MANILA, Philippines?Despite the infusion of capital by a Malaysian corporation, ABC 5 ? now called TV5 ? remains a Filipino TV station, according to new network boss Christopher Sy.

ABC 5 chief operating officer Antonio ?Tonyboy? Cojuangco recently entered into a long-term block airtime agreement with MPB Primedia Inc., a local subsidiary of the Malaysian conglomerate Media Prima Berhad.

The block airtime agreement meant that Primedia bought ?all available airtime? from ABC 5, a network insider explained.

Under Primedia, TV5 aims to air ?innovative, relevant and spirited? programs, according to Sy, Primedia?s CEO.

?This is a local TV station and should be locally run,? Sy declared. ?The Malaysians have left all the decision-making to the team, which is entirely local. TV5 has nothing Malaysian about it.?

Sy added that with the channel?s new programming came the need for the network to change its brand name. The network had been known as Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC) 5 since 1992.

?The re-branding was necessary to more effectively communicate these changes to the public,? Sy said. ?We?re going to be very different from the old ABC 5. The new name, new look and new logo were very deliberate.?

The young network boss gave Inquirer Entertainment an interview last week, answering questions on TV5?s block-timing contract and target market, and its spanking new 120kw transmitter.

What is the duration of the block-timing contract with ABC 5?

We don?t want to get into the details, but it?s definitely more than 10 years.

You are launching at a time when the economy is not so good.

Times are tough these days, but it will not stay like this forever. I think if we effectively build our brand and gain our audience, the money part will take care of itself.

Do you have advertisers? commitment?

There are a lot of conversations going on. We?re pretty optimistic. The presentation (launch) befitted our personality. Our logo is younger, less serious than the others. Around the number 5 is a shaking television. Our slogan is: ?Shake Mo TV Mo.? This means we will shake your perceptions of TV. We want people to see that TV programming is not just what ABS-CBN and GMA 7 want us to watch.

How are your programs different from the current TV fare?

I think the two networks are going after the same market. If you?re someone who?s active, someone who is out of the house most of the time, you would want variety. You don?t like to be watching ?Dyesebel? every single night. We offer programs that are fresher and more tailored for our target market, which is a little younger than ABS? or GMA7?s. Our shows are snappier, faster-paced.

The old ABC 5 catered to an older audience?between 25 and 40. Eventually, because of the sports programming, it skewed a little to the male gender. Our target is gender neutral.

The network recently bought a 120kw transmitter.

ABC 5 realized that one of the things that kept the network back traditionally was the poor signal. To move ahead, Mr. Cojuangco said he really needed to invest in a world-class transmitter and good infrastructure. It?s a brand-new transmitter from Italy. It?s at par with what other networks use.

Studio 23 appears to be targeting the same market as yours. What?s your edge?

Studio 23 has a lot of canned English programs. Our edge is a large slate of local programming. Even our canned shows will be dubbed in Filipino.

Are you not having difficulty getting stars for your shows, since they are mostly under contract with the competition?

We?re lucky that some established names have agreed to do shows for us? Ryan Agoncillo, Iya Villania and Jomari Yllana, among others. These people are committed on a per-show basis. Lucy Torres will continue to appear on ?Shall We Dance,? which will now feature not just ballroom dancing but also hip-hop and street-dancing for the younger viewers.

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph