Tag: Broadcast

Manila, Philippines – Cable television service Sky Cable is set to make its final broadcast on February 26 following the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to PLDT to acquire Sky Cable.

In a text advisory sent out to its users, Sky Cable said that it will officially discontinue its cable TV business following its last broadcast day and in anticipation of the PLDT acquisition. Said advisory is also reflected in its official website.

“In anticipation of and pursuant to the closing conditions of the PLDT-SKY acquisition deal, SKY will now begin its transition into a dedicated internet service provider. With this deal, SKY will discontinue its cable TV operations effective February 27, 2024. The final broadcast and sign-off of SKYcable will be on February 26, 2024 at 11:59pm,” the company stated.

It is worth noting, however, that SKY Fiber will still continue operations, with the company promising that subscribers will be provided with the same level of service and customer experience.

“Thank you for your years of support and for making SKYcable a part of your home,” the company concluded.

Recent stock filings by ABS-CBN, the parent company of Sky Cable, and PLDT that the Philippine Competition Commission has already approved the acquisition, and is now subject to closing conditions and final approval through a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) by March 16.

Last week, PLDT clarified news about the acquisition following media reports suggesting that the Sky Cable acquisition had already been closed by both parties.

“Once the approval of the PCC is obtained, the sellers will continue to work on the other closing conditions which include, among others, the termination or cessation of Sky’s pay TV and cable businesses, obtaining all other applicable government approvals and clearances, and obtaining all required consents and corporate actions,” it previously said.

Details about the merger first came into light when ABS-CBN, the parent company of Sky Cable, signed an agreement with PLDT back in March 2023 to sell off fully the business to PLDT. It is also worth noting that Cignal, the media firm under PLDT’s MediaQuest affiliate, had already a 34.99% stake in Sky Cable, which materialised back in 2022.

Australia – SBS, Australia’s broadcast company, has today launched SBS WorldWatch, an all-new free-to-air multilingual news channel. The dedicated 24-hour channel features news bulletins from leading international broadcasters in more than 35 languages and is home to SBS’s Arabic and Mandarin television news bulletins – SBS عربي News and SBS 中文 News. The launch of the channel builds on SBS’ expanding range of multilingual services for audiences across TV, radio and digital platforms. 

James Taylor, managing director of SBS, said, “Our multilingual strategy sits at the heart of SBS and we are very excited to extend our offering with the launch of the SBS WorldWatch channel today, which sees us further expand our in-language news bulletins for people whose preferred language may not be English.”

“From today our Mandarin and Arabic news programs, which we soft launched on SBS OnDemand earlier this year, will have a prime-time home on the SBS WorldWatch channel -a very real demonstration of how we are delivering on our Charter in providing both local and international news to these communities,” added Taylor. 

SBS WorldWatch broadcasts international news services from 30 countries – bringing Australians different perspectives from around the globe, and enabling culturally and linguistically diverse communities to catch up on world news in their preferred language. 

Produced by two dedicated teams of bilingual journalists and broadcast in prime time, SBS’ new locally produced half hour Arabic and Mandarin television news bulletins – SBS عربي News and SBS 中文 News – provide impartial coverage, insightful context and balancedanalysis of the major national and international stories, in language, every weeknight. 

SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, Mandi Wicks, said the launch of SBS WorldWatch is a further demonstration of SBS’ commitment to meeting the needs of a culturally and linguistically diverse Australia. 

“SBS is uniquely placed to reach and engage the many Australians who speak a language other than English, and we are thrilled to be evolving and enhancing our offering with the launch of SBS WorldWatch. It is exciting to be increasing our commitment to more SBS-produced multilingual news through the Arabic and Mandarin bulletins, ensuring access to relevant and current news for two of Australia’s largest and fastest growing language communities,” said Wicks. 

SBS WorldWatch expands SBS’s commitment to providing comprehensive news and information across its network – in English through SBS World News, and in more than 60 languages across SBS Radio services, podcasting, and digital platforms – and the multilingual services the network has been delivering to Australians for more than 45 years. 

SBS WorldWatch is available on free-to-air television (channel 35) and on SBS On Demand from today. 

SBS WorldWatch is the network’s sixth free-to-air channel joining SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV), SBS VICELAND, SBS Food and SBS World Movies.