A recent nationwide survey revealed that most Filipinos favor the return of ABS-CBN’s broadcast operations nearly four years after Congress shut down the network.
Public opinion research firm WR Numero presented its findings on Thursday, March 6, showing that only around 10% of respondents oppose granting ABS-CBN a new franchise, while 70% support it and about 20% remain undecided. The survey, conducted from February 10 to 18 with 1,814 respondents, showed strong backing across all regions and income groups.
Support was highest in Metro Manila, where 80% of participants favored the network’s comeback. The highest opposition came from Luzon (excluding Metro Manila), but it only reached 12.4%.
Since its shutdown in 2020, ABS-CBN has stayed active through partnerships with other networks, such as ALLTV and GMA, allowing some of its programs to continue airing.
The shutdown, following a cease and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), led to GMA Network dominating the free TV market with over 92% share, according to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC). Lawmakers have since raised concerns over the lack of competition in the media industry.
Currently, five bills proposing to restore ABS-CBN’s 25-year franchise are pending in Congress, though most have seen little progress since 2022.
