GMA launches new int’l channel

AIMING to increase overseas Filipino market, broadcast company GMA Network, Inc. launched its second international channel, GMA Life TV. On Feb. 16, the Gozon-led company introduced GMA Life TV, which offers both mainstream entertainment and innovative programs that feature Filipinos’ lifestyle and interests. The new international channel will air top-rating television shows from the program lineup of GMA-7 like Maging Akin ka Lamang, as well other programs from the newly overhauled GMA QTV-11, which include The Sweet Life and Proudly Filipina. GMA Life TV will initially be seen in Japan via IPS Access TV and will also be available soon in North America, Middle East and other Asia-Pacific countries. "The launch of GMA Life TV is cause for excitement and gratification as the new channel enables us to offer even more of the finest Filipino programs available while bringing our countrymen abroad even closer to home," said GMA Network Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr. "Our first channel, GMA Pinoy TV, continues to be well received by a growing number of our kababayans overseas and has served to bridge the distance between them and their friends and families back home," he added. — Marian Grace S. Ramos, BusinessWorld