TV5, NOW under the management of Manny Pangilinan?s MediaQuest, has big plans for the coming year, said Bobby Barreiro, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

During the Ad Congress held in Subic Bay recently, Barreiro told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the new management was looking into improving the fledgling network?s signal.

It bought and installed a 120K transmitter from Italy, which now serves the Metro Manila area, said Barreiro. ?We are looking into improving our transmission nationwide. The people of MediaQuest know the importance of a good infrastructure.?

Apart from strengthening its signal, TV5 is also upgrading its production equipment, especially for news-gathering. There are rumors that former news executives from rival stations will beef up the station?s news and public affairs team next year.

First to join TV5 ? as head of News and Public Affairs ? is Luchi Cruz-Valdes, former ABS-CBN Current Affairs head.

?I don?t mind working with professionals like Valdes who?s an industry stalwart,? said Barreiro.

He added that the new management may build a new studio that?s more accessible than its present site in Novaliches. ?We want to improve the work flow,? he said. ?Our goal is to have a completely tape-less digital system in place.?

?The best and brightest?

For her part, Valdes said: ?We are really expanding our news organization. We are looking for the best and the brightest.?

Pangilinan, in a pre-taped audio-visual presentation, told the AdCongress delegates that his involvement in TV5 is a ?long-term investment.?

(After only a year, TV5?s (then ABC 5) previous block-time partner, MPB Primedia, left the network, as did former owner Tonyboy Cojuangco.)

?Big vision?

Pangilinan said his ?big vision? has TV5 playing a ?crucial? role in the media landscape. The new team?s battlecry: ?Provide the best content for everyone, everywhere, anytime.?

?We want to be gadget-neutral,? said Barreiro. ?We will air our programs on all platforms. MediaQuest, through its partners, can offer the Internet (PLDT Watchpad), mobile phones (Smart?s Sandbox), digital direct-to-home satellite service (Cignal), and mobile TV (MyTV).?

New TV shows will be launched next year, said Barreiro.

Pangilinan also announced at the AdCongress that TV5 would go into movie production, promising to churn out next year more films than ABS-CBN?s Star Cinema and GMA Films combined.

Barreiro said the planned film arm was ?a multi-million peso investment,? and the target would be ?at least 17 movies a year.?