MVP OPENS DOOR TO RENEW TALKS WITH GMA7!

MANILA – The PLDT Group may revive discussions for an investment in GMA Network Inc after the broadcast company ditched talks with San Miguel Corporation (SMC) president Ramon S. Ang.

"You know, we are always open to, as I said, to content providers like themselves. But as of now, there are no talks between ourselves and GMA7," Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) said Wednesday night.

SKY CABLE TO DIRECTLY CHALLENGE CIGNAL ON ITS TURF!

Sky Cable will soon offer satellite pay TV.

In a submission to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Sky Cable Corporation said it plans to spend P252 million for the rollout of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service across 251 cities and municipalities. Also known as "direct-to-home," DBS transmits signals to subscribers using satellite. A unit of ABS-CBN Corporation, Sky Cable’s venture into satellite TV will pit it against three existing players, namely Cignal, Dream Satellite TV and GSat.

TV5 CATCHES UP WITH ABS-CBN IN THE DIGITAL TV RACE!

MANILA - TV5 Network Inc is rolling out its digital TV service nationwide.

Emmanuel C. Lorenzana, TV5 president, said the company is spending P700 million over the next five years, with P300 million allotted for this year alone. The remaining P400 million would be spent through 2020.

"We already have, in fact we are transmitting digital in Channel 41 already. It’s just a matter of making the footprint bigger. Right now, it’s only National Capital Region," Lorenzana said.

"Not only bigger, but I want the transmission to be good in indoors, that's my priority," he said.

MVP PLANS TO TAP MOBILE, LANDLINE, CABLE, POWER, WATER AND TOLLWAYS BUSINESSES TO HELP TV5 BREAK EVEN BY 2017!

MANILA - TV5 aims to break even by 2017, or eight years after the PLDT Group took over the broadcast firm.

"Well, EBITDA positive by 2017, hopefully," Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company last week said when asked when he sees the broadcast network turning a profit.

CIGNAL BEATS SKY CABLE, NOW HAILED AS THE LARGEST PAY TV OPERATOR IN PH!

MANILA - Cignal TV is now the Philippines’ biggest pay TV operator.

The country's direct-to-home pay TV provider reported that it closed last year with 845,000 subscribers, 13 percent more than the 630,000 in 2013.

The end-2014 subscriber count already surpassed Skycable’s 800,000. This, despite Sky Cable acquiring Destiny Cable  last year.

PHIL STAR TO JOIN TV5 UNDER MVP'S MEDIA EMPIRE!

MANILA, Philippines – Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan said he expects his group to seal by next month a deal that will give it majority interest in one of the country's top newspaper groups, The Philippine Star.

Pangilinan disclosed this during a Twitter chat Monday night, February 17 where he answered random questions from netizens.Pangilinan-led Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) wants to bring its stake in Star as well as its affiliates to up to 80%. It will acquire control of the broadsheet from the family of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and other shareholders.

MVP SCALES DOWN BID PRICE TO BUY GMA7!

TV5'S LABOR UNION FILES NOTICE OF STRIKE WITH DOLE!

TV5's rank-and-file union has filed a Notice of Strike with the Department of Labor and Employment, following the union's declaration of a deadlock in its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with TV5 management last month.

TV5 and the Associated Broadcasting Company Employees Union (ABCEU) could not come to terms on how (or whether) to tackle "non-economic" items on the third year of a prevailing 5-year CBA, both sides acknowledged.

NTC URGED OTHER TV STATIONS TO FOLLOW ABS-CBN AND START TO SHIFT TO DIGITAL!

MANILA – The country will soon use the digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcast service after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered television stations to shift from the current analog to DTT using Japan's Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T).

But for now, the common TV sets in households can still work on the DTT system by using a digibox.

TV5 AND SMART JOINS FORCES TO RIVAL ABS-CBN MOBILE!

MANILA - As rivals roll out their convergence tack, TV5 and Smart Communications Inc plan to launch their mobile platform next year.

On the sidelines of the Mobile Festival 2013, TV5 president Emmanuel C. Lorenzana today said the company would use mobile phones to expand its advertising footprint. 

"We want to enhance the whole viewing experience. Basically we're using mobile capability to actually make people enjoy the ads because it's a holistic experience," Lorenzana told reporters. 

MVP BLOCKS GLOBE'S ENTRY TO ABS-CBN'S SISTER TELECOM COMPANY!

MANILA - The MVP-lead telecom company is bucking its closest rival's bid to take over the Lopez-owned Bayan Telecommunications Inc.

In a letter filed with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) said Globe Telecom Inc's acquisition of a 56.6 percent equity stake in Bayantel "discourages, if not hampers, a healthy competitive environment."

AGB AND KANTAR DECLARES ABS-CBN AS THE OFFICIAL NO.1 TV NETWORK!

Latest data from AGB Nielsen and Kantar Research solidifies ABS-CBN's position as the No.1 TV network in the Philippines. AGB's Urban National Ratings show, in October, ABS-CBN garnering a 2-percentage point lead against GMA Network among urban Areas in the entire Philippines. While Kantar's more widely encompassing survey indicate ABS-CBN extending a lead of 12 percentage points against GMA7 for the month of October among Urban and Rural Households.   TV5 remains far third managing a third of the audience share earned by ABS-CBN in NUTAM. 

TV5 CHAIR VOWS FOR CHANGE IN TELEVISION PROGRAMMING!

MANILA - Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan today said third-ranked broadcaster TV5 should aspire to be most innovative among the companies he controls for it to break even in two to three years' time.

"TV5 needs most innovation and attention. Siyempre 'yung anak mo na may problema, you pay more attention to that child," Pangilinan, who chairs the broadcast network, said on the sidelines of the First Pacific Leadership Academy's Executive Series dubbed "The Business of Innovation: Transcending Business Through Innovation."

ABS-CBN INVESTMENT TO DTV MORE THAN TWICE THE COMBINED INVESTMENTS OF GMA AND TV5!

MANILA - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) today released the order for the Philippines' adoption of Japan's standard for digital TV service.

Under Memorandum Circular No. 05-11-2013, the NTC said the Philippines would shift to Japan's Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard.

ABS-CBN Corp chief financial officer Rolando Valdueza said the company had invested close to P2 billion for its digital TV rollout. This is almost twice bigger than the combined planned investment of GMA7 and TV5 for the Digital shift. GMA said it plans to invest P600 million while TV5 has set aside P500 million for the upgrade. 

CIGNAL SUBSCRIBER GROWS TO 500,000, IS SKY CABLE TO BE DISLODGED AS THE LEADING CABLE TV?

MANILA - Cignal TV this month marked a milestone, with its subscriber count reaching half-a-million, thanks to changes in its pricing scheme, a company executive said today.

Guido Zaballero, Cignal vice president for marketing, on Wednesday told reporters that the company's subscriber base grew from 440,000 at end-2012 to 500,000 by middle of this year.

MVP TO COMBINE BUSINESS WORLD, PHIL STAR AND TV5!

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said he hopes to combine the writing forces of the media outlets under unit MediaQuest Holdings to improve analysis and content across his media platforms -- BusinessWorld, Philippine Star and TV5.

Speaking to reporters during Pangilinan's infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) first quarter results briefing, Pangilinan said he was looking to raise the quality of content by pooling together the journalistic sources of his media platforms.

TV5 INCURS NET LOSS OF P6.8 BILLION IN 18 MONTHS!

MANILA, Philippines - PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan is not pulling the plug on spending for the conglomerate's media units, although they may be losing money.

Pangilinan said he is giving his newly appointed TV5 chief executive officer Noel Lorenzana enough room to turn around the bleeding network, which lost another P2.8 billion in the first half last year, after losing P4 billion in 2011.

TV5 ADMITS IT WON'T BENEFIT MUCH FROM POLITICAL ADS!

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno says the group won't benefit much from election spending, which he expects will be largely channeled to TV and print ads.

But outgoing TV 5 president and CEO Ray C. Espinosa says the number three network has "picked up some ads, though not the same scale as the 2 major networks," referring to rivals ABS-CBN and GMA Network.

TV5 TO CHALLENGE ANC WITH THE LAUNCH OF CEO TV: AN ALL ENGLISH NEWS CHANNEL!

MANILA - PLDT board approved a P750-million investment in its media assets to allow the group to become a multimedia service company. Prior to that, the telco said it was investing an additional P3.6 billion to make "its media assets more visible to the shareholders of PLDT."

Pangilinan targets to complete the transaction in the next few months in preparation for the launch of TV5's all-English news channel, the CEO TV.

MVP TO SEIZE CONTROL OVER BUSINESS WORLD!

MANILA - The majority owner of the country's first business newspaper is ceding control to the PLDT group, sources told InterAksyon.com.

In a meeting last Tuesday, the cooperative of BusinessWorld decided to issue new shares to MediaQuest Holdings, which already has a 30 percent stake in the newspaper, the sources said.

Acquiring majority ownership of the newspaper, which has not been making money, has been MediaQuest's intention, the same sources said.