Gokongweis’ Summit buys out GMA's stake in PEP.ph in major media shakeup

Insider Spotlight

• Summit Media takes full control of PEP.ph and SPIN.ph, ending its 19-year joint venture with GMA Network.
• The buyout follows Summit's partnership with PlayTime Entertainment to develop new publishing technology and expand beyond traditional digital media.
• PEP.ph and SPIN.ph will retain their editorial independence as Summit explores new digital entertainment experiences and commercial opportunities.

A major shakeup in Philippine digital media is unfolding as Gokongwei-led Summit Media takes full control of PEP.ph, one of the country's best-known celebrity and entertainment news websites, ending a 19-year partnership with broadcast giant GMA Network.

The buyout also covers sports news platform SPIN.ph, bringing both publications under a single owner as Summit prepares to expand its digital entertainment business, although financial terms were not disclosed.

Summit takes full control

With sole ownership, Summit gains greater freedom to invest in both publications, develop new products and pursue commercial opportunities without sharing control with its former partner.

Summit Media was founded more than 30 years ago by Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, daughter of the late taipan John Gokongwei Jr., and has grown from a magazine publisher into one of the country's leading digital media groups.

“These brands have built something that cannot easily be replicated: credibility, audience relationships, and a deep understanding of Filipino popular culture,” Summit Media president and CEO Howard Go said in a statement on Wednesday.

Big picture

The ownership shakeup follows Summit's partnership with PlayTime Entertainment in August 2026, when the two companies launched PT Summit, a technology venture aimed at developing better publishing platforms and new revenue opportunities.

As previously reported, PlayTime is the majority partner in PT Summit, which is initially developing technology for Summit's digital publications before offering its services to other media companies.

End of a 19-year partnership

Summit and GMA established Philippine Entertainment Portal Inc. (PEP) as a 50-50 joint venture in April 2007, creating a popular destination for showbiz news, celebrity interviews and entertainment coverage before expanding into sports with SPIN.ph in 2012.

GMA's financial disclosures showed its share of PEP's net losses reached P3.96 million in 2025, compared with P1.56 million in 2024 and P10.34 million in 2023.

What's next for PEP and SPIN?

Summit said PEP.ph and SPIN.ph would retain their distinct editorial identities and independent journalistic standards as the company pursues new opportunities beyond traditional news publishing.

With both brands now under its full control, Summit plans to develop new digital entertainment experiences, deepen audience engagement and build closer connections among its media brands, content creators and commercial partners.

—Edited by Miguel R. Camus