Philippine Cable and Digital Channels Face Issue of Redundancy

Hero is one of several cable channels in the Philippines that was shut down this year due to redundancy in content. (Logo courtesy of Creative Programs Inc.)

Redundancy has become a common theme for cable and digital channels in the Philippines.

In the first half of 2018 alone, viewers witnessed a closure of numerous cable channels in the country. On the local side of the spectrum, there was Hero, TAG, ABS-CBN Regional Channel, CT and 2nd Avenue, and on the international front there was Toonami.

There were also some rebrandings and resurrections of several channels as well. CPI made LIGA the second coming of Balls in time for the FIFA World Cup (replacing ARC, TAG and Hero in the process) while rebranding Lifestyle into Metro Channel, and then the MVP Group converted Bloomberg Philippines into One News.

So why do these things happen to our beloved cable and digital channels? The most cited reason is financial constraints, but it goes deeper than that.

When two channels air similar content with one another, redundancy happens. This is exactly the case that befell the likes of Hero, TAG, CT, 2nd Avenue and Toonami because they feature similar themes and genres with one or several channels.

Hero and Toonami, for example, became victims of cord-cutters and other channels such as Cartoon Network, Boomerang, AniPlus, Animax and even Yey!, which show some anime and action series as well. Same with CT and 2nd Avenue who share some of the programming with sister channels Jack TV and ETC.

Going further back, CPI shut down Velvet in 2014 and moved some of its content over to Lifestyle. Four years later, Lifestyle was rebranded into Metro Channel and is now essentially a second coming of Velvet.

There is also LIGA, which was launched for the FIFA World Cup but is expected to face similar redundancy issues as Balls since its only other source of content are events that air on ABS-CBN S+A. Finally, the rebrand from Bloomberg Philippines to One News has made AksyonTV (a former news channel-turned-T5N clone) redundant, something the MVP Group must address moving forward.

However, redundancy is not limited to cable channels alone. Yey!, for example, has a movie block called ‘Kid Sine’, but some of the films shown here are also aired on sister channel CineMo (under the CineFantasya and CineKomedya blocks).

Yey! also airs reruns of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ while CineMo rebroadcasts ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and ‘Bagani’ on weekends. Such reruns should have been exclusive to Jeepney TV.

These are just some of the examples that face cable and digital channels today. Considering the competitive nature of this business, trying to stay unique and distinct in terms of content is not as easy as it looks.

So the best that these channels can do right now is to remain innovative and wide-eyed to the audience while keeping themselves afloat. This juggling act may be difficult, but when done properly, they can stay on the air for a long period of time.

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2nd Avenue to Cease Broadcast This Thursday; RJTV-29’s Future Still To Be Determined

2nd Avenue will sign off for good this Thursday, leaving the future of RJTV-29 in doubt. (Logo courtesy of Solar Entertainment)

One of Solar Entertainment’s long-running channels will sign off for good.

On Thursday, May 31, 2nd Avenue will officially end its broadcasts following a 12-year run. The channel’s impending departure was expected as 2nd Avenue was not included in the new EasyTV set-top digital TV box that Solar released earlier this month.

So far, no reason was given behind its shutdown, but it is likely that 2nd Avenue became the odd channel out due to redundancy in terms of programming. Some of its shows also air on sister channels ETC and Jack TV, both of which are included in the EasyTV lineup in addition to other foreign entertainment channels.

It also adds plenty of intrigue with regards to the future of RJTV-29, 2nd Avenue’s home channel on free TV. Some have theorized over the fate of said channel, ranging from the return to its original format pre-2nd Avenue to a possible new tie-up with Solar Entertainment.

2nd Avenue was initially launched as a spinoff channel to ETC in late 2005, before it was shortened to its current name a few years later. Starting in 2008, 2nd Avenue became available to free TV when Solar Entertainment and Rajah Broadcasting Network signed a blocktime deal to allow the channel to air on RJTV-29.

Over the years, 2nd Avenue featured a wide array of American and international action, drama, entertainment and suspense programs, some of which were later aired a few hours after its original stateside broadcast. And since the move to RJTV-29, the latter’s own programs such as ‘RJ Sunday Jam’ and ‘Thank God It’s RJ’ were aired as well.

Like its sister Solar channel ETC, 2nd Avenue aired 24/7 on cable, satellite and digital TV. However, its operating hours on analog TV remained limited as it only aired 19 hours per day.

Regardless of what the future holds, viewers should look forward to a new era in RJTV-29’s history no matter how it turns out. As for 2nd Avenue, its run may be over, but its memories remain.

UPDATE: Solar Entertainment officially announced that 2nd Avenue will cease broadcast on Tuesday, June 5, not June 1 as originally posted.

CT Signs Off, Plus Dream Satellite TV Ends Service

Cable and satellite subscribers in the Philippines received some bad news to end 2017.

CT No More

At midnight of January 1st, Solar Entertainment-owned CT permanently signed off after six years on air. Its closure was due to low ratings and redundancy of its programming.

CT initially launched on the small screen as CHASE on December 21, 2011. The channel was then renamed twice in its run, first as Jack City and then to CT.

CT was first seen on free TV for a few years when Solar partnered with BEAM Channel 31 to carry the channel. That partnership ended in 2014 when BEAM decided to prioritize its growing number of digital channels, leading to Solar relegating CT to cable and satellite partners.

CT took a big hit in 2017 when Solar became involved in a carriage dispute with SkyCable regarding NBA broadcast rights. Consequently, CT became one of the few Solar entities dropped by SkyCable amid the controversy.

Following its closure, some of CT’s programs were moved to either ETC, 2nd Avenue or Jack TV.

Dream Shuts Down

Also at midnight of January 1st, subscribers of Dream Satellite TV were stunned to see the pioneering direct-to-home satellite television service cease its operations. Here is the statement of Dream with regards to the discontinuation of their service.

Dream Satellite TV was initially launched on April 22, 2001. It made Philippine television history as the first to offer direct-to-home satellite television subscription to its customers.

Unfortunately, Dream encountered numerous problems from the get-go. Despite gaining around 100,000 subscribers, the company faced mounting debts owing to lack of revenue and unpaid fees to other companies.

To make matters worse, newer satellite subscription services such as Cignal, Sky Direct and G Sat began to emerge from the scene. And with Dream offering an inferior channel lineup compared to its younger competitors, it had no chance of survival.

The good news for Dream’s displaced subscribers is that they may have the option to switch to any of the aforementioned satellite or cable TV services. The bad news though is that they need to shell out lots of money to switch to another provider, unless each of them will offer a compensation deal.

ABS-CBN sister company Creative Programs Inc. also announced that some of its channels will close shop this month. For more on this developing story, stay tuned on From the Tube this January.

Solar Sports, BTV Cancel Airing of NCRUCLAA

A month after the season opened, Basketball TV and Solar Sports unexpectedly pulled the plug on the NCRUCLAA coverage. (Logos courtesy of the NCRUCLAA and Solar Entertainment)

The promising television coverage of the NCRUCLAA (National Capital Region Universities and Colleges of Luzon Athletic Association) came to an abrupt halt.

For some unknown reason, host networks Solar Sports and Basketball TV decided to stop airing the fledgling collegiate basketball league after only a month’s worth of coverage. No explanation was given with regards to the sudden cancellation, but a possible case of low funds may have come into play.

It can be recalled that the newly-established NCRUCLAA signed a television contract with Solar Entertainment in December of last year. The league, which consists of 16 member schools, opened its basketball season on January 17.

Both Solar Sports and Basketball TV tried its very best to seriously promote the NCRUCLAA. Unfortunately, the game’s delayed coverage and overwhelming amount of matches (quadruple-headers start at around 11:00 a.m.), lack of advertisers and conflicts with other programming took its toll, and by late February, both networks ceased airing the league’s games.

The issues of local basketball coverage is nothing new to Solar Entertainment. During their three seasons handling the PBA (2008-11), Solar lost a lot of money due to technical issues hounding their coverage of the league, and in their final season, they were forced to move to rival ABS-CBN’s Studio 23 following CS9’s rebrand to ETC.

Going further back, Solar also used to handle the defunct Philippine Basketball League for a few seasons. Unfortunately, the league’s internal issues affected both the coverage and the quality of the games, and the PBL soon disappeared by 2011.

While Solar did make amends when they aired NAASCU games without any incident last year, it was clear that the company can only go as far as Wilson Tieng can take them. Which leads to the abrupt cancellation of NCRUCLAA coverage, one that is once again giving Solar plenty of headaches.

That said, without the additional financial backing of rivals ABS-CBN Sports and Sports5, Solar Sports continues to find themselves in a predicament that is too steep to climb out. They may have had the privilege of covering NBA games and Manny Pacquiao fights, but local coverage-wise, they are still too far behind to make an impact.

Countdown to Coronation (Part II): The Current Arrangements

The biggest event on Philippine television history gets underway tomorrow morning. Here is Timow’s Turf’s look at the coverage of the 2016 Miss Universe which will take place in the Philippines.

Timow's Turf

This Timow’s Turf special report will be dedicated on the 65th Miss Universe where the Philippines will host the grand coronation this Monday, January 30. The views and opinions expressed in this second and concluding installment of two-part special do not reflect those of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).

President Rodrigo Duterte posed with Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and the fourth batch of the 65th Miss Universe candidates Monday during the courtesy call in Malacanang. Maxine Medina, the Philippine contingent, is on the far right.

ON THE FIRST part, we tripped down memory lane on the past two editions of Miss Universe in 1974 and 1994. In this second of two parts, we will tackle the highly anticipated current event.

Just like the Papal Visit and the APEC Summit back in 2015, the first major event of 2017 involving high-profile foreign dignitaries must need a high profile…

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Solar Entertainment Channels Undergo Rebrand

A new era is now underway within Solar Entertainment.

At 8:00 p.m. last Sunday, October 16, the new look of four Solar Entertainment channels were simultaneously unveiled to the general public. The four channels are as follows:

Basketball TV

(logo courtesy of Solar Entertainment)

BTV’s new logo is a stylistic departure from the NBA-inspired original logo. The ‘b’ from the first logo was retained, along with the addition of a red triangle and the acronym ‘TV’ above it.

The new look coincides with the network’s 10th anniversary, which BTV is currently celebrating throughout the year. The hashtag for BTV’s rebrand and anniversary celebration is #ADecadeUnmatched.

Solar Sports

(logo courtesy of Solar Entertainment)

The new logo of Solar Sports is also a stylistic departure from previous logos. This time, the ‘sun’ logo that has been the network’s trademark for 14 years was retired, and in its place is a modernized ‘S’ in maroon, yellow and black colors.

With the new rebrand also comes an improved lineup of programs, as Solar Sports begins to give greater attention towards local sporting events, both at the professional and at the grassroots level. The hashtag #Reinforced reflects the new approach that Solar Sports now takes in its programming.

ETC

(logo courtesy of Solar Entertainment)

ETC decided to go pink, blue and teal with its new look. In line with the latest rebrand, ETC decided to promote themselves as the ‘feistier’ network, and even unveiled the hashtag #feistierETC to hype this new approach.

Despite the change in imagery, the network’s scope towards female-oriented programming will remain unchanged, save for some new programs.

2nd Avenue

(logo courtesy of Solar Entertainment)

2nd Avenue decided to go orange and black for its new look. Not only that, 2nd Avenue promoted its rebrand with the hashtag #DelightfullyReal.

2nd Avenue’s family-oriented programming will remain unaffected despite the change of image. Of course, there will be some new programs to boot.

According to Solar Entertainment chief Wilson Tieng, it was an effort done separately by the stations, as it intends to boost viewership and keep up with modern trends. With advancements in technology continuing to play a huge role in the changes in people’s lives, it’s only perfect timing that Solar decides to embark on this approach, knowing that a new look can entice more viewers to watch.

Although many looked forward to a wholesale change in all Solar Entertainment channels, only three networks decided to keep their current look intact. As of today, Jack TV, CT and NBA Premium TV remained unchanged as far as on-air identity goes.

Still, the new look of the four Solar Entertainment channels should be enticing to see. Hopefully the new look will result in an improved experience for its viewers; after all, Solar Entertainment deserves nothing more than a thumbs-up for its efforts.