More households switching to ABS-CBN TVplus

MANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos continue to switch to digital terrestrial television as TV network giant ABS-CBN Corp. posted sustained robust sales of its TVplus box four years after the product’s debut.

ABS-CBN said it has sold seven million TVplus units to date since its launch in February 2015.

The network earlier reported 6.1 million TVplus boxes sold as of end-October last year.

“The robust sales has been steadily growing in the past years as more and more Filipinos patronize the country’s pioneering digital terrestrial television product,” it said.

ABS-CBN, which is rapidly transitioning into an agile digital company, is the first media and entertainment company in the country to make the historic switch from analog to digital terrestrial television to transform the TV viewing experience of Filipinos.

Based on the Kantar Media establishment survey in August 2018, about 72 percent of non-cabled homes in Metro Manila have an ABS-CBN TVplus box, compared to 55 percent in the same month in 2017.

The number of non-cabled homes with a TVplus box also increased in mega Manila to 65 percent from 44 percent, while those in the suburbs rose to 57 percent from 33 percent.

ABS-CBN said it continues to expand signal coverage areas of TVplus as part of its mission to lead the country’s migration from analog to digital broadcast by 2023.

In November last year, Batangas became the 16th signal coverage area of ABS-CBN TVplus. Other coverage areas include Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Tarlac, Benguet, Cavite, Metro Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao.

More content choices were likewise offered to TVplus consumers last year with the introduction of five additional exclusive channels.

ABS-CBN has also been strengthening its digital initiatives as it transitions into an agile digital company with a big online presence and a growing list of digital properties through streaming service iWant.

iWant, which kicked off 2019 with 11.3 million registered users, boasts the largest library of video content on any streaming service in the country that can be streamed by users for free.