MANILA (UPDATE) — Seventy years ago, on October 23, 1953, the Philippines aired its first official television broadcast through the Bolinao Electronics Corporation, the company that would later be known as ABS-CBN.

In 1957, Eugenio Lopez Sr., owner of Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN), acquired Alto Broadcasting System (ABS), forming ABS-CBN.

Since then, that initial telecast seen on 300 imported TV sets has evolved to a multimedia company whose content appears on multiple channels and online platforms here and abroad.

From TV to beyond: How ‘Kapamilya’ came to define ABS-CBN

Over the years, ABS-CBN has had iconic taglines, slogans and campaigns, which remain ingrained among Filipinos up until today.

The Philippines’ largest network. The Star Network. The Sarimanok. "In the service of the Filipino."

While these tags made ABS-CBN easily remembered through the years, none has come closer to being equated with the company on a deeper level than the “Kapamilya” branding.

Translated as “part of the family”, the word has been the company’s moniker for already over two decades.

"We were just looking for a term that would encapsulate all those traits and values, na parang naging isang tao siya na mahahawakan mo at mararamdaman mo," said Cindy de Leon, former head of ABS-CBN Creative Communications Management (CCM).

"Siyempre, kinonsider din 'yang 'Kaibigan', na parang ambabaw naman; 'Kapatid', parang medyo sobra naman."

"So 'yun, at the end of the day, we agreed on 'Kapamilya'," she continued, noting that no one from among those who took part in the brainstorming sessions can be solely credited for coining the term.

First introduced before the turn of the millennium, "Kapamilya" also exemplified a switch from TV-centered slogans to ones that transcended the medium.

The tone was a deliberate shift from how ABS-CBN had been communicating with its audiences during the decade before, de Leon said.

After that, other broadcast networks soon followed the "KA-pamilya" format to relate to their audience.

But as ABS-CBN’s imaging heads observed, the branding has taken a life of its own—made to be all-inclusive and ultimately embraced by people beyond the company.

Internally, the ABS-CBN corporate values are now dubbed "The Kapamilya Way".

De Leon said that "Kapamilya" gave the company and its employees a sense of mission and served as guide in conducting themselves and in relating to others.

'BAWAT PINOY, KAPAMILYA'

The “Kapamilya” tag saw through ABS-CBN’s triumphs and challenges—especially as it lost and regained its audience, not once but twice.

Current CCM head Robert Labayen said the word was suited for that journey, being laden with a lot of story and emotion on its own.

As ABS-CBN takes on more collaborations that now see its shows being viewed on former rivals, Labayen acknowledged that the essence of “Kapamilya” has truly shifted beyond the exclusivity of the “network war”.

He added this was how they’ve treated the tag ever since—with one campaign in 2005 dubbed “Bawat Pinoy (Every Filipino), Kapamilya”.

"Kapamilya was how we called every Filipino. It was not just the station, our stars and our employees... Our partners are our Kapamilya, too," Labayen said.

Will this remain true with ABS-CBN pushing further its global reach?

“Siguro hindi nila maiintindihan ang word mismo na Kapamilya,” he replied.

“But the essence, ‘yong nilalaman ng salitang Kapamilya—‘yong kaisa mo sa pangarap, sa dasal, sa pagsisikap, ‘yon. In that sense, magiging Kapamilya din natin ang audience natin sa ibang bansa.

"I think that as we globalize more, we can consider everyone in the world a part of our big family."

news.abs-cbn.com is the official news website of ABS-CBN Corporation.

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