TV5 NETWORK, Inc. said it is open to producing more entertainment content after Netflix, Inc. acquired the rights to stream its television series Amo (Boss).
In a statement over the weekend, TV5 said Amo, a 12-episode mini-series directed by Brillante Mendoza, is the first series from the Philippines to be shown on Netflix. It will be available worldwide starting April 9.
Aired on TV5 last August, Amo focuses on the different players in the Duterte government’s drug war, where thousands of suspected drug users and peddlers have been killed.
“TV5’s partnership with Netflix shows that the network is capable of producing high quality programs that can be showcased to a wider audience worldwide,” TV5 First Vice-President — Head of Content & Programming Mellanie Yazon-Tolentino said in a statement.
TV5 President and CEO Vicente “Chot” P. Reyes said Netflix’s acquisition of Amo provides “an additional platform to help share the first-ever Filipino series on Netflix to a worldwide audience.”
Ms. Tolentino said the company is looking at the possibility of producing more entertainment shows, as well as news and sports, to prop up revenues.
“Depending on how Amo will be received by the worldwide audience, TV5 is open to the idea of producing more entertainment content on top of its high rating sports content,” she said.
Earlier, Mr. Reyes said TV5 reduced losses by 43% last year, and is on track to further cut losses by the end of 2018. The company targets to break even by 2019.
TV5 last October partnered with US-based multimedia sports entertainment company ESPN, Inc., part of the Walt Disney Group, to focus on its sports programming, and rebranded its Sports5 segment to ESPN5.
TV5 is a wholly owned subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of MediaQuest Holdings, has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo
