The story of Asia Broadcasting Corporation is, at its core, one of persistence.
Founded in July 1998 by Rayynor Silva, ABC has spent nearly three decades building what is now Sri Lanka’s largest private media network, a position it holds not through inheritance or monopoly, but through deliberate strategy, consistent reinvention, and an early conviction that technology and public service are not competing priorities. For that sustained record of achievement, ABC has received a 2026 Global Recognition Award, an acknowledgment that places its work in an international context.
Silva’s own story runs parallel to the network’s. He is credited with introducing private broadcasting to Sri Lanka, a contribution that reshaped the country’s media culture from the ground up. As Chairman and the single largest shareholder of Asia Broadcasting Corporation, holding 99.9% of the company, Silva’s visionary leadership has been the singular driving force behind the network’s rise to the top of Sri Lanka’s media landscape. Over 27 years, he has built a portfolio that includes five national radio channels, Hiru FM, Gold FM, Sun FM, Sooriyan FM, and Shaa FM, and Hiru TV, the country’s most-watched television station. Each channel holds the top position in its respective market segment. That kind of across-the-board dominance is unusual in any media environment, and rarer still when it is sustained over decades rather than a single competitive cycle.
Building Infrastructure With Purpose
The physical and operational scale of ABC reflects a long-term institutional mindset. A 100,000-square-foot studio complex, purposely built within Colombo city limits, comprising four television studios as expansive as 100 feet in length and 80 feet in width, at the World Trade Center in Colombo, infrastructure that signals intent as much as capacity. When Hiru TV launched in 2012 as Sri Lanka’s first high-definition, digitally enabled channel with island-wide coverage from its first broadcast day, it set a technical standard that competitors were still working to match years later.
That commitment to technological readiness has paid dividends in the digital age. ABC’s flagship mobile application received a World Summit Award, recognized internationally as the standard for mobile content applications. This distinction places a Sri Lankan media product in a global competitive field. The network has also received an Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Award for the best digitalization of television and radio in the region, along with multiple honors for digital media and mobile innovation.
It is Silva’s forward-thinking vision that has driven ABC’s digital agenda, ensuring the network’s infrastructure remains future-ready as audiences fragment and distribution channels multiply. The network’s standing as the second-ranked media channel on TikTok in South Asia, a metric that reflects genuine audience engagement rather than institutional prestige, underscores how effectively that infrastructure has been deployed.
Journalism, Reach, And Responsibility
Hiru News, the network’s news division, has maintained a reputation for comprehensive, unbiased reporting across corporate, sports, and national affairs. It draws on more than 300 local correspondents and an international reporting network that reaches 40 countries, a logistical commitment that reflects an editorial philosophy rather than a marketing strategy. News content reaches audiences through television, SMS, and web platforms, a distribution approach designed for breadth rather than demographic concentration.
Photo Courtesy of Asia Broadcasting Corporation
ABC’s trilingual broadcasting model, serving Sinhala, Tamil, and English-speaking audiences, reflects a similar orientation toward inclusion. In a country with a complex linguistic and ethnic landscape, that choice carries institutional weight. Humanitarian initiatives, including Rata Wenuwen Hiru Sahana Yaathra, have received formal recognition for outstanding humanitarian service, reinforcing a network identity that extends beyond commercial performance.
Silva’s public recognition mirrors the network’s standing. The Government of Sri Lanka awarded him the honorary title “Vishwa Keerthi Maadya Shoori Jana Prasaada” for his contributions to the nation’s media sector. He also served as the youngest president in the history of the International Advertising Association Sri Lanka Chapter, and during that tenure, developed the advertising awards known as “Chilies,” created in collaboration with the 4A’s, a contribution whose influence extended well beyond broadcasting into the broader advertising industry. His shareholding in ABC further highlights his personal commitment and accountability to the organization, as a founder-leader whose vision and ownership are inseparable from the institution he built.
A Record That Speaks For Itself
In the Global Recognition Award evaluation, ABC received a perfect score across all assessed leadership dimensions, including strategy implementation, inspiring leadership, and ethical decision-making. Alex Sterling, a spokesperson for Global Recognition Awards, noted, “Asia Broadcasting Corporation exemplifies exactly the kind of principled, innovation-driven leadership that a 2026 Global Recognition Award is designed to honor. Its impact on Sri Lanka’s media landscape is measurable and enduring.”
Content innovation has kept pace with operational growth. Hiru Star, the country’s first live, app-based reality competition, and the drama series Paata Kurullo have earned top honors at the Raigam Tele’es and the 2025 Asia Miracle Awards. These are not vanity metrics; they reflect audience choice in a competitive content environment where attention is genuinely scarce.
What ABC’s record ultimately illustrates is that market leadership and institutional responsibility are not in tension. They can, under the right conditions, reinforce each other. After nearly three decades of building one of South Asia’s most consequential media organizations, Rayynor Silva has made that case not in theory, but in practice, and the evidence is visible in every corner of Sri Lanka’s media landscape.
