GTV (Philippine TV network)
GTV (Good Television, stylized as Gtv), is a Philippine free-to-air television network owned and operated by Citynet Network Marketing and Productions Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of GMA Network Inc.. It was launched on February 22, 2021, replacing GMA News TV on its flagship station, UHF Channel 27 Metro Manila, and its provincial relay stations.[1][2][3][4][5] It is the sixth overall secondary television brand of GMA Network since its inception in 1995 as Citynet Television. The network produces programmes from studios located at the GMA Network Center, EDSA corner Timog Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. The network's primary transmitter facility is located at the GMA Tower of Power site, Tandang Sora, Barangay Culiat, Quezon City. The channel operates Mondays to Saturdays from 5:30 a.m. to midnight (the following day) and on Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to midnight (the following day), as well as on truncated hours during the Paschal Triduum. During Holy Week, it continues to sign off from Maundy Thursday at midnight to Easter Sunday at 6:00 am. HistoryAs GMA News TV (2011–2021)GTV was previously known as GMA News TV, a channel focused on all-news and public service, as part of GMA News and Public Affairs' plans to expand its presence on free-to-air television as well as retaining some lifestyle and public affairs program from its predecessor, QTV (Q Channel 11). The channel was unveiled on February 7, 2011, on 24 Oras, GMA's flagship nightly newscast. The news channel launched on February 28, 2011, with its tagline, Oras-Oras, Alam Ko! (lit. Everytime, I Know).[6][7][8] It launched a wide variety of news and public affairs and entertainment-produced programs to serve its audience, including existing programs that carried over from QTV, including Balitanghali, Live on Q (which rebranded as News TV Live and later News Live), Day Off!, Tonight with Arnold Clavio, and Ang Pinaka, as well as new programs that been launched and introduced to the channel, including Dobol B sa News TV, State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, News to Go, Balita Pilipinas (both Primetime and weekday edition, dubbed as Balita Pilipinas Ngayon), Kape at Balita, News TV Quick Response Team, On Call: Serbisyong Totoo. Ngayon., Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie, Mars, Personalan, Pop Talk, Wagas, Investigative Documentaries, Motorcycle Diaries, Power House, In the Limelight, Reel Time, Front Row, May Tamang Balita and more. The channel became popular to the audience, and just a few months, the channel became The Philippines' No.1 News Channel.[9] From its launch to 2019, ZOE Broadcasting Network served as an originating affiliate and flagship station of GMA News TV, as a result of a blocktime lease agreement between ZOE Broadcasting and GMA's subsidiary Citynet Network Marketing and Productions in 2005, allowing the latter to lease the entire airtime of DZOE-TV 11 Manila, in exchange for upgrading the former's facilities and an off-peak timeslot for its programs on Channel 11 and GMA Network.[10] However, due to increasing lease payments of GMA Network to ZOE Broadcasting which is accompanied with decreased revenues of GMA, the two networks announced on April 24, 2019, that they will terminate the agreement by the end of May 2019. As a result, GMA News TV Manila was reassigned to analog Channel 27, which was being used for digital test broadcast of GMA Network, on June 4. In turn, DTV operations of GMA were transferred on a permanent frequency, UHF Channel 15 (479.143 MHz), which was being used since May 15.[11] In line with the government's protocol of imposing the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon (also known as "Luzon Lockdown") due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, GMA News TV temporarily went off-air on March 19, 2020[12][13] and returned on-air two days later, March 21, with limited broadcasting hours, with Dobol B sa News TV as a provisional programming, expanding its broadcast (for the first time, wherein the afternoon programming of DZBB was introduced and included in the program lineup) from Mondays to Sundays from 6am to afternoon until the simulcast of 24 Oras (both weekday and weekend edition) and signs-off right after the newscast.[14] On April 13, 2020, the channel resumed its regular primetime programming after 24 Oras, with launching of New Normal: The Survival Guide, and Power Block: Serbisyong Totoo on Primetime as its provisional primetime blocktime. GMA News TV's programming was fully restored by September 21, 2020. On November 21, 2020, Sports Interactive Network, an affiliate news portal of GMA, published an article that the network announced plans for a possible reformat of GMA News TV into a news, sports and variety channel which is similar to the old format of Citynet Television and QTV. The plans were unveiled following GNTV's gradual shift away from its original news and public affairs channel format and towards "general" entertainment and sports since September 2020, which includes acquisition of broadcast rights to NCAA and PSL games (the main reason of GTV's rebrand), a simulcast of its sister digital channel Hallypop (until it cancelled in the fourth quarter of 2020), and additional entertainment programs from its mother station GMA Network due to increase of its commercial loads.[15] These changes were embattled by mounting viewer criticisms, notably during the country was hit by Typhoon Goni (Rolly), where Asian dramas, cartoons and anime were aired instead of pre-empting them for round-the-clock news coverage.[16] As GTV (2021–present)On February 9, 2021, GMA Network announced that its sister channel, GMA News TV, would be relaunched as GTV on February 22, with a teaser featuring a voice over saying "The big change is about to happen; and it's gonna be GOOD!".[1][2][3][4][5] On February 19, GMA News TV confirmed that it had ceased live news productions effective immediately. The presentation was dramatically overhauled on the same date of its relaunch as GTV.[17][18] According to some of GMA executives in their media conference which took place in days before GTV launched, they took one year to plan on relaunching the channel as GTV due to the needs of its viewers and more variety for "young-at-heart" viewers. While retaining most in-house programs of its predecessor, GTV carries news and public affairs with the addition of entertainment, variety, lifestyle and sports programs which is similar to the old format of what Citynet Television and QTV/Q had done before. The international counterpart of GTV's predecessor is still operational even after February 28, 2021, a decade after its original domestic counterpart was launched. Unlike its predecessor, the channel is using Taglish language. On February 27, 2023, GTV, along with other GMA Network-owned channels, switched its broadcast from the original 4:3 format to 16:9 anamorphic widescreen format. This change allowed for a widescreen presentation, optimizing the viewing experience for viewers with compatible widescreen televisions.[19] Partnership with ABS-CBN (2023–present)On June 20, 2023, GMA Network, Inc. collaborated with ABS-CBN Corporation for the simulcast of noontime variety program It's Showtime on GTV.[20][21][22][23] The show premiered on July 1, 2023.[24] ProgrammingGTV's programming includes game telecasts of the NCAA Philippines, as well as weekly public affairs shows and daily newscasts (including Balitanghali, State of the Nation, Regional TV News, the TV simulcasts of Super Radyo DZBB programs (under the name Dobol B TV) and simulcast airing of 24 Oras and 24 Oras Weekend, along with movie blocks, Asian dramas, sports programs, game shows, cartoons, anime, and blocktime programs similar to its sister channel GMA.[3][5][25] The channel is mainly targeted for youth audiences.[4] AvailabilityGTV is seen via regular free-to-air television on Channel 27 in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao and 24 other regional stations nationwide. Aside from GTV's main analog signal, it is a must-carry channel on all cable and satellite TV providers nationwide. The network is also available as a digital subchannel through GMA's main digital transmitters in Metro Manila, Ilocos Sur, Baguio, Batangas, Naga, Legazpi, Olongapo, Mt. Province, Cebu, Tacloban, Iloilo, Murcia, Negros Occidental, Bacolod, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Bukidnon, Butuan, General Santos and Zamboanga. See alsoReferences
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