ABS-CBN (Philippines)

Background

ABS-CBN is a television network in the Philippines and also a major media and entertainment conglomerate, founded on June 13, 1946 as Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) by an American engineer, James Lindenberg. Judge Antonio Quirino bought stocks from BEC and later gained the controlling stock and later renamed the company from BEC to Alto Broadcasting System (ABS). Their first telecast was on October 23, 1953, on channel 3 (using the callsign DZAQ-TV). After the premiere telecast, DZAQ-TV followed a four-hour-a-day schedule from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

On September 24, 1956, brothers Eugenio Lopez, Sr. and former Vice President Fernando Lopez established the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (named after the Manila Chronicle newspaper which Eugenio owned at the time), which was initially focused on radio; they bought Alto Broadcasting System on February 24, 1957 (also reverting the corporate name to its previous one) and established another TV station (DZXL-TV 9) under the CBN brand in 1958. Broadcasts of selected shows in color began in 1966, a first for a Philippine television network, and on February 1, 1967, the company was renamed ABS–CBN Broadcasting Corporation. ABS-CBN opened its Broadcast Center along Bohol Avenue, Quezon City on December 18, 1968, and on November 14, 1969, DZAQ-TV was transferred to channel 2, where it remained the positioning frequency of the station for more than 50 years, while DZXL-TV transferred to channel 4 (and later became the state-run People's Television Network).

On September 23, 1972, ABS-CBN was forced to shut down, due to then-President Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of martial law. It was later relaunched as "The Star Network" on September 14, 1986, a few months after the People Power Revolution, even keeping its DWWX-TV callsign for the Metro Manila TV station. However, on May 5, 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease-and-desist order to temporarily stop the network's broadcast, including its radio stations, MOR 101.9 and DZMM TeleRadyo.

Alto Broadcasting System

1st Logo (October 23, 1953-1969)

Logo: On a white background, the callsign "DZAQ-TV" is stacked on top of a box that reads "Channel 3", and the Alto Broadcasting System logo is displayed below the box.

FX/SFX: None

Music/Sounds: None

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1969?)

Logo: The words, "TODAY! SEE..: Channel 3 IN COLOR 1:00-3:00 P.M." stacked on top of each other, against a color bar background zooming in. When it fully zoomed in, the text fades out.

FX/SFX: The color bars zooming in, and the text fading out.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extinct. It can be found here.

Editor's Note: None.

ABS-CBN (1967-1972)

Only (known) logo (1967-1972)

Nickname(s): "The Transmitter", "The Lollipop"

Logo: On a black background, inside a square outline is a vertical line (which represents a transmitter), and three circles surrounding it (which represents Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao).

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A flute playing ABS-CBN's famous 13-note corporate jingle.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation/City2 Television

Background

Roberto Benedicto (who owned the Kanlaon Broadcasting System at the time) acquired ABS-CBN's corporate assets (including its Broadcast Center) and established a new network called Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (not to be confused with the British Broadcasting Corporation) on November 4, 1973. DZAQ-TV became the network's flagship station (serving Metro Manila) and had its callsign changed to DWWX-TV. In 1978, BBC-2 (along with KBS, which used channel 9 since 1969) transferred its operations to Broadcast City in Capitol Hills, Quezon City. For a limited time from 1980 to 1984, BBC-2 was rebranded as City2 Television, where its well-known Scanimate ident became the first computer-generated ident from a Philippine television station. On March 20, 1986, the network ceased its operations and its assets (including radio and television frequencies) were returned to ABS-CBN in July of that year.

1st (known) Logo (1978-1981)

Logo: On a blue background, we see a large three-dimensional 2, next to a red square/rectangle, with the letters, BBC.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral fanfare, with an announcer saying, "Broadcast City 2."

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: Probably, one of the oldest known found Philippine TV idents to surface on YouTube.

2nd Logo (1981-1986)

Nickname(s): "Scanimate City2"

Logo: On a black background, a sparkle traces out an outline. Then, we see 3D letters sliding and flipping from the right to the formed outline. The two number 2s flies into the outline, Then the logo glows. The word "TELEVISION" slides down from the bottom of the stylized "2" and stretches. The slogan "...we're here just for you." flies into the bottom of the logo.

Trivia:

• This was made by Ed Kramer, who is well-known for the Prism Entertainment logo.
• This is the first scanimated ident in Philippine Television, along with IBC-13.

Variant(s): There is a variant in which the City2 Television logo is placed on a space background with a planet (possibly Earth) in the corner, with the words "DELIVERS ENTERTAINMENT!" (in a "computerized" font). Only a picture exists.

FX/SFX: All Scanimate effects.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized, bombastic music, with vocals singing, "City 2 Television" and "City 2"

Availability: Extinct, but the original ident can be found on Ed Kramer's YouTube channel. A video can be seen here.

Editor's Note: One of the most remembered and loved logos by most of the Filipinos.

ABS-CBN (1986-2020)

1st Logo (September 14-November 30, 1986)

Nickname(s): "Watch Us... Do It Again!"

Logo: The words "Watch Us Do It Again!" appears on screen before being replaced by a teal-colored number 2.

FX/SFX: Live-action and cel animation.

Music/Sounds: A chorus saying "Watch us do it again!" When the 2 appears the chorus says "2!" An announcer speaking Tagalog is also heard.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: The video footage has been found, but it got deleted causing it to be lost again. There is an existing image.

2nd Logo (December 1, 1986-February 28, 1987)

Nickname(s): "Sharing a New Life with You"

Logo: TBA

FX/SFX: TBA

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: Unknown.

Editor's Note: The logo is completely lost, unknown if there is a recording of it.

3rd Logo (March 1, 1987-1989)

Nickname(s): "The Star Network"

Logo: In a space background with moving grids, the ABS-CBN corporate logo flies into the center, along with the stylized 2 with a rhomboidal star, and the slogan flies into the screen saying, "The Star Network"

FX/SFX: The space background, the grids, and the flying ABS-CBN corporate logos.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic fanfare, with Peter Musñgi's voice saying, "This is ABS-CBN. You're on channel 2, DWWX-TV in Metro Manila, The Star Network.". A popular version, which is often used in their anniversary logos at the time, is a dreamy fanfare along with the ABS-CBN theme in the end.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: The logo seems fine, but the graphics are dated.

4th Logo (1988-1991)

Nickname(s): "The Star Network II"

Logo: On a cyan background, we see a light green Philippine map flying towards the screen. Once it fully zoomed in, it cuts into a black background with the 3D rings, flips around the center of the screen along with a box with a transmitter, until it stops at the middle, one by one. Then, the 3D letters "ABS" and "CBN" flies into their positions, revealing the whole logo, then it flips out to reveal three golden number 2's forming a bigger stylized "2". A shine traces, and colors the stylized "2" and a rhomboidal star zooms in at the tip of the "2".

FX/SFX: All CGI.

Music/Sounds: A repeating 6-note synth ditty plays throughout the first half of the logo, with a synth horn fanfare segueing into a more majestic orchestral theme playing afterwards.

Availability: Ultra rare.

• The only footage of this ident is seen on the 3rd PMPC Star Awards, which disappointingly, in a very poor recording, with no color whatsoever.
• The ABS-CBN animation was reused in their sign-off and the other fragment was found in a Palibhasa, Lalake promo in 1988.

Editor's Note: This ident, along with the other main television network idents were found on the same video, but only two of them (PTV-4, RPN-9) are found in full-color and high-quality recordings. The other two (ABS-CBN and GMA) also have high-quality recordings, but no full-color footage. Links here and here.

5th Logo (1989)

Nickname(s): "The Philippines' Largest Network"

Logo: In a black background, the words, "Presenting...." fades in at the top, then "The World's First Ever Jingle Sung By A Thousand Voices." fades in at the bottom. Then, we fade into a large crowd singing the jingle while the camera is zooming out to reveal even more people. The crowd started clapping after the jingle, then the ABS-CBN wordmark in 3D, zooms out from the bottom of the screen, with a white ring rolls over the wordmark before splitting into three. The rings later changed into its corresponding colors, red, green, and blue, when two metal lines slide over and under the rings. The square, along with the wordmark, slides into the center to form the logo. After the animation, the sentence "THE PHILIPPINES' LARGEST NETWORK" fades in.

FX/SFX: Live-action and CGI.

Music/Sounds: The crowd singing the jingle, "ABS-CBN, The Philippines' Largest Network", The clapping at the end, with the ABS-CBN theme playing at the end.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (1989-1992)

Nickname(s): "In the Service of the Filipino"

Logo: On a black background with white stars shining, there is a white square outline with a transmitter. Three red, green, and blue rings move to form the 1986 ABS-CBN logo without the letters. The letters "ABS" and "CBN" move together in top and bottom of the logo, then the logo moves up to reveal the slogan "In the Service of the Filipino" in a script font below the ABS-CBN logo, and the camera zooms out to reveal the background message.

FX/SFX: CGI.

Later Variant: By 1992, the slogan now reads "In the Service of the Filipino Worldwide".

Special Message Variants: The finished ident zooms out to the lower right (and gains a white border), uncovering a special message.

• 1989: On a lavender-navy blue gradient background are the words "Be clean in everything you do." in a white, bold, Futura-like font in uppercase.
• 1992: On a background resembling many green leaves are the words "Borrowing trouble from the future does not deplete the supply." in a white, Century Gothic-like font in uppercase. To the left of the ABS-CBN ident is the logo of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) in white, but without the "KBP" lettering. Below that are the stacked words "KBP MEMBER" (indicating ABS-CBN's membership in that broadcasting association) in a white sans-serif font in uppercase.

Music/Sounds: A horn fanfare, with the announcer saying "This is ABS-CBN, a Nationwide Satellite Broadcast. In the Service of the Filipino."

Availability: TBA

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (1993)

Logo: The camera goes through a roller coaster-like rail, as the camera pans through it. It then goes up the rail, and through the TV screen, which turns on, and it zooms into it, showing the ABS-CBN logo, in golden, on a structure with 4 searchlights. Here, the camera for this part pans and rotates exactly like the 20th Century Studios logo from 1994 onwards.

Variants:

• Occasionally, the same structure with the number 2, and a different color would appear during half of the first part. Here, the camera rotates and zooms out to show the full thing.
• On another occasion, only the part for the logo is shown, with a cloudy background instead.

FX/SFX: CGI.

Music/Sounds: "Finale" by Danny Elfman (from the film "Batman" in 1989).

8th Logo (1993)

Nickname(s): "Sarimanok"

Logo: A shot with multicolored animated plants is shown, while some blades of grass ascend from the ground. The grass forms into the feathers of a stylized sarimanok (a mythical bird of Maranao mythology). The sarimanok flies into a studio, turning to a blue human, to a rainbow human. The human transfers to a laser, sending the laser up to a radio tower to the high building of the ABS-CBN. It also sends the laser up to a satellite. The satellite draws rainbow lines and becomes a Sarimanok. the Sarimanok flies into a city to a Black-And-White SMPTE screen. We zoom out to Earth with the country near the America. We zoom out to an eye of the Sarimanok, and flies down to water. The water splashes and shows three rings. We come across the ABS-CBN logo, horizontal, and the Sarimanok lands on the top on the logo.

FX/SFX: CGI.

Music/Sounds: An orchestra with the first 6-note ABS-CBN jingle at the end.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: There is an animation error where the Philippines is located near the American continents. Aside from that it's a decent logo for it's time. This is one of the most remembered logo bumpers of ABS-CBN.

9th Logo (2003-April 2004)

Logo: We see a blue background when the logo turns color is golden It's a golden square with a stick then the cloud background we see a transmitter then fades into a blue background then the 50th YEARS of ABS-CBN logo then the logo fading out.

Variants: A long variant exists: There is a television screen with the year 1953 (which is the year when ABS-CBN started its TV broadcast operations) displayed on it, followed by pictures of the Quiapo Church, a kalesa, and the Manila City Hall. Then, the network's various milestones up to 1972 are shown, followed by the events of the imposition of Martial Law in 1972 and the first People Power Revolution in 1986. Then, footage of various shows broadcasted by the network from 1986 to 2003 appears, followed by the streets of Metro Manila with a steel bridge similar to the one near the MRT-3 Guadalupe station, the Quezon City Memorial Circle, and the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center with two of the company's helicopters flying in the background. Afterwards, the Broadcasting Center appears again, this time with a company van, followed by a flurry of years from 1953 to 2003 (in the Eurostile font) with a male announcer (again Peter Musñgi) saying the Tagalog sentence "Lumipas at ng bagong man ang panawan, sa isip at pananaw, sa puso, at diwa ng Pilipino, i-isa ang ihit sa bihit ng telebisyon, ABS-CBN, limangpu taon ng linlingkod sa sambayanang Pilipino." (English: "The new generation, in the mind and vision, in the heart, and spirit of the Filipino has passed, and the new one has been turned on television, ABS-CBN, fifty years of service to the Filipino people."). It shows the ABS-CBN 50th Anniversary logo with a searchlight and a slideshow of the history of the ABS-CBN, with the network's motto, "In the Service of the Filipino", shown below the anniversary logo.

FX/SFX: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A orchestra tune with a choir then a male voiceover saying Ito po ang ABS-CBN. Limapmpung taon nang naglilingkod sa sambayanang Pilipino.

Music/Sound Variant: A long variant exists because a 2 minute half

Availlabity: This was used as a de-facto home video logo from 2003 until 2004.