Type |
|
---|---|
Country | Philippines |
Affiliates | List of GMA Network stations |
Headquarters | GMA Network Center, EDSA corner Timog Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines |
Programming | |
Language(s) | Filipino (main) English (secondary) |
Picture format | 16:9 480i (SDTV) |
Ownership | |
Owner | GMA Network Inc. |
Key people |
|
Sister channels |
|
History | |
Founded | March 1, 1950 |
Launched |
|
Founder | Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart |
Former names |
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Links | |
Webcast | Live streaming (Philippine users only) |
Website | www.gmanetwork.com |
GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network Inc. The network is headquartered in the GMA Network Center in Quezon City and its transmitter facilities, Tower of Power, are located at Tandang Sora Avenue, Barangay Culiat also in Quezon City with regional stations and offices strategically located in over 12 major cities across the country including Dagupan, Naga, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu and Davao. GMA Network (formerly known as Republic Broadcasting System, GMA Radio-Television Arts and GMA Rainbow Satellite Network) is commonly referred to as the Kapuso Network in reference to the outline of the company's logo; the branding was originally introduced in 1992 and was officially introduced on October 27, 2002 during an episode of its now-defunct noontime variety show SOP. GMA Network is one of the largest television and radio network in the Philippines, along with TV5 and ABS-CBN/A2Z.[1]
The original meaning of the GMA acronym was Greater Manila Area, referring to the initial coverage area of the station. As the network expanded, it changed into Global Media Arts. GMA Network is the largest television network in the Philippines and one of the largest media network in the country. GMA's first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961, as Republic Broadcasting System (RBS) on DZBB Channel 7, almost a decade after the success of its radio station DZBB. It is the first television network in the Philippines to formally launch in anamorphic widescreen format.
Today, the flagship television station of GMA is DZBB-TV (GMA-7 Manila), which carries VHF Channel 7 for analog transmission with Channel 15 served as a permanent assigned digital frequency. As such, the network is informally referred to as "Channel 7" or "siete" (Spanish for "seven") even if the network is seen in other channel numbers elsewhere in the country. In addition to DZBB-TV, the network operates across the Philippine archipelago through the GMA Regional TV department, which has 6 originating stations, 6 semi-satellite stations and 39 relay stations nationwide. Its programming is also available outside the Philippines through the Philippine pay television channels GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV which is available through satellite and cable TV systems worldwide. Since 2013, the network has been testing digital terrestrial television broadcasts using the Japanese standard ISDB-T, in select areas in the Philippines.