From Local to Global: Philippine Broadcast Networks and the Filipino Diaspora

Cherish Aileen A. Brillon

Abstract


This article presents an overview of the landscape of Philippine broadcast media and discusses how through their international arms—particularly ABS-CBN Global, GMA Worldwide Incorporated, and Pilipinas Global Network Limited (PGNL)—they have expanded their operations to cater to the 11 million Filipinos living and working abroad. Using a political economy framework, the discussion attempts to propose a necessary starting point for further research on the Filipino diaspora that shifts the focus from studies of representations to the role of media institutions in the creation of the diaspora as an audience. The article offers an institutional perspective into how these local networks create and program content for that audience. The article argues that the concentration of economic and political capital and power within media entities continues to legitimize the duopolistic control of ABS-CBN and GMA-7 in local markets and now in the international media landscape.


Keywords


globalization, political economy, transnational media, Filipino diaspora, Philippine mass media

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