Television in the Philippines

Television in the Philippines was introduced in October 1953, with the first commercial broadcast by Alto Broadcasting System (now ABS-CBN). This made the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country, and the second country in Asia, to air television broadcasts. During the late 1940s, Filipino engineers and students had conducted academic experiments with broadcasting.

From 1975 to 1978, the Philippine Academy for Television Arts and Sciences (PATAS) gave out the Sinag Awards.

Star Awards for Television, the country's oldest existing television awards, are handed out annually by the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) after being voted on by the press.

The Philippines does not operate any independent public broadcasting television networks, but there are several government-owned networks.

James Lindenberg, an American-born Filipino engineer dubbed the "Father of Philippine Television", began assembling transmitters and established Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) on July 11, 1946. The company was named after his wife's hometown of Bolinao, Pangasinan. Three years later, he was the first to apply for a license in the Philippine Congress to establish a television station. Lindenberg's request was granted on June 14, 1950. Because of the scarcity of raw materials and strict import controls since 1948, he was compelled to branch into radio broadcasting instead.

Lindenberg's attempt to establish a television station failed, and it would soon fall under new management. Antonio Quirino, a judge and brother of then-president of the Philippines Elpidio Quirino, had been trying to get a license from Congress that would allow him to set up a television station. Congress denied his request, primarily out of fear that he would use the station as a vehicle for propaganda for his brother, who was then running for a second term in the presidential elections of 1953. As a result, Quirino bought a 70% share in BEC, which indirectly granted him control of a television franchise. He changed the name of BEC to Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) after the names of its new owners, Aleli and Judge Antonio Quirino. Lindenberg continued to serve as co-owner and general manager.

Before its official launch, the television station encountered multiple challenges. The Central Bank of the Philippines, for instance, refused to grant Quirino credit from the bank, stating the venture was too risky. For this reason, Quirino asked for help from his friend Marvin Gray, whose family was a friend of David Sarnoff, then-president of Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Through the intervention of Gray, Quirino was able to get assistance from RCA.

Before the first telecast, Quirino imported 120 television sets using the 60,000-peso loan that he had received from the owner of Joe's Electric. In exchange for the loan, Joe's Electric was the first corporation bestowed with the right to sell television sets in the Philippines.