Leading media conglomerate GMA Network celebrates another milestone as the GMA Entertainment channel recently surpassed 10 million subscribers on YouTube, thus joining an elite group of content creators in Southeast Asia that have also achieved such a feat.
With this accomplishment, the Network formally received on July 23 the Diamond Creator Award, a recognition given by YouTube to content creators that have reached 10 million subscribers. Present in the ceremonial turnover were GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon; President and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr.; Executive Committee Vice Chairman Joel G. Jimenez; Executive Vice President and CFO Felipe S. Yalong; GMA New Media, Inc. (NMI) President and COO Judd Gallares; and GMA NMI Senior Vice President and General Manager Dennis Caharian. The Diamond Play Button was awarded by YouTube’s Southeast Asia Director of Content Partnerships and Business Development Vishal Sarin, and Content Partnerships Philippines Country Lead Pablo Mendoza.
Through NMI, the Network’s technology arm, GMA forged a partnership with YouTube dubbed the YouTube Player for Publishers (“YT PfP”) in mid-2017 that has enabled viewers everywhere to watch official, full episodes of GMA programs online. The partnership not only supports the anti-piracy efforts of GMA Network, but more significantly addresses the millennial video viewing habits that demand access to premium content when they want, wherever they may be. The YT PfP partnership was an enabler for GMA as it aided strategy for boosting YouTube views and hastening the acquisition of subscribers. It also allowed for a more robust content archive that used to only house show highlights, recaps, behind-the-scene videos, among others.
From only 1.6 million subscribers at the start of the YT PfP agreement in June 2017, this soared past 10 million in May this year. As of December 2018, the GMA Network YouTube channel’s rank improved from being in the Top 200 in 2017 to being among the Top 50 worldwide.
Other Kapuso YouTube channels include GMA News for daily video clips from the Network’s news programs, now with 4.1 million subscribers; GMA Public Affairs for documentaries, docudrama, and news magazine shows, now with 6.1 million subscribers; GMA Playlist for heartfelt song renditions from various Kapuso stars; GMA Playground for some of the Network’s child-friendly programs; and GMA Regional TV for the top stories from the regions.
