Knowledge Channel partners with cable group

Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI) will be expanding its reach through a partnership with the Philippine Cable and Telecommunications Association, Inc. (PCTA) to help students in remote areas. In a statement, KCFI’s parent company ABS-CBN Corporation said a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by KCFI and PCTA to benefit more learners as they study at home while distance learning is being implemented. This formal partnership will help extend the reach of Knowledge Channel to more cable-connected homes nationwide, especially in remote areas with limited to no Internet connection. Prior to the ABS-CBN franchise denial in July 2020, Knowledge Channel was in over 7 million households via ABS-CBN TVplus, SKYdirect, SKY and a number of cable service partners. When classes were prematurely terminated in March this year, it aired curriculum-based video lessons with its Stay at Home, Learn at Home program that helped children catch up with their lessons while “enhanced community quarantine” was enforced in many parts of the country. However, Knowledge Channel’s reach shrunk to 1.8 million households because of the franchise denial as it could not longer broadcash its programs via free TV. (James A. Loyola)