MANILA, FEBRUARY 18, 2013 – GMA Network has allocated a P600-million budget for its plans t expand in provinces through satellite stations and in preparation for its coverage of the upcoming local and senatorial elections.
According to GMA chairman Felipe Gozon, the budget will be used to open new local stations and beef up equipment and facilities. This year’s budget pares down to the P972 million set aside by GMA7 for capital expenditures in 2012.
Gozon foresees that GMA7 hitting the P3 billion mark in 2013, expecting P2 billion in revenues from political advertisements alone. Last year, the chairman said the network is likely to spend about P100 million to acquire equipment for the extensive coverage of Eleksyon 2013.
GMA7 has set aside an estimate of P175 million in 2012 in planting stations in Ilocos and Bicol, in addition to its local presence in Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Dagupan. Recently, the network acquired transmitters in Bukidnon and Negros Occidental.
