Tag: Cignal TV

Philippines – Cignal TV, the pay-TV provider in the Philippines, has strengthened its partnership with Quickplay to deliver a wider range of content across new platforms, including Android set-top boxes (STBs), enhancing the viewing experience for Filipino audiences.

As part of its innovation strategy, Cignal TV is harnessing Quickplay’s cloud-native, open-architecture OTT platform to elevate its Cignal Play service through the launch of the Cignal Play TV Android set-top box.

The new device serves as an all-in-one entertainment hub, combining various tiers of Cignal TV’s live and on-demand content with pre-installed apps like Pilipinas Live, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Go, VIU, and Lionsgate. These services are also accessible regardless of the user’s broadband provider, ensuring a seamless and diverse entertainment experience for users.

Gerard L. Milan, first vice president and chief revenue officer for Cignal TV, said, “Cignal TV is committed to delivering content that our customers love across the various platforms and screens that they use, combining our vast library with that of leading streaming apps.”

“The versatility and flexibility of the Quickplay platform have enabled us to expedite the integration of new services and availability of our content on Android devices. This will serve as the foundation for further content, product, and business model offerings in the future,” added Milan. 

Paul Pastor, chief business officer and co-founder of Quickplay, said, “Strategies that make a wide variety of content available on subscriber-owned devices are essential to MVPD’s continued ownership of the living room. Cignal TV is using the power of our cloud-native platform and its existing content relationships to launch game-changing Android STB services that will enhance their competitive position in the Philippines and address the needs of its Filipino community.”

Cignal TV’s transition to the Quickplay platform in 2022 brought significant improvements, including enhanced streaming performance, streamlined content management, and a user experience that quickly earned praise on Google Play. A year later, the same platform powered the launch of Pilipinas Live, a sports service aimed at Filipino viewers globally.

Quickplay’s OTT platform supports service launches and telco migration strategies to IPTV, enabling scalable cloud applications with advanced technologies like containers and microservices. This technology stack offers superior performance, modular feature expansion, rapid iteration, and built-in scalability and security. Leading OTT providers and telcos, including sports giants MSG+ and YES, as well as Cignal TV in the Philippines, leverage Quickplay to deliver flexible and agile services that match or surpass broadcast reliability and performance.

Manila, Philippines – Cignal TV, the television arm of media company Cignal, has unveiled ‘Pilipinas Live’, its own over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform dedicated to showcase sports events.

Through the new platform, users can watch sports live broadcasts including behind-the-scenes action, sports news and updates, interactive fan experiences, and other exclusive features.

Moreover, the platform also offers multiple screen viewing, with users able to watch plays from various camera points, as well as get insights from special hosts and guests and engage with fellow sport fans’ perspectives while sharing your own thoughts with other like-minded viewers on the app.

Jane Jimenez Basas, president and CEO of Cignal TV, said, “Pilipinas Live was created to reshape the landscape of sports viewing. It offers the ultimate digital experience to Filipino sports enthusiasts wherever they may be. The innovation behind the app’s development and rollout represents our steadfast commitment to providing only the best to the Pinoy sports fan.”

Basas added, “It will also stream this year’s most anticipated basketball event, the FIBA World Cup 2023 which will feature the best teams around the world. With Pilipinas Live, you can watch not just all the games that will be played in the Philippines, but also all the games in Japan and Indonesia. Of course, fans of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) will also enjoy watching their favourite games on the streaming platform.”

Cignal TV previously tapped Canadian software company Quickplay to aid in its development for the sports app, as well as expanding its existing ‘Cignal Play’ streaming service.

Manila, Philippines – Local pay television provider Cignal TV has tapped Canadian software company Quickplay to aid them in the expansion of its existing video streaming service called ‘Cignal Play’, as well as the launch of a sports app–a first in the country.

The Cignal Play expansion will allow subscribers in the Philippines to access an all-in-one entertainment platform with multiple tiers of live and on demand content from Cignal TV, in addition to third-party apps and streaming services, regardless of their broadband provider.

The sports app, meanwhile, will use the same Quickplay infrastructure of Cignal Play on mobile and handheld devices. It will be a single source for live events, timely sports news and information, interactive experiences, and other unique content that cater to the varied interests of Filipino fans around the world.

Cignal TV is working with Quickplay to create these two market differentiators that will be launched in the coming months, running on Google Cloud.

Jane Basas, president and CEO of Cignal TV, said, “Streaming has given viewers greater control over a wider range of choices regarding the content available on the devices they use. The Quickplay platform has the agility and high performance that we need to quickly and efficiently provide the big screen viewing experience and live sports action that our subscribers want.”

Meanwhile, Goutham Vinjamuri, chief operating officer and co-founder of Quickplay, commented, “Cignal TV has been a leader in using the flexibility and extensibility of our platform to achieve market differentiation and better business outcomes. We look forward to helping Cignal TV unleash 10-foot Cignal Play experiences on smart TVs, as well as live sports coverage through their sports app in the near future.” 

He added, “We will continue to work with them to find new ways to forge meaningful connections among their subscribers and their commercial partners.”

Manila, Philippines – Top industry players in the Philippines including, Globe, GMA Network, Cignal TV, KROMA Entertainment, and Smart Communications have joined hands with the Asia Video Industry Association’s (AVIA) Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) to announce the formation of the Video Coalition of the Philippines (VCP).

The VCP aims to push for stronger intellectual property protection in the country that will protect both original content and users, as well as promote the Philippines’ creative and media industries, not only in the Philippines but around the world.

VCP convenors will also be building on the momentum of the presentation of the proposed Revised Intellectual Property Code in the Philippines’ 19th Congress in July and the recent Protection of Online Content Summit held on September 2 in Manila. House Bill No. 0799, filed by Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, aims to update the Philippines’ patent application system and make it ‘more attuned to the digital age’. It also ‘provides for technologies and media that were not anticipated’ at the time the intellectual property code was enacted.

Moreover, proposed revisions give regulators greater authority to combat IP violations, including the power to issue ‘permanent blocking orders, takedown orders, cease-and-desist, or disable access orders’ against websites, service providers, and online platforms, including social media. The current IP code does not cover electronic or online content in its definition of pirated goods and lacks clear provisions that would allow for efficient and effective site blocking, and other interventions against online IP violations.

Matt Cheetham, CAP’s general manager, said, “With the presentation of Bill No. 0799, ‘An Act Establishing for the Revised Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines’ to the House, the Philippines has a golden opportunity to not only update and future proof its intellectual property regime, but to act as a launching pad for intellectual property to protect consumers and advance the overall Philippine economy.” 

Cheetham further noted CAP’s recent YouGov survey showed Philippine consumers believe a government regulation for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block pirated content would be the most effective measure to reduce piracy in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Anton Bonifacio, Globe’s chief information security officer, said, “Revising the Intellectual Property Code will go a long way in protecting Filipino consumers from the dangers that lurk in pirate sites and improving cybersecurity in the country, especially as Filipinos now rely heavily on digital platforms.”

Jil Go, KROMA’s head of broadcast and publishing, noted, “Upholding intellectual property rights in the Philippines enables the creative industry to grow and thrive. KROMA, through the Video Coalition of the Philippines, is committed to collaborating with stakeholders to ensure that this is observed, for the industry’s success and sustainability.”

Joseph T. Francia, GMA International’s first vice president and head of operations, said, “GMA’s participation in the Video Coalition of the Philippines presents an opportunity to further strengthen our existing anti-piracy initiatives by working with other players in the industry to push for the implementation of site blocking mechanisms and help protect our viewers and GMA content against unauthorised uploaders.”

Pointing to the impact of site blocking in Indonesia, where traffic to pirate sites has dropped by more than 75% since the government implemented their rolling site blocking procedures in 2019, Cheetham further noted, “The effectiveness of site blocking is backed up by CAP’s most recent YouGov consumer surveys in which more than 50% of Indonesian consumers say that they have stopped or rarely access pirate services as a result of the highly efficient and effective blocking measures in place there.”

“Perhaps, more importantly, 76% of Indonesian consumers say they are accessing more legal content and pirating less, and 26% have subscribed to legitimate sources as a result of illegal streaming sites being blocked. Blocking as an educational tool may also be evident in 95% of Indonesian consumers agreeing that online piracy does have negative consequences – the highest in the region,” said Cheetham.

Manila, Philippines – ABS-CBN and TV5, two of the media giants in the country, have reached a new partnership deal where ABS-CBN has acquired shares from TV5, which is majorly owned by MediaQuest.

According to a joint statement, ABS-CBN Corp will acquire 6,459,393 primary (new) common shares in TV5, representing around 34.99% of the total voting and outstanding capital stock of TV5 for PHP2.16b.

The deal also sees MediaQuest, which is owned by the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, its stake reduced to 64.79 percent after the deal is finished. ABS-CBN can also acquire additional shares in TV5, which may increase the Kapamilya network’s stake in the Kapatid network to 49.92% after 8 years.

As part of the partnership deal as well, cable and satellite TV subsidiaries of ABS-CBN and PLDT also entered into a similar deal. Cignal Cable Corp, under MediaQuest, said it was acquiring 38.88% of Sky Cable Corp, under ABS-CBN, for PHP2.862b.

“The investment of Sky Cable by Cignal Cable is expected to benefit the former’s existing customer base consisting of over 300,000 cable subscribers and close to 350,000 broadband subscribers as of the end of June 2022,” MediaQuest said.

The company also added, “The proceeds of the sale of the Sale Shares, the Convertible Note and the issuance of the Debt Instrument in the total amount of PHP7.5b will be used to repay certain obligations of ABS-CBN and Sky Vision and to fund the investment of ABS-CBN in TV5.”

ABS-CBN Chairman Mark L. Lopez said the partnership was an opportunity to help TV5 grow, strengthen its free to air network, and take it to the next level.

“For ABS, it presents a fantastic platform for us to achieve synergies in production content and talent management as well as maximizing our content delivery. We look forward to be of greater service to the public as we come together in taking TV5 to the next level,” Lopez said.

Meanwhile, Manny Pangilinan, chairman at MediaQuest, commented, “ABS-CBN has always been the leading developer and provider of Filipino-related entertainment content not only in the Philippines but overseas as well. Our companies have always had these cherished values of providing top and quality programs in the service of the Filipino people and together we believe we can achieve this in greater measure and success.”

Last year, the ABS-CBN network began showing popular primetime programs of ABS-CBN such as ‘FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’ as well as the long-running variety show ‘ASAP Natin ‘To’ on TV5.

Manila, Philippines – Sports network Cignal TV has partnered with PDAX, the digital asset exchange in the Philippines, to be its brand partner for University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Games Season 84, a collegiate basketball tournament in the country, which will run until May 2022. 

Through the partnership, PDAX becomes the first-ever crypto company to support a national sporting event. It will be supporting the basketball tournament, while promoting crypto and financial literacy in the country.

Moreover, the crypto company will be featured in in-game premiums and other marketing campaigns of Cignal for the duration of the UAAP Season 84.

Nichel Gaba, PDAX’s founder and CEO, commented, “We are excited to partner with Cignal TV in bringing the UAAP Games for Season 84. We fully support investing in sports development, which is one of the best ways to promote positive values among the youth.”

Meanwhile, Sienna Olaso, Cignal TV’s vice president of channels and content, lauded the partnership as another step to promote youth development in the Philippines. 

“Together with PDAX, we hope to engage young Filipinos in the popular sport of basketball and keep them motivated even with the ongoing challenges brought about by the pandemic. We also hope to bring financial literacy and innovative digital financial solutions closer to the youth,” said Olaso.