ABS-CBN Corp. said it sold eight million digital terrestrial television device as of July this year and recently launched a mobile version of TVPlus.
“ABS-CBN TVplus’ accelerated sales (are) indicative of how far the country has moved on from analog television and how closer we are to fully transitioning into digital broadcast ahead of the government-mandated deadline of 2023,” said ABS-CBN Access head Charles Lim.
ABS-CBN TVplus sustained its expansion after adding Batangas as its 16th signal coverage area in November lat year. Other coverage areas are Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Tarlac, Benguet, Cavite, Metro Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao.
Kantar Media’s establishment survey results in August last year showed a marked increase in digital television ownership in non-cabled homes across the country to 72 percent from 55 percent in August 2017 in Metro Manila; 65 percent from 44 percent in Mega Manila; and 57 percent from 33 percent in the suburbs.
In June 2019, ABS-CBN launched another product aimed at transforming the TV viewing experience of mobile Filipinos with the mobile version of TVplus called ABS-CBN TVplus Go, which turns Android smartphones into portable digital television units.
The company earlier allotted P6 billion in 2019 capital expenditure to fund digital transformation, broadband business expansion and program rights acquisition.
ABS-CBN earlier reported a net income of P808 million in January-to-March period, up 98 percent from a P410-million net profit it booked in the same period last year.
Consolidated revenues reached P10.3 billion, up from last year’s P9 billion.
The company said of the total revenues, advertising sales amounted to P5.4 billion, up 24.4 percent from last year’s P4.3 billion on higher political placements and growth in regular advertising.
It said that excluding political placements, regular advertising increased 14.6 percent year-on-year.
Consumer sales rose 6.2 percent to P4.9 billion on higher TVPlus boxes sold and theatrical receipts from ABS-CBN Films.
ABS-CBN TVPlus contributed a significant increase in revenues in the first quarter with a total of 638,000 boxes sold, up 9 percent from the same period last year.
Film & Music’s revenues grew 21 percent in the first quarter.
Sky’s revenues rose 4 percent year-on-year, led by an increase in broadband and DTH subscribers by 26,000 and 531,000, respectively.