twitter accounts of various ABS-CBN news and entertainment shows that give them information that they need.

Technically, they may not be present in the living room anymore, but they can still trade thoughts and comments about a show because “bridges on the air” allow them to stay updated wherever they are and at their convenient time.

Physical distance is not only the factor that “bridges on the air” fix for every family. These bridges also stand for TV, film and print content and music that resonate the feelings of every family member, mirror their lives and aspirations and that give them hope and inspiration.

This is why we follow a teleserye like Juan dela Cruz, listen to a radio news and commentary program like Failon Ngayon sa DZMM, watch a movie like It Takes a Man and a Woman, catch up on the latest entertainment news on Star Studio magazine, or buy a record like Daniel Padilla’s DJP. There is something in there that connects to you and which you can relate with. And for Filipinos, what binds us is our being loving by nature, especially to our families.

In a recent speech in front of ABS-CBN stockholders, ABS-CBN president and CEO Charo Santos-Concio said Kapitan’s vision of building “bridges on the air” remains alive even as the country’s largest multimedia conglomerate is already celebrating its 60th anniversary.

While there are people that find new technologies to be detrimental to face-to-face relationships and the old good ways of doing things, the Kapamilya network is keen on using these to keep the family together and to appreciate history and tradition.

It’s a sound business strategy because Filipinos will never cease to be family-centered, and they need these bridges on the air to stay connected wherever they are, may it be in the country or abroad.

And that’s what ABS-CBN has been doing over the past 60 years — maintaining a meaningful relationship with the Filipino audience as a media company that connects Filipinos through various media platforms.