Television in the Philippines

Television in the Philippines was introduced in 1953. But even before that, during the late 1940s, a number of academic experiments had been done and replicated by Filipino engineers and students.

From 1975 to 1978, the Sinag Awards were given by the Philippine Academy for Television Arts and Sciences (PATAS). On the other hand, the Star Awards for Television is the oldest existing television awards in the country handed out annually by the Philippine Movie Press Club and are voted by the press.

James Lindenberg, an American engineer dubbed as the "father of Philippine television," began assembling transmitters and established the Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) on June 13, 1946. It was named after his wife's hometown of Bolinao, Pangasinan. Three years later, he was the first to apply for a license in Philippine Congress to establish a television station. After a year, on June 14, 1950, his request was granted. Due to the scarcity of raw materials and strict import control since 1948, he was compelled to branch into radio broadcasting instead.

Lindenberg's attempt to put up a television station did not go to waste. Judge Antonio Quirino, the brother of then-Philippine President Elpidio Quirino, had been trying to get a license from Congress that would allow him to put up a television station. The Congress, however, denied him from getting such license for the fear that he might use it as vehicles for propaganda for his brother who was then running for a second term in the Presidential elections of 1953. Because of this, he bought 70-percent share of BEC stocks, which earned him to control the franchise indirectly. He then changed the name of BEC to Alto Broadcasting System (ABS), after the names of its new owners, Aleli and Judge Antonio Quirino. James Lindenberg, was still part-owner, and had served as the general manager of the station.

Before the TV station was formally launched, it faced several obstacles. The Central Bank, for instance, refused to grant Judge Quirino dollar credit from the bank, saying that the said venture was too risky. For this reason, Judge Quirino asked help from his friend Marvin Gray, whose family is a friend of David Sarnoff, who was then the President of Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Through the intervention of Gray, Judge Quirino was able to get assistance from RCA.

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