The studio tour last January 21 was definitely a fun and interesting trip for me though it was quite "bitin" for me because I was not able to meet and greet popular stars such as Anne Curtis. Even though I have been around the area of Tomas Morato several times in my life, it was my first time to really go inside the compound of ABS-CBN, one of the biggest multi-media empires in the Philippines, and to look at the studio sets for various telenovela shows, game shows, variety shows, news studio, radio studio, and other places.
It was quite interesting to know that ABS-CBN's biggest and most technologically advanced studio (which seemed a lot smaller than expected) is used for several shows such as ASAP (if I am not mistaken) and other telenovelas which use that studio set instead of going on location for shooting. I have also been informed by the studio tour guide that there exist temporary and permanent studios. It kind of puzzled me at first because I thought of why the company would trouble itself in changing the sets but after a while, I came to know why.
ABS-CBN, as I have come to learn during the tour, was once two separate entities, ABS and CBN. It was probably in the best interests of the two owners in the 60's to merge and do business together. As a Management Economics major, I see that the merger had economic implications. As I mentioned earlier, the company maximizes its resources by developing a schedule for the place of studio and time for each show they have. ABS-CBN may be one of the biggest conglomerates in the country but it still faces the reality of limited and scarce resources. The company does not have enough studios to provide for its existing shows and it would seem rather unwise and impractical to have several studios for its several shows. The goal, as I saw it during the tour, was the maximum utilization of the "few" studios the company had while aiming for profitability. Therefore in a business management and economic perspective, any industry, including this media empire, is still a profit seeking businesses which seeks to do it at the lowest cost possible without compromising quality for its consumers. The mass audience is the target of most of their shows.
Based on what I have read in "Media Organizations and Professionals" and learned in my com class, the people who create and select TV programs are faced with the really tough decision of what shows are to be broadcasted by the station especially for prime time shows. In my Marketing class, I learned that it is crucial that the shows have large viewership and high ratings because advertising companies prefer to promote their products when a lot of people are watching the show as well as the commercials in between the show. Advertising sales is the biggest income generated by companies like ABS-CBN. Without it, there probably would not be an ABS-CBN anymore.
To minimize the risk of failure, I learned in class that it would be a relatively safe decision to imitate a past successful show or create sequels, prequels, and spinoffs carrying the same successful brand name. But, TV series spinoffs such as "Joey" (the spinoff of Matt Le Blanc of "Friends") proved otherwise. This goes to show that creating spinoffs, prequels, and other "safe shows" do not necessarily ensure large viewership because of external factors such as the audience's current mood and appeal for particular programs (Croteau and Hoynes p. 98). This poses a challenge for the creators and decision makers of media companies. I personally feel that I would have a hard time in determining what the people are currently in the mood for. I think that (market) research and surveying will help minimize the risk of failure.
Aside from economic constraints, there is also the political constraint, but to be honest, I hate going into the discussion of politics because it is a dirty and disgusting game in the Philippine context. Let me just say it is obvious that political forces definitely have a tremendous influence on what is to be shown on news and what is not. Therefore, I would rather not talk about it. I just wish that objective reporting is the goal of the major media companies.
Personally, the studio tour was certainly an unforgettable experience. I do not really watch local shows, but that does not mean that I think low of them. At some random times, I pass through them and end up watching the rather entertaining shows because I get to see attractive stars, a few of whom I have met personally. Maybe sometime during my lifetime, I would probably work in media because it does seem fun and challenging at the same time.
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