History

Origins

The origin of GMA can be traced to DZBB of Loreto F. de Hemedes, Inc.[4] owned by Robert Stewart, an American war correspondent (The company's name was christened after Stewart's wife). The station first went on-air on June 14, 1950 at the fourth floor of the Calvo Building in Escolta, Manila. It went on to cover events such as President Ramon Magsaysay's sudden death, the eruption of Mt. Hibok-Hibok on March 17, 1957 and the various elections in the country. DZBB became the first radio station in the country to use the telephone patch for live interviews. The station also broadcast the forerunner of today's political satire programs with Kwentong Kutsero and glued audiences to the amateur radio contest, Tawag ng Tanghalan.[5] A decade after the radio station's launch, the Stewarts ventured into television. Using two cameras and a surplus transmitter, Channel 7, the Philippines' third television station, started airing on October 29, 1961. While the station's programming were mostly canned shows from the United States, the station did produce local programming like Uncle Bob's Lucky Seven Club, Dance Time with Chito, Lovingly Yours, Helen and various news programs. During the establishment of the television station, it was always in the red and was always at a distance from the larger and better funded networks. But it did not stop the company to start broadcasting in Cebu (DYSS-TV) in 1963. The company was renamed to Republic Broadcasting System in 1970.


GMA Radio-Television Arts

GMA Radio-Television Arts logo used from 1979 to 1992.On September 21, 1972, then President Ferdinand Marcos placed the entire Philippines under Martial Law. Military troops entered radio and television stations and placed them under military control to prevent "communist" propaganda. All media outlets that were critical of the Marcos regime were shut down.

Foreign citizens and corporations were disallowed from owning media outlets in the country. Stewart and the American Broadcasting Corporation, who owned a quarter of the company, was forced to cede majority control to a triumvirate composed of Gilberto Duavit, a Malacañang official, Menardo Jimenez, and Felipe Gozon in 1974.[6] Through the acquisition, the station now was able to broadcast in color with a seven million peso credit line. The station also changed its name to GMA Radio-Television Arts (GMA stood for Greater Manila Area, the station's initial coverage area), although RBS remained its corporate name until 1996. Jimenez sits as president of the company while Gozon served as its chairman.

When Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., a senator who strongly opposed the Marcos administration, was assassinated on August 21, 1983, it was a small item on television news. The iron grip that the Marcos administration had on television began to slip, as GMA broadcast the funeral, the only local station to do so. In 1984, Imee Marcos, daughter of Ferdinand Marcos, attempted to take over GMA. However, the takeover was prevented by GMA executives. Stewart left the Philippines for good as he was utterly disappointed with the Marcos move. GMA was also instrumental during the years preceding the People Power Revolution. The network was the first to air a television interview with Corazon Aquino in 1984, and when she later announced that she would run for the presidency if she receives one million signatures. In February 1986, the network was also the first to report that Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile broke away from the Marcos administration.

When democracy in the Philippines was restored in the People Power Revolution in 1986, television stations began to air, some with their original owners. The political instability of the country also added to the station's burden, when soldiers stormed into the studios for two days in a part of coup attempt to topple then President, Corazon Aquino. In 1987, it opened its high-end live studio, the Broadway Centrum, boosting its local programming, and inaugurated its 777-foot Tower of Power located along Tandang Sora Avenue, Quezon City, the tallest man-made structure in the country in 1988.


The Rainbow network

Rainbow Network was the network's branding From 1992 to 2002, when it changed its slogan and logo.International reach became GMA's target in the 1990s, which it began through the Rainbow Satellite launched on April 30, 1992. Through its relay stations, GMA programs were seen across the archipelago and Southeast Asia. GMA programs has started airing in 60 American cities and parts of South America through the International Channel Network. GMA was also the official broadcaster of the 1995 World Youth Day, which was the last visit of Pope John Paul II to the country. During the same year, two popular TV shows, Eat Bulaga and Okay Ka Fairy Ko began broadcasting on GMA after airing for sometime in ABS-CBN. At the same time, GMA launched a UHF channel, Citynet 27, several new shows (among them were Bubble Gang and Startalk, now some of the longest-running shows on TV), and the news program, Saksi with Mike Enriquez, Mel Tiangco and Jay Sonza. In 1996, GMA formally changed its corporate name to GMA Network Incorporated. The acronym was also changed to Global Media Arts. GMA Films was launched in the same year. . In the same year, GMA Films premiered Philippines' most expensive film, the 80 million movie José Rizal. The film also hold the most awarded film with more than 100 awards and recognitions. GMA was the first Philippine broadcaster to receive a Peabody Award for Investigative Reporting in 1999. Later, Citynet 27 became EMC, the first locally programmed music video channel. It later became Channel [V] Philippines when it struck an agreement with Star TV to localize the said music channel. Channel [V], however, ceased operations due to the conflict of interest between the owners of GMA, which was then being considered by PLDT, which handles MTV Philippines through Nation Broadcasting Company, one of its subsidiaries. PLDT bought a controlling stake in GMA before Channel [V] was ended. GMA was also the official Philippine network for the award-winning 2000 Today in 2000. At the beginning of the year, Menardo Jimenez announced his retirement as president and CEO and on December 31, 2000, Felipe Gozon assumed the position with his concurrent capacity as chairman. Gilberto Duavit Jr. assumed the post of Chief Operating Officer.


The Kapuso network

GMA Network unveils its new Kapuso logo atop of the GMA Network Center.In 2002, the network engaged in a rebranding program in line with its goal to become the leader in providing local news and entertainment. It changed its logo and slogans to reflect its new corporate identity but still incorporating its identity as the "Rainbow Network". The new brand consisted of a red, stylized heart logo, with a band of different colors representing the rainbow. In tune with the new logo, the new slogan was "Kapuso, Anumang Kulay ng Buhay" ("One in Heart, In Every Colors of Life"). The new logo and slogan of the network were unveiled on October 27, 2002 at exactly 12:00PM during a special edition of SOP.

In 2003, Saksi won the New York Festival Gold Medal for best newscast, the first Philippine newscast to do so. This, and the Peabody Award in 1999, earned the network a House of Representatives commendation later that year. On September 1 of the same year, GMA Network withdrawn its membership from the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters ng Pilipinas (KBP), after incidents involving host Rosanna Roces, alleged commercial overloading and interfering when news anchor Mike Enriquez aired his complaints over his radio program, Saksi sa Dobol B, against Lopez-owned cable firm SkyCable's distortion of GMA's signal on its system, and a lost videotape containing evidence that the cable firm had violated the rule on soliciting ads for cable TV. GMA was also an official TV network of the 4th World Meeting of Families held in Manila, Philippines. The company’s subsidiary, Citynet Inc., also signed a co-production and blocktime agreement with ZOE Broadcasting Network, allowing the GMA Network with another platform to showcase its programming and talents. In November 11, 2005, ZOE's flagship station, DZOE-TV Channel 11, went on the air as Quality TeleVision (now known as Q), and broadcasts shows that primarily targets women audiences. Q's news programs share the same resources of GMA News and Public Affairs, while some programs are produced by Citynet, Inc. Also in 2005, GMA won the Asian Television Awards' Best Terrestrial Television Station, besting MBC of Korea and Mediacorp Channel 5 of Singapore. The network planned to go public, but due to political instability and downward trend of broadcast advertising, it has since been delayed.

In 2006, Debate with Mare at Pare, a late-night public affairs program, won the bronze medal in the New York Festival. The network was also praised on its coverage of the Wowowee (a program of ABS-CBN) stampede by various local publications. In an exclusive interview, a reprehensive Mike Enriquez also interviewed embattled Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the first time since the lifting the State of National Emergency, which the network allowed other stations to air without prior consent. At the end of the interview, the President praised the network for its news coverage, hinting that other media outfits to do the same. In April, the founder of the network, Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart died in the United States. During the Everest climbing season the same year, GMA supported climber Romi Garduce, the third Filipino to reach the summit of Mt. Everest in only three days. The network is one of the first local companies to produce an iMax film, with the opening of the San Miguel-Coca-Cola iMax Theater in SM's Mall of Asia.

In 2007, the network announced that it will offer its stocks to the public. After being canceled numerous times and despite the Marcoses claim to the shares held by the Duavit family, their IPO was finally held on July 30 offering PHP 8.50 per share.