Dreams of the father
Next-generation media chief ensures his father’s legacy will continue
VINCENT del Rosario, Viva Communications, Inc. president and chief executive officer (CEO) had his baptism of fire, working for the family business that bloomed into an entertainment empire, when he was just a high school student.
As the eldest child of Viva’s chairman, Vic del Rosario, Jr. — fondly known as “Boss Vic” — Del Rosario never worked anywhere else. On the company’s fifth year in 1986, his father decided it was time to start the youngster’s training. “I was a high school student at San Beda [College] in Manila, which was very near Viva’s office [in Escolta],” he recalls.
Del Rosario’s mandate was clear. After classes, he was expected to visit the offices of independent film producers and distributors in the Sta. Cruz and Escolta areas. Eventually, he was given more responsibility, which ate into schoolwork and prevented him from graduating. “I remained a business management freshman during all of my college life at San Beda,” he says without regret. “I dropped out and started working full time for Viva. And up to this day, all of us are still studying under the ‘School of Boss Vic.’
“What I learned from my father, along with the hands-on experience, has been worth much more than my college degree.”
My dad has always taught us never to be afraid to make mistakes...That’s okay. What’s not okay is to repeat those mistakes. I live that mantra even up to this day.”
Heir apparent
During its early years, Viva built up a cache of 500 local film titles, 60 percent company produced and 40 percent locally produced.
Appointing Del Rosario as his father’s heir apparent surprised no one in the industry. “In a selfish way, he would always tell me: ‘You can do it. We’re just here behind you. We’re your caddies.’” the Viva boss says.
Boss Vic had no background making movies when he fearlessly joined the industry with Viva Films in 1981. He son recounts: “It just so happened that he had a star whom he believed in and bet the house on.
“He was just waiting for the right moment to break out of the cage and try something new. He found the right opportunity with Sharon Cuneta, who was the most successful teen recording star at the time. With the support of her father Mayor Pablo Cuneta, he decided to take a leap of faith and produce films.
This month, Viva marks four remarkable decades of entertaining Filipinos through a rich treasure trove of movies and music. Worth remembering among its milestones was the growth of Vicor (a combination of the names of cousins Vic del Rosario and Orly Ilacad) Music Corporation with the addition of Viva Films. The likes of Robin Padilla and Andrew E. sustained Viva’s production momentum. They were joined by icons Regine Velasquez, Sarah Geronimo, Anne Curtis and Nadine Lustre. Vicor and Viva have never lacked for talent through the years, perhaps reflecting what the whole world knows — the Filipino as showman and actor is unrivalled.
Unfortunately, the pandemic arrived and turned the world upside down, causing Viva to lose two major revenue streams as cinemas closed and live events came to a halt.
“Luckily, our Pay TV business is still strong, especially when people were stuck at home,” Del Rosario says. “We then decided to launch Vivamax, our streaming service. That was actually already in the planning stage for a couple of years, but the pandemic pushed its launch ahead. We knew that a differentiator in the streaming business is original content, so we focused on releasing Vivamax exclusives, which would distinguish our platform from the rest.”
Charting the post-pandemic growth of Viva, the company remains pre-occupied with the challenges and opportunities as it forges an even more aggressive path. “Since we are releasing one original film every week on Vivamax, our production schedule is very busy since we have to be ahead by four to five months,” Del Rosario says. “There is an abundance of talented Filipino filmmakers, and we want to tap as extensively as possible so we are open to pitches from directors and writers. With the increasing subscription base and reach of Vivamax, we want our content to reach a global audience.”
Viva has several other subsidiaries to date including Viva Records and Viva Artists Agency. Viva Communications is in charge of producing content for films, series, advertising among others others. Vivamax is the new streaming platform, barely a year old with a million subscribers to date in more than 70 countries.
Viva is also operating four cable channels — Pinoy Box Office (PBO), Viva Cinema, Tagalized Movie Channel (TMC) and Celestial Movies Pinoy (CMP).
“We are also getting heavily into digital with Oomph TV, our multi-channel network which has around 600 creators under its wing,” Del Rosario says. “We will eventually expand into podcasts which are presently under development.”
It has also entered the food and beverage space with Viva International Food and Restaurants, which owns and operates Botejyu, Papermoon, Wingzone, Yogorino, Pepi Cubano and the soon to open, Greyhound Café. “Our target market has always been the masa and we fine tune all our products and marketing towards their taste,” says Del Rosario.
Solid team
Del Rosario is proud of Viva’s 500-strong workforce. He says: “I think every company, including Viva, encounters the usual challenges in production, manpower, customer service, etc. However, Viva is fortunate to have a solid team of executives and employees who are very competent. Whenever any problems arise, we are able to resolve them right away.”
The learning curves? “My dad has always taught us never to be afraid to make mistakes,” Del Rosario says. “That’s okay. What’s not okay is to repeat those mistakes. I live that mantra even up to this day.”
Del Rosario is the eldest in a brood of four children that includes Veronique, Valerie and VR (Vicente Raphael). The youngest is assigned to the family’s food business.
“At an early age, I was weaned on my dad’s work,” Del Rosario discloses. “From Sunday get-togethers to weekends at the malls, he would constantly talk abut music and much later, movies. I think this is how I developed the passion for entertainment very early on.”
Generally, Del Rosario and his father agree on strategies and policies. “My siblings and I toed the line,” the son acknowledges. “We owed it to him to listen, follow and abide by his rules.
“In instances where we collaborated with partners, he would counsel us to study the offer, rather than accept it right away. He was always very careful. I guess that’s why we remain in private hands. So far, we have been answerable only to ourselves.”
Viva plans to go public in the future. “When that happens, we will be scrutinized by our shareholders,” Del Rosario explains. “But that has yet to happen and requires right timing, perhaps.”
Del Rosario expects one or two of their business units to go public, before the company reaches its golden year within the next decade, Says Boss Vic’s eldest son: “So dad can enjoy the fruits of his labor. “I hope the IPO [Initial Public Offering] eventually pushes through, because that’s his dream.”