Maria Clara at Ibarra is one of the GMA shows that will be shown on iWantTFC. Image: Courtesy of GMA’s Corporate Affairs & Communications Department
Following the collaboration between ABS-CBN and GMA in the series “Unbreak My Heart,” the two networks again teamed up for another project, this time in featuring the hit Kapuso teleserye “Maria Clara at Ibarra” on the Kapamilya network’s streaming service.
In a news release, the GMA-helmed series would begin showing on ABS-CBN streaming platform iWantTFC on May 1, as well other Kapuso shows like “The World Between Us,” “Abot Kamay na Pangarap,” “Apoy sa Langit,” and “First Yaya.”
“This collaboration with ABS-CBN is another validation of this commitment as we make our world-class content available to a wider audience. At the end of the day, the Filipino viewers — our boss — will greatly benefit from this,” GMA’s SVP for Finance Ronaldo Mastrili was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN International managing director Jun Del Rosario said adding a roster of GMA shows to their platform is a step towards providing “easy access to content” to audiences around the globe.
“We are delighted to add a slate of live streaming channels and popular shows from GMA to our ever-growing news and entertainment offerings. As the home of Filipino stories, we will continue to give our audience easy access to content they trust us to deliver,” Del Rosario added.
The Kapuso shows will reportedly be available in select countries in the Asia Pacific region, Europe, Middle East, North Africa, and South Pacific islands, per GMA.
The collaboration comes months after the teleserye “Unbreak My Heart” starring Joshua Garcia, Jodi Sta. Maria, Gabbi Garcia, and Richard Yap, coming from ABS-CBN and GMA, was confirmed to be in production. Despite the series of teasers, a premiere date is yet to be announced, as of this writing.
Earlier, ABS-CBN’s head of TV production Laurenti Dyogi told reporters in March 2023 that GMA is the “number one station,” the first time a network executive made such an acknowledgment after years of a so-called “network war” between the two. Dyogi further said that since ABS-CBN cannot operate as a broadcast entity without its franchise, it has been relegated to “producing content.” EDV