The Philippine Super Liga will have a new partner in Sports5. (Photo credit: Business Mirror)
After a two-year partnership with Solar Sports, the Philippine Super Liga decided to switch gears for the benefit of free TV viewers.
Starting this season, the PSL will be seen exclusively on Sports5’s free TV outlets. Most games will be aired live on AksyonTV, with select games to be simulcast on TV5.
Sports5 is no stranger to airing the PSL. During the volleyball league’s first season, a select number of playoff games were aired on the Sports5 channels, with Solar Sports then responsible for the production.
This time around, however, every game will be produced by the Sports5 team. The move to free TV should benefit not only the viewers, the fans and the volleyball community, but also the league itself, as it aims to sustain the growth and popularity of women’s volleyball in the country.
The 2015 PSL All-Filipino Conference will kick off this Saturday, March 21. Six teams will participate in the tournament: Cignal HD, Petron Blaze, Philips Gold, Shopinas.com, Foton, and Mane ‘N Tail.
Most games of the tournament will be held at the two Pasay City venues: Mall of Asia Arena and the Cuneta Astrodome. A few other games will be held outside Metro Manila, all for the benefit of provincial fans.
A new season should bring bigger opportunities, and for the Philippine Super Liga, a move to free TV will mean a lot to the league’s growth and success.
UPDATE: The Philippine Super Liga will continue to air on Solar Sports, with live games on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. The games on the Sports5 channels will feature Taglish commentary, while the games on Solar Sports will feature English commentary. However, Solar Sports will now carry the Sports5 feed, similar to the arrangement made during PBA games in both Sports5 and Fox Sports Philippines.
From the Tube 
kahit na may Super Liga na sa Sports5, sana ayusin na nila ang kanilang sports lineup, especially the NCAA. sana ayusin na rin yung Aksyon TV na walang gaanong original programming outside the blocktimers.
Mukhang on the way out na ang PH NCAA, sadly. And we’ve been saying this so many times: AksyonTV needs to be fixed, from programming to signal reception. Period.
Aabangan na lang natin kung ireretain ng Sports5 ang NCAA, kunin ulit ng ABS-CBN Sports o kunin na ng Solar Sports ang NCAA.
Mukhang may possibility na rin na hindi na ma-ere sa TV ang NCAA come Season 91. And besides, they can still flourish without the benefit of TV coverage.
Nagpahanging dati si James Velasquez sa kanyang extro noong Cheerdance Competition na Sports5 pa rin ang magcocover ng NCAA parating ng Season 91.
AFAIK, it’s not confirmed at the moment. Napa-slip of the tongue lang siya.
But this is unconfirmed for now. Kaya pa ng NCAA na magkaroon ng isang magandang season kahit meron o walang television coverage. 🙂
Honestly, mas makakabuti na lang para sa NCAA na hindi na mag-chase for TV rights. Mas mapapabilis pa ang basketball season nila kung hindi nila hahabulin ang mga TV rights. Sports5 can just focus on the PSL, UFL and PBA, along with select foreign leagues and events.
Super Liga games will be aired on non-PBA days, that’s Mondays and Thursdays.
They do have Saturday games too, right before the PBA.
I hope the Super Liga on Mondays and Thursdays airs on the PBA time slots. Better than Tagalized movies. Saturday games of the PSL will be aired on Aksyon.
They will actually, as is the first game of Saturdays. Better go to the PSL website.
I just checked the schedule of the PSL. The 4:15 pm games on Mondays and Thursdays will be aired live on TV5 but the 6:15 pm games will be aired delayed. That means, still Tagalized movies on Mondays and Thursdays when there is no PBA. Majority of the games will be aired on Aksyon TV so this could be what Aksyon needs to boost its sagging image.
And you’re right, no more Solar Sports games so expect people like James Velasquez, Noel Zarate, Denise Tan and Apple David to cover the games of the PSL for Sports5. I don’t know if Mich del Carmen, Ina Ongsiako and Selina Dagdag will be added to the Sports5 team. Those three ladies did courtside for the PSL when it was under Solar.
The Solar Sports announcers in the PSL before were essentially freelancers, so pwede pa rin silang mag-commit to Sports5. But we’ll see about that.
Mula nang manalo ang Lady Eagles for the very first time since last year, talagang tuloy-tuloy na ang growth ng collegiate volleyball from media to the fans. At hanngang sa PSL ay marami pa din ang mga nakatutok. But how about AKSYONtv & tv5? Paulit-ulit kong suggestion: minimize movie blocks on tv5, minimize re-runs on AKSYONtv. And sad to say, even ShopJapan also airs on Kapatid news-and-sports channel every Saturday afternoon (yes, I saw that last week).
NCAA-90 officially signed off. Kung mapupunta siya sa Solar Sports, it will be bad lang. Kahit may mga VOD, cable & satellite subscribers, eh how about those fans who depends on TV+ & antenna? Sana mapunta na lang ito ulit sa ABS-CBN.
Depends on ABS-CBN. Right now, the Kapamilya Network is more focused on UAAP. NCAA, for ABS-CBN, is not attractive to advertisers. Better yet, don’t televise the NCAA as long as the format remains the same.
Indeed. No TV coverage will benefit the NCAA. Sa UFL at PSL na lang mag-focus ang Sports5 as their second priorities. At least manageable ang scheduling ng mga ito.
As I said, NCAA can thrive without TV coverage. Sobrang dami na nila ng schools, and with the constraints in scheduling, mukhang hindi na feasible ang TV coverage sa kanila considering the consequences of extended seasons in basketball.
Saka tingnan na lang natin kung paano makaka-thrive ang PSL sa Sports5. And besides, we’ve been through these suggestions over and over again regarding the TV5 networks.
Many NCAA high school players leave for UAAP schools for college. That shows how much more popular the UAAP is than the NCAA. And ABS-CBN Sports is benefiting from that.
Regarding the PSL, mas marami rin ang UAAP alumnus kaysa sa NCAA, as far as this upcoming conference is concerned.
Oh, yes. I agree with Sir James Ty. Seems like maraming mga taga-NCAA HS players (lalo na sa Red Cubs like J. A. Caracut) ang lumilipat sa UAAP teams for their college careers this year, aside from good offers. Kawawa na ang NCAA this year pagdating sa TV exposure. Even in some sports-centric online sites, they usually consider that league as “outside the UAAP”, along with other local leagues like CESAFI, etc.
Good luck na lang sa mga NCAA fans like me (on Red Lions). Regarding PSL naman, seems like they’re not preferring Araneta as an alternative venue.
That’s because Araneta has been the PBA’s primary venue for many years now, and most CommCup playoff games are expected to be booked there in advance. The PSL has always been playing in Southern Metro Manila since their inception, just to be fair, considering the Shakey’s V-League has been calling the Arena in San Juan home for many years.
Well. let’s see it they work out the broadcast scheme of TV5 if they aired the games of Super Liga. Heard that Monday, Thursday and Saturday first games will be aired simultanously on TV5 and Aksyon TV. Second game on AksyonTV live, delayed in a few matches. Interviews, huddles and pre and post-game highlights on Sports5.ph
Honestly, noong panahon nang mag-cover ang PSL sa Solar Sports, na-amaze lang ako sa kanilang coverage so far (of-course, some credits to James Velasquez, Tex Suter and Chiqui Pablo)
A simple volleyball fan here! #OneForPHVBall
The reason for the delayed broadcast on Mondays and Thursdays is due to the UFL, and most likely the PBA playoffs. But that’s the best that they can do for now.
The PSL on Solar team should move altogether to Sports5, since mga freelancers lang sila during the time Solar had the PSL.
Actually, Tex Suter and Chiqui Pablo did NCAA volleyball so they will most likely be doing the PSL too.
Yes for sure.
Meanwhile, the PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup will be commitedly to aired on Sports5 platforms (TV5, AksyonTV and Sports5.ph) live starting July 18 at 2:30pm.
Solar Sports may cover this too, unless the plan changes again.