Cignal targets 1M subscribers by yearend

CIGNAL Digital TV is targeting a subscriber base of one million by the end of the year.
Cignal Digital TV owner Manuel Pangilinan told reporters they expect to hit one million subscribers by the end of 2015 after registering 845,000 subscribers as of the end of last year.
The company’s biggest competitor is Sky Cable Corp., the pay TV arm of ABS-CBN Corp. Sky Cable reportedly has a current subscriber base of 800,000 and is targeting to hit one million subscribers in two years’ time.
In 2013 Cignal introduced Cignal TV-To-Go, which allows viewers to watch real-time broadcast feeds of Cignal channels on their broadband-connected smartphones or tablets.
With the introduction of this new offering, Cignal said it expects to attract 100,000 additional subscribers this year.
Cignal-TV-To-Go represents the PLDT Group’s first multimedia, multi-screen answer to evolve side-by-side with technology and the growing needs of its subscribers.
Cignal is owned by MediaScape, a wholly owned subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund.
Meanwhile, Cignal’s Over-The-Top service currently brings 13 premium channels to smartphones and tablets.
The beta phase is offered free of charge to all Cignal postpaid subscribers who have Android devices on the broadband networks of Smart Communications and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
Cignal now claims to be the Philippines’ premier subscription-based direct-to-home satellite television provider that offers high-definition TV and superior audio.
At present, Cignal’s subscriber makeup is 80-percent prepaid and 20-percent postpaid.
For subscribers to receive Cignal broadcasts, they must acquire upon subscription the satellite dish antenna, remote control and the set-top box or integrated receiver-decoder.
Cignal’s prepaid electronic loading system is powered by the prepaid loading platform of Smart Communications, which forms part of the PLDT Group.
Cignal Digital TV uses the DVB-S2 digital television broadcast standard to accommodate standard-definition and high-definition television broadcasts, as well as interactive services offered on its satellite TV service.

Sky Cable spending P1.5-P2 B to sustain broadband growth

Sky Cable Corp., the pay TV arm of ABS-CBN Corp., is spending between P1.5 billion and P2 billion for its capital expenditures this year to help sustain the strong growth in its broadband service.

SkyCable chief operating officer Rodrigo Montinola said in an interview with reporters that the amount would be used to expand its pay TV business nationwide as it sees subscribers hitting one million over the next 24 months from the current level of 800,000.

“I think for what is covered by cable, the mid to upper end of the market we have satisfied with the way we cover the market. Our objective is to basically cover the entire country as well so we can also provide the content in cable to other customers,” Montinola said.

Montinola pointed out that half of the budget would be allocated to expand the service of Sky Broadband in major cities nationwide.

“Broadband is obviously growing much faster in terms of rate. Right now we are about 100,000 and we are growing roughly at 20 to 25 percent year-on-year and we expect that trajectory to continue,” he said.

According to Montinola, only 15 percent of the TV population in the Philippines are pay TV subscribers that is expected to increase with the continued improvement in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate.

“Currently the penetration rate for pay TV is just 15 percent. As the economy grows, people who cannot afford to do the monthly payments would be finally able to do that. So I think there is still room for growth there,” he said.

Meanwhile, SkyCable launched the Sky On-Demand service to allow subscribers to catch-up on their missed episodes or relive their favorite movies directly on TV.

Made possible by the impressive and growing video-on-demand library of iWant TV, SKY On-Demand allows every member of the family to catch-up on episodes of local and foreign cable TV shows using their big TV screen at home.

The newly-launched service runs on the most advanced digibox to date – harnessing the capabilities of SkyCable and Sky Broadband subscriptions to utilize the popular video streaming site, iWant TV.