GMA’s TV dominance faces a new test as advertisers, viewers move online

Insider Spotlight

• GMA’s first-half profit has rarely fallen below P1 billion, making 2026’s P110 million showing an outlier even against past downturns.
• The weakness predates the post-election slump: TV advertising was already struggling in 2024 as viewers and advertisers changed how they consumed and spent on media.
• GMA is betting on GMA Play and digital TV to capture audiences moving online while its traditional advertising engine loses strength.

GMA Network Inc., the country’s biggest broadcaster, is facing its toughest stretch in years as companies pull back advertising spending and viewers continue moving online.

First-half net income sank to just P110.2 million, its lowest in more than a decade and a rare fall below P1 billion for a broadcaster that has remained highly profitable through previous shocks.

GMA’s first-half profit has slipped below P1 billion only twice in the years reviewed, to P582.5 million in 2014 and P602.4 million in 2024.

Even in the first six months of 2007, just before GMA went public that July, the broadcaster earned about P1.12 billion, roughly 10 times its profit today.

Shares of GMA, controlled by the Duavit, Gozon and Jimenez families, slumped 18.5 percent since the start of 2026 to P4.42 each. 

Profitable through past shocks

GMA was highly profitable even during the pandemic, earning P3.67 billion in the first half of 2021, a year after rival ABS-CBN lost its broadcast franchise and advertising placements shifted toward GMA.

The latest downturn is much different, with advertising revenue falling to P5.89 billion and accounting for 89 percent of GMA’s total revenue in the first half of 2026.

GMA said the loss of about P2 billion in election advertising last year was only part of the problem. 

• Viewers kept moving online, putting more pressure on traditional television.
• Companies cut advertising as higher fuel prices, inflation and a weaker economy squeezed Some consumer goods companies paused ads for selected products as shortages and higher costs hit packaging, plastics and other materials.
• Government advertising declined as agencies became more cautious about spending their budgets.

Trouble started earlier

The cracks were already visible in 2024, when first-half profit fell to just P602.4 million as GMA said changing viewer and advertiser behavior was hurting traditional airtime sales.

Digital advertising grew 7 percent that year, but the gains were not enough to prevent one of GMA’s weakest first-half results in years.

The 2025 elections provided a lift, with first-half profit climbing to P1.97 billion before the advertising market weakened sharply again in 2026.

Costs can’t keep up

GMA cut operating expenses 11 percent to P6.71 billion in the first half of 2026, but revenue fell much faster at 35 percent, limiting the benefit of those savings.

That mismatch pulled ebitda down to P1.10 billion from P3.80 billion, while recurring digital advertising continued to grow.

GMA wants to reach online audiences

GMA president and CEO Gilberto R. Duavit Jr. said the network is pushing deeper into digital as viewing habits increasingly shift online, with GMA Play serving as its own platform alongside YouTube, Facebook and other streaming services.

“The creation and launching of GMA Play cost virtually nothing,” Duavit said during GMA’s July 17 annual meeting.

He said the existing GMA app was transformed from a website-focused service into a more video-centered platform that has topped 4.4 million downloads.

“So far, things have looked very promising,” he said.

GMA prepares for digital TV shift

During the meeting, Duavit was also asked about the government’s planned Nov. 22, 2026 shutdown of analog TV signals in Mega Manila and GMA’s readiness for the shift.

He said the transition should be straightforward, with GMA essentially switching off its analog transmitters for GMA7 and GTV while its digital network takes over.

GMA’s digital signal already matches or exceeds its analog reach in Mega Manila and covers roughly 90 percent of TV households nationwide, Duavit said.

The network is coordinating with the government and preparing an information campaign to help households that still rely on analog TV make the switch.

—Edited by Miguel R. Camus