Chot eyes winning formula

MANILA, Philippines – With a winning team, Vincent “Chot” Reyes is hopeful to deliver a winning game plan as he goes through another phase of his professional career with twin roles as president/chief executive officer of TV5 and back as head coach of the Philippine national cage team.

An eight-time PBA champion coach, the first Filipino coach to steer Team Phl to the Jones Cup championship and the mentor of Gilas Team that made the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Reyes believes any game plan executed well will yield favorable results.

“It’s about putting up a great team. Then comes the execution,” Reyes said.

As a network executive, he has already achieved several firsts as head of Sports5 and its digital arm D5 Studio, particularly on social media.

Since D5 Studio launched the Sports5 Facebook page two years ago, it has more than made its presence felt and has become one of the fastest growing, and now the largest local sports community on Facebook. Games, highlights and events can be viewed on its page almost instantly.

D5 Studio has been providing Filipinos free live stream access to the biggest local and international events such as the recent Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the FIBA World Cup and the PBA.

For example, Game Six of the PBA Governors Cup Finals that Barangay Ginebra won saw its concurrent live stream viewers on Sports5.ph soar by 2,000 percent. Adding to Sports.ph’s appeal is the fact that sports fans can rely on the latest, comprehensive sporting news coverage as they happen.

Reyes has been very pleased with what D5 Studio has achieved in such a short time although he remains cognizant of the challenges down the road.

“The challenge is to remain relevant and attuned to the quickly changing environment in terms of technology, content and delivery. While we are currently generating revenue on both fronts, we need to accomplish even better monetization,” said Reyes.

He is determined to helm both TV5 and Gilas Pilipinas to greater heights.

“It’s about putting up a great team, understand your priorities and manage your energies. I don’t believe in time management. Because of passion, I’ll find time,” Reyes said.

“For TV5, the strategy is quite simple – increase the top line which is revenue, grow the pipeline which is the content and trim the waistline which is the operational efficiency. At the heart of this is content characterized by our ‘D5’ – dominant sports and e-sports properties, disruptive news, differentiated entertainment, digital originals and dedicated business solutions,” he also said.

He has identified some of the contests that they’re putting on D5 Studio and Sports5, including Bolero Rap Battles, Forever Sucks Season 2, and upcoming sports exclusives like the PBA draft, Golf Battle for a Cause, and the coming PBA season.

“When it comes to our audience, we have an ear to the ground that enables us to evolve as they evolve,” he stressed.