The Filipino Channel

The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a global subscription television network owned and operated by the Filipino media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. Its programming is composed primarily of imported programs produced and distributed by ABS-CBN Studios and ABS-CBN News, targeting the Filipino diaspora. Available globally on various television platforms, TFC was launched on September 24, 1994, becoming the world's first trans-Pacific Asian broadcaster.

As of 2016, The Filipino Channel has over three million subscribers worldwide in over 40 countries across 4 continents, most of its subscribers are in United States, Canada, Middle East, Europe, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

While TFC traces its origins to 1994, the idea of broadcasting television programming via satellite to the millions in the Filipino diaspora was already floated by the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (now ABS-CBN Corporation) in the late 1980s. This came just as it began reconstruction after forced closure under Martial Law and the 1986 People Power Revolution that ended the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. In 1989, the network began initial transmissions via satellite to Filipinos in the Northern Mariana Islands, especially in Saipan, as well as Guam, making it the first Philippine television network to do so.

Plans to launch the channel began in April 1994 when J. Xavier Gonzales, chief financial officer of Benpres Holdings, said that it would launch a cable television channel aimed at Filipinos living in the West Coast of the United States, rerunning Filipino shows, as well as older movies and made-for-TV films.

On September 24, 1994, ABS-CBN, through its newly established subsidiary ABS-CBN International, signed a historic deal with the PanAmSat to bring the first trans-Pacific Asian programming service to some two million Filipino immigrants in the United States using the then-newly launched PAS 2 satellite. The following day, TFC was officially launched, first as a cable-only network for millions of Filipino Americans countrywide.

The first headquarters of TFC was a garage in Daly City, California, with only eight employees doing all the tasks from managing phones and computers. By 1995, TFC has grown to 25,000 subscribers in the United States. Airings of Mara Clara and other teleseryes began in 1997, with Esperanza and Mula Sa Puso (From the Heart) being the most popular shows.

By 2004, TFC has grown to 250,000 subscribers in the United States. This growth led to the expansion of TFC to other countries and territories.

In 2005, ABS-CBN International signed an affiliation agreement with DirecTV, one of the leading DTH providers in the United States. Under the deal, DirecTV has the exclusive right to distribute the TFC package on its DTH platform. In return, DirecTV will pay license fees to ABS-CBN and to ABS-CBN International. Later that year, the now defunct and award-winning internet television service TFC Now! was launched. This was later replaced by TFC.tv video streaming website. In this year, ABS-CBN International acquired San Francisco International Gateway from Loral Space & Communications. SFIG is a telecommunications port company based in Richmond, California. SFIG provides satellite communications services through its 2.5 acre (1 hectare) facility consisting of 19 satellite dish antennas and 9 modular equipment buildings. ABS-CBN International received Federal Communications Commission licensing approval in April 2006. Also in this year, ABS-CBN International opened its state-of-the-art studio and office in Redwood City, California. In 2006, SFIG successfully handled the pay per view distribution to In Demand and DirecTV for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar Larios super featherweight championship title fight. SFIG's customers include Discovery Communications, CBS, ESPN, Playboy among others. SFIG is a member of the World Teleport Association.