Making the switch

Brand loyalty is a major goal for companies that intend to stay in the game for a long, long time. Building a loyal customer base ensures the company’s sales and profitability, which could ultimately result in longevity of the corporate entity.

The process, of course, involves a painstaking and continuing effort to produce an excellent and durable product, one that is strong and dependable, innovates and improves and is adaptable to the changing times. At the same time, the company must be prepared to rise to the occasion in the event of a major flaw or disruption and assure its loyal customer base of immediate and acceptable rectification and assurance that such mistake or error will not recur.

For a media company, wherein the product it provides is news and entertainment, there is the added prerequisite of credibility, accuracy, timeliness and having entertaining or engaging content.

One such company for me has been the Lopez-owned SkyCable which started in 1992 but to which my family subscribed to only in 1997 and only after we were convinced that the content being offered by the cable company was worth paying for.

Subscribing to a cable company during the 1990s was then a luxury as most of the local television channels still carried some foreign channels or networks that specifically showed canned network syndicated American situation comedies, game shows, TV serials and dramas, as well as made-for-TV movies and aired major entertainment shows like international beauty contests and award shows like the Emmys, the Oscars, the Golden Globes and the Grammys, and major sports events, particularly boxing and some golfing events.

Foreign movies were still a big attraction then on the big screen of cinemas and were the special family treat on weekends or holidays, or a date night for courting couples or parents who want to get away from their children to watch what would otherwise be rated as “restricted” or for adults only movies.

The local TV shows offered general viewers their regular staple of noontime variety shows and afternoon serialized, tear jerker dramas, with the evening shows starting off with the primetime local news shows that were dominated by the Lopezes’ news giant ABS-CBN and close competitor GMA 7. Primetime evening fare were primarily hit US TV shows or locally produced showbiz entertainment news. Late night fare were reruns of US-made dramas or movies.

As US-made shows were so popular but unfortunately about a season or two late compared to the US airings, enterprising individuals resorted to taping and selling or renting out pirated copies of the US made TV shows and movies and even the increasingly popular Taiwanese movies and other foreign-made movies or shows, which fueled the sales of Betamax and subsequently VHS video players.

Seeing the boom in the sale of illegally pirated and copied compact discs and tapes, local cable companies realized the potential of acquiring more up to date foreign-made content that viewers could watch for a subscription fee compared to what was being offered in free-to-air TV. Thus, the gradual shift and acceptance of paid TV viewing that also allowed subscribers to enjoy better transmission quality that were usually affected by the necessity of having a high-enough TV antenna on one’s roof.

SkyCable, aside from purchasing popular foreign TV shows and movies also produced and expanded its news content through its cable TV news channel ANC, attracting mainly the business sector and providing more in depth news programs compared to its free-to-air local news programs and further solidifying brand loyalty from its viewers.

Then came Duterte and streaming services

The presidency of Rodrigo Duterte marked the beginning of the end for ABS-CBN and its cable news network ANC. From 2016 to 2022, it became a siege to break down the Lopez news empire, eventually leading to the non-renewal of the franchise of ABS-CBN, the profit center of the news organization on May 4, 2020. Even though the Lopezes tried to pivot to the digital realm, it has been a money-burning exercise that finally took its toll on its SkyCable operations.

Adding to the political burden was the change in the digital world, with streaming services gaining more popularity globally during the pandemic as local TV networks, both here and abroad, found it difficult to produce shows and content due to the restrictions brought about by the pandemic, while then relatively new Netflix found a profitable gold mine in streaming old canned US TV series and movies of major US studio, pulling away even more subscribers from cable entities in favor of the relatively cheaper streaming services that offer complete and uninterrupted viewing of TV series upon demand.

Long story short, the Lopez could see the ghost and accepted the inevitable, finally agreeing to SkyCable’s acquisition by the PLDT group, which was finalized this year and has resulted in the announced cessation of SkyCable’s cable TV operations effective Feb. 27, a development accepted with sadness by SkyCable’s loyal customers.

A 27-year relationship is coming to an end, one that I had protected for so long, even as I gave in to the lure of Netflix and the K-dramas that I have come to enjoy. It was clear last year when SkyCable gave up its Korean channel package that included TVN, and then BBC News. However, the jewel for me remained, which was the Bloomberg TV channel. But SkyCable’s announcement that it would have its final broadcast and sign off on Feb. 27, made me accept the need to move on and switch to PLDT Home.

PLDT Cignal

There are other choices, but for me it is only logical that if a switch is needed, I go to the entity that can offer me the best package in terms of offering quality and dependability. Price, of course, is always an issue, but there is the option of packages that can suit my budget.

Prior to the advent of cellular phones, I had been a landline subscriber of PLDT for decades and would have likely stayed on if not for the reality that landlines are fixed and not portable and cellular technology was a game changer in how we live, work, and communicate.

PLDT has the infrastructure in place already compared to the new players that are just building up their network. Their fiber network actually offers better transmission quality compared to my SkyCable package that required me to upgrade if I wanted the high definition channels, something that I had opted not to avail of.

With PLDT already providing fiber services, the ideal package would be a PLDT Home Fiber bundle that combines both broadband and cable service in just one line, and also provides a landline and a router mesh.

Their basic plan is priced at a very reasonable P520 per month, offering 112 channels of which 36 are high definition or HD channels and 76 are standard channels. Free-to-air TV includes the government PTV-4, Ch. 5, GMA 7, IBC 13, Net 25 and a couple of more stations. The movie channels are Paramount, the HBO bundles, Cinemax, CinemaWorld, Rock Action, Hits Movies, Thrill and Tap Movies.

For sports enthusiasts, the package includes PBA Rush, One Sport, Tap Sports, NBA TV Philippines and a few other basketball TV offerings. International news offerings include CNN, BBC World News, Aljazeera. General entertainment channels include WB TV, AXN, Lifetime, Kix. The foreign channels include Arirang, NHK World, ABC Australia, TV5 Monde, France 24, KBS World and TVN. Unfortunately, the Bloomberg channel is only offered in the postpaid package that starts at P1,650 and offers 127 channels, while the premium postpaid P1,990 a month package offers 128 channels, of which 42 are HD channels and 82 are SD channels.

The basic package also includes an extensive audio/radio lineup, providing subscribers access to some of their favorite FM radio channels.

PLDT, per their TV ads, are offering up to three months free cable subscription and waiving connection fees, depending on location. However, make sure to check with your local area cable providers first.