Cignal TV sustains subscriber growth

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT-backed Cignal TV continues to dominate the country’s pay TV market with its subscriber base sustaining the growth trajectory.

Cignal TV president and chief executive officer Robert Galang said the company now has more than 3.6 million subscribers nationwide.

“Cignal continues to be the number one pay TV provider in the country,” Galang said.

Cignal has benefitted from the demise of ABS-CBN’s Sky Direct mid-last year.

Sky Direct, the direct-to-home satellite service of Sky Cable with 1.5 million subscribers, was ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission to cease and desist operations on June 30, 2020.

PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier said there has been a significant migration of Sky Direct subscribers to Cignal.

In November last year, Cignal reached the three million subscriber count, which Pangilinan called a “milestone for the pay TV industry.”

It was in 2018, on the other hand, when Cignal gained over two million subscribers, making it the most-subscribed pay TV provider in the country by then.

With the influx of subscribers, Cignal is expected to see an upsurge in revenues, EBITDA and profitability starting this year.

Cignal is owned and operated by Cignal TV Inc., a subsidiary of the PLDT Group’s media and content arm MediaQuest Holdings.

Cignal TV has partnered with Radius Telecoms Inc., a subsidiary of Meralco, in providing the IPTV channels bundled with the internet through Red Fiber.

“This collaboration with Red is very meaningful, as it allows us to deliver our channels and content through their fiber network and we share a common vision of providing the best customer experience,” Galang said.