SkyCable allots P1.5B this year for expansion

MANILA, Philippines - SkyCable Corp., a wholly-owned unit of broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corp, is spending P1.5 billion this year for the expansion of its cable television and broadband Internet businesses.

This as the company launched the first personal video recorder (PVR) service in the country called SkyCable DigiBox iRecord, similar to the TiVO, the first and widely used PVR in the United States.

It is a device that empowers subscribers to select and record shows or segments of their favorite programs, for immediate or later viewing. It can record any scheduled program in the channel lineup, much like the tape-using VCR formats of the 1980s and 1990s. It can also record live TV broadcasts, and even pause them using the “timeshift” feature. But it does not require tapes or CDs, as files are saved onto the device’s 320-GB capacity hard drive.

Meanwhile, SkyCable marketing head Rodrigo Montinola said the P1.5-billion capex will be used for the company’s expansion in provincial areas and the acquisition of digiboxes as it shifts its subscribers from analog to digital technology.

“Our capex will be a little higher on broadband business than on cable,” Montinola said.

SkyCable has about 500,000 cable subscribers and 35,000 broadband users. “We want to double our subscriber base for broadband and achieve a 10 percent growth for cable,” he added. SkyCable registered a 48-percent growth in new connections in 2010. More than 95 percent of the cable provider’s 250,000 subscribers in Metro Manila had shifted to digital platform while the rest are expected to migrate in two years.

SkyCable officials also noted that the DigiBox iRecord is a breakthrough that will appeal to tech-savvy or generally preoccupied subscribers of the leading local cable firm.

“Consumers addressed are the working class, the very busy ones who can’t always catch up on the schedules of free TV or cable because of their demanding responsibilities. But with the DigiBox iRecord, it becomes so much easier for them to watch their favorite shows, whether it’s a sports program on ESPN, movies on HBO or Star Movies, or even the nightly drama series on ABS-CBN that they might sometimes miss because of their hectic schedules,” Montinola said.

He added: “Now, they can enjoy their chosen shows, or even just some parts or sequences, uninterrupted and whenever they please. This service definitely revolutionizes TV viewing.”

Aside from recording shows, viewers can now pause live TV broadcast to attend to more important things. The DigiBox iRecord also allows special features on playback mode of recorded shows. Watch shows in slow motion and frame-by-frame playback.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind service that we’re selling to consumers. The market will be delighted to have the power to view content that appeal most to them at their fingertips. And they can expect more services from SkyCable that will make them enjoy the most of their subscriptions.” Montinola explained.

The SkyCable DigiBox iRecord is currently available to Metro Manila subscribers with postpaid accounts.

The cable operator said it targets to connect over 3,000 cable subscribers to the new service.

SkyCable has also launched new broadband packages that will allow subscribers to avail offers based on the bulk of their usage.

The firm has introduced a P999-broadband package which gives users up to five mbps of Internet speed and a maximum of 15 GB of internet consumption, while the P1,999-broadband package will give users up to five mbps Internet speed and a maximum of 35 GB of consumption. Usage beyond the 15-GB limit will be charged P100 per 1 GB.