Knowledge Channel teams up with cable operators

MANILA, Philippines — Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) has entered into an agreement with the Philippine Cable and Telecommunications Association Inc. (PCTA) to bring its educational content to more viewers nationwide.

The partnership will enable more cable-connected homes nationwide to have access to educational content of the Knowledge Channel.

“It’s a coming together of Filipinos to help Filipinos. I will not deny that for the Knowledge Channel Foundation, the past months have truly been challenging. There has been the COVID-19, the ABS-CBN franchise denial, and the challenge of the education sector in distance learning, among others,” KCFI president and executive director Rina Lopez Bautista said.

“My fervent wish is that through this bayanihan effort with cable providers, distance learning will become more accessible, feasible, affordable, and most of all, enjoyable for every Filipino,” Bautista said.

PCTA has more than 300 members nationwide composed of cable TV operators and some internet service providers, serving about 75 percent of the total cable subscribers in the country.

PCTA chairman Ralph Casiño said the partnership with KCFI enhances the relevance of cable in individual communities as well as nationally.

“Not only do we deliver entertainment and news information, but education as well,” Casiño said.

PCTA president Joel Dabao said the group is encouraging all of its members to put the Knowledge Channel in the lowest possible package so that it could reach as many viewers as possible.

“We can’t let our learners be left behind by the pandemic and we can’t wait for the vaccine. Lucky for us, we have this partner to help our learners,” he said.

“Our member subscribers will be able to view the Knowledge Channel so long as everyone is able to carry it. So the main thing the PCTA is doing now is we’re trying to help those few members who haven’t had the Knowledge Channel already to carry it,” Dabao said.

As the government shifts to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, KCFI has earlier offered its help to the government through video lessons in the Knowledge Channel.

For more than two decades, KCFI has acquired and developed multimedia educational materials that public schools nationwide, especially in remote regions, used to enhance teaching and learning.