iWantTFC is a Filipino over-the-top content platform and

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

owned and operated by

ABS-CBN Digital Media ABS-CBN Digital Media, commonly known as Digital Media Division, formerly known as ABS-CBN Interactive, is the digital media and internet division of ABS-CBN. It was formerly a separate company operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of ABS-CBN C ...

, a division of

ABS-CBN Corporation ABS-CBN Corporation is a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation which is owned by t ...

, formed in 2020 through the merger of two streaming services iWant and TFC Online. In addition to offering on-demand contents of

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

, iWantTFC also live streams linear channels such as

Kapamilya Channel Kapamilya Channel (stylized as Kapamilya channel) is a 24-hour Philippine pay television network formerly known as ABS-CBN Corporation, a company under Lopez Holdings Corporation owned by the López family. The network is headquartered at th ...

, TeleRadyo,

Knowledge Channel Knowledge Channel (abbreviated as KCh) is a Philippine free-to-air television channel owned by ABS-CBN that consists of educational and informative programs. The channel is available on digital TV via BEAM TV, Sky Cable, Sky Direct, Cignal, Par ...

, FashionTV, A8 ESports, and Black Belt. The service is available worldwide, primarily catering to a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

audience. The service is also a replacement for

Sky On Demand Sky On Demand was a video on demand service exclusively available to Sky subscribers in the Philippines. It was owned and operated by Sky Cable Corporation, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. It allowed users who were subscribed to either Sky Cable, Sky B ...

Sky Cable Sky Cable (stylized as SKYcable) is a cable television service of Sky Cable Corporation in the Philippines. It covers areas across the country with both digital and analog cable services, and it has 700,000 subscribers, controlling 45% of t ...

on September 1, 2020.

History

As ABS-CBNnow! (2003-2010)

Launched in 2003 as ABS-CBNnow!, a service primarily focusing to the overseas Filipino workers where they can watch ABS-CBN programs such as MTB, The Buzz and Magandang Gabi Bayan anywhere in the world using a PC with high-speed Internet or broadband connection. Users can stream directly or download files and are required to install

Windows Media Player Windows Media Player (WMP) is the first media player and media library application that was developed by Microsoft for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on ...

in order to view contents which are DRM protected. It is one of the first Filipino owned OTT platform. As of October 2005, there are approximately 23,000 subscribers worldwide. The biggest share of its subscribers comes from the United States with 8,000, another 6,000 in the United Kingdom, 4,000 in Canada, and the rest in Korea, Japan, the Philippines and other Asian countries.

iWant TV (2010-2018)

From its launch until 2015, iWant TV had foreign contents from many pan-regional television channels such as

NatGeo ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

, the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

, E!,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, and

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

. These particular contents are now diverted into a new service called

which is exclusive to

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

subscribers. In August 2015, iWant TV, together with StarFlix (a division of

Star Cinema ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. (doing business as Star Cinema or ABS-CBN Films) is a Philippines, Filipino film studio and film and television production company and film distributor headquartered in Quezon City. It is one of the major film ...

) and

Wattpad Wattpad is an online literature platform intended for users to read and write original stories. The founders Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen say that the platform aims to create social communities around stories and remove the barriers between readers a ...

, released '' Must Date the Playboy'', starring

Kim Chiu Kimberly Sue Yap Chiu (; born April 19, 1990), professionally known as Kim Chiu, is a Filipino actress, model, host, singer, dancer, and vlogger. She is currently managed by Star Magic, ABS-CBN's home-based talent agency. Recognized as one o ...

Xian Lim Alexander Xian Lim (born July 12, 1989) is a Filipino actor, model, singer, host, blogger, filmmaker and professional basketball player. He is best known for his roles in ''My Binondo Girl'' (2011), '' The Reunion'' (2012), ''Ina, Kapatid, Ana ...

and directed by Mae Cruz Alviar, the first movie to be released exclusively through iWant TV and

ABS-CBN Mobile ABS-CBN Mobile (stylized as ABS-CBNmobile) was a cellular telephony service provider in the Telecommunications in the Philippines, Philippines owned and operated by ABS-CBN Convergence, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN. ABS-CBNmobile ...

service. On September 26, 2016, a partnership with

PLDT PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ( fil, Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas), is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service holdings company. It is one of the country's ...

and its subsidiary

Smart Communications Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart (and officially stylized/ self-styled as SMART), is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provid ...

was announced during a signing ceremony attended by

Eugenio Lopez III Eugenio Gabriel "Gabby" Lopez III (born August 13, 1952) is a Filipino-American businessman who was the CEO (1993–2013), chairman (1997–2018) and chairman emeritus (2018–2020) of ABS-CBN Corporation, the largest entertainment and media co ...

(Chairman of ABS-CBN),

Carlo Katigbak Carlo Joaquin Tadeo Lopez Katigbak (born April 24, 1970) is a Filipino executive and the current president and CEO of Philippine entertainment and giant media conglomerate, ABS-CBN Corporation. Education Katigbak attended Ateneo de Manila U ...

(President and CEO of ABS-CBN),

Manny Pangilinan Manuel Velez Pangilinan, (born July 14, 1946), also known by his initials MVP, is a Filipino businessman and sports patron. He is the managing director and CEO of First Pacific Company Limited, a Hong Kong-based investment management and ho ...

(Chairman of PLDT) and other ABS-CBN, PLDT and Smart executives. The partnership will enable PLDT and Smart customers to access the iWant TV website and mobile apps. In 2018, iWant TV began streaming Filipino-dubbed

Japanese anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series and movies that aired on ABS-CBN's original channel, starting with the hit anime film ''

Your Name is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film produced by CoMix Wave Films. It depicts a high school boy in Tokyo and a high school girl in the Japanese countryside who suddenly and inexplicably begin to swap bodies. The film was commissi ...

''.

As iWant (2018-2020)

On November 16, 2018, the service officially relaunched as iWant, which now emphasizes on adding original content similar to

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

and

Iflix WeTV iflix, or simply iflix, is a Malaysian free and subscription video on demand (VOD) service focused on emerging markets. Its global headquarters are in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The site serves as a digital hosting and distribution platform fo ...

, featuring ''Spirits: Reawaken'' (a reboot version of the original 2004–2005 TV series), ''

Quezon's Game ''Quezon's Game'' is a 2018 Philippine Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by Matthew Rosen. The film centers on Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon and his plan to shelter History of the Jews in Germany, German and History of th ...

'', and ''Alamat ng Ano''. ''Glorious'' and ''MA'' were the first two iWant original movies. In May 2019, the service adds the 2005 version of the Japanese animé series ''

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...

'' (which airs on

Yey! Yey! (stylized as YeY! or YEY!) was a Philippine children's pay television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in ...

, an exclusive channel of

ABS-CBN TV Plus ABS-CBN TV Plus (formerly Sky TV+ and stylized as ABS-CBN TVplus, repackaged in 2021 as ABS-CBN TVplus Digital TV Receiver) is a Philippine ISDB-T encrypted digital terrestrial television provider owned and operated by ABS-CBN Convergence, a ...

), becoming the second animé title to be streamed on iWant. A television special called ''iWant Originals'' premiered on ABS-CBN's ''Yes Weekend!'' Sunday evening block on August 11, 2019, replacing the 14-year-old comedy gag show ''

Goin' Bulilit Goin' Bulilit () is a Philippine sketch comedy program broadcast by ABS-CBN. The show premiered on February 6, 2005, replacing '' Ang Tanging Ina'' and aired every Sunday nights on the network's ''Yes Weekend!'' block. It also aired worldwide vi ...

''. Some scenes were edited for the TV version due to strict guidelines of the

MTRCB The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board ( fil, Lupon sa Rebyu at Klasipikasyon ng Pelikula at Telebisyon; abbreviated as MTRCB) is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is respon ...

. On August 18, ''Call Me Tita'' was the first original series to premiere simultaneously on both iWant and ABS-CBN. ''iWant Originals'' was cancelled on September 22, 2019, to give way for the ''Kapamilya Super Blockbusters'' movie block. On March 16, 2020, ''iWant Originals'' returned on ABS-CBN's ''Primetime Bida'' as part of the special TV programming due to the

Enhanced community quarantine in Luzon The enhanced community quarantine in Luzon was a series of stay-at-home orders and ''cordon sanitaire'' measures implemented by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on the island of Luzon a ...

caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of , reported cases, resulting in reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was iden ...

. iWant Originals showcased some of their fresh, most-watched programs. In the list are;

Julia Barretto Julia Francesca Barretto Baldivia (born March 10, 1997), better known for her screen name Julia Barretto (), is a Filipino actress and model. Dubbed as the “''Drama Princess''” of her generation by various media outlet, Barretto was inducte ...

's mystery-thriller ''I Am U'', making it the lead miniseries, followed by Jodi Sta. Maria's ''My Single Lady'' and

Joseph Marco Joseph Cecil Marco (born October 4, 1988) is a Filipinos, Filipino actor, model, singer and endorser who played the role of Santi Domingo in the GMA Network Philippine drama series ''La Vendetta (TV series), La Vendetta'' and who is currently ...

's ''Uncoupling''. Various ''iWant Originals'' series airs weekdays on

The Filipino Channel The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a 24-hour global subscription television network based in Daly City, California with studios in Redwood City, California and offices in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, UAE, Ethi ...

, a global subscription television network owned and operated by

. Each series or part of a mini-series will be replaced by another ''iWant Originals'' series. Beginning with ''Past, Present, Perfect?'' which aired on May 4, 2020; followed by ''Taiwan That You Love'' on May 12; ''My Single Lady'' on May 20; ''Uncoupling'' on May 28; ''The End: Balikbayan'' on June 5; ''Spirits: Reawaken'' on June 8; ''The End: Accidental Friend'' on June 26; ''Bagman'' on June 29; ''Touchscreen:Wittyrella''; ''Touchscreen:It's A Match''; ''Bagman: New Season''; ''The End: Third Wheel'' on July 30; ''Alamat ng Ano'' on August 3; ''HIGH'' on August 17; Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 3: The Real Untold Story of

Josephine Bracken Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken (October 3, 1876 – March 15, 1902) was the common-law wife of Philippine nationalist José Rizal during his exile in Dapitan in the province of Zamboanga del Norte in the southern Philippines.Craig 1913, p. 21 ...

on August 27; Jhon en Martian on September 7, as part of the special TV programming due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On the weekends, ''TNT Boys: Journey to the World Stage'', a documentary series airing on June 6, 2020. Also, another documentary series ''Unlisted'', airing in July 2020. ''iWant Originals'' ended on September 25, 2020. iWant also streamed '' Pantawid ng Pag-ibig: At Home Together Concert'' on March 22, 2020, together with ABS-CBN, S+A,

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

Jeepney TV Jeepney TV is a 24-hour Television in the Philippines, Philippine pay television channel owned and operated by ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN's narrowcast arm Creative Programs Inc. since 2012. The programming consists of classic and archived ser ...

DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 DZMM (630 AM) Radyo Patrol was a commercial news/talk radio station broadcasting from Quezon City, Philippines, serving the Mega Manila market. It was the flagship station of the Radyo Patrol Network owned by ABS-CBN. The station's studio was ...

, DZMM Teleradyo,

Metro Channel Metro Channel (formerly Lifestyle (Network), visually rendered in its logo in all capital letters as METRO CHANNEL) is a Philippine pay television channel based in Quezon City. It is owned by Creative Programs Inc., a subsidiary of media congl ...

Myx Myx (, stylized as MYX or myx) is a Philippine pay TV channel based in Quezon City, owned by Creative Programs Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. The channel is targeted to youth audiences and primarily airs music videos. It was intr ...

Asianovela Channel Asianovela Channel was a Philippine defunct pay television channel created by ABS-CBN and one of the former freemium channels of ABS-CBN TVplus. The channel aired Filipino-dubbed Korean dramas and Asian films, along with limited imported prog ...

, and TFC. The concert was aimed to help the people who were in need because of the community quarantine in Luzon and the

As iWantTFC (2020-present)

On September 1, 2020, iWant merged with TFC Online and was soft launched as iWantTFC. The service inherited the worldwide accessibility of the latter service.

TFC IPTV The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a 24-hour global subscription television network based in Daly City, California with studios in Redwood City, California and offices in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, UAE, Ethio ...

and TFC Direct via cable and satellite subscribers have instant online access to iWantTFC with TFC Everywhere (TVE) feature. They also made iWantTFC's full library accessible for free for users in the Philippines.

Content

iWantTFC stores over 10,000 hours of content and programs, over 1,000 films, and several live on-demand channels and video on demand. Most of its content and films are produced by

's divisions such as

ABS-CBN Entertainment ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

and

ABS-CBN Films ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. (doing business as Star Cinema or ABS-CBN Films) is a Philippines, Filipino film studio and film and television production company and film distributor headquartered in Quezon City. It is one of the major film ...

. In addition, there are over 20 original films and over 50 original series produced by iWantTFC. The platform also provides live streams of several of ABS-CBN's broadcast properties, some operated by ABS-CBN's subsidiaries Creative Programs, Inc. and

ABS-CBN international The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a 24-hour global subscription television network based in Daly City, California with studios in Redwood City, California and offices in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, UAE, Ethio ...

, ABS-CBN TeleRadyo, and

are exclusively available in the Philippines.

, ANC Global, ABS-CBN TeleRadyo, Cinema One Global, Cine Mo! Global,

MOR Entertainment MOR Entertainment is a national brand of new media radio station owned and operated by media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. As a broadcast radio network, MOR stations primarily played contemporary middle-of-the-road and original Pinoy m ...

and Myx America are available in North America.

Notes

References

External links

* {{VOD services ABS-CBN Digital Media Philippine entertainment websites Video on demand services Streaming television 2003 establishments in the Philippines Internet properties established in 2003 Assets owned by ABS-CBN Corporation