Sky Cable (stylized as SKYcable) is a
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
service of
Sky Cable Corporation
Sky Cable Corporation, doing business as Sky, is a Telecommunications in the Philippines, Filipino telecommunications company based in Diliman, Quezon City. A subsidiary of the media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN, the company offe ...
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 the cable TV market.
History
Since it started community antenna television system operation in the Philippines on January 26, 1992, SkyCable provides cable Internet, VoIP services and digital cable TV service.
On June 6, 1990, SkyCable Corporation was incorporated via 79.3% stake in Sky Vision Corporation, operator of cable brands, SkyCable and Sun Cable.
[http://www.pse.com.ph/html/ListedCompanies/pdf/2010/ABS_17A_Apr2010.pdf ]
On April 18, 1991, Sky Vision Corporation was incorporated and ventures into cable television (SkyCable and Sun Cable), communication, system, television media, shopping network (Sky Mall) and film distribution (Sky Jemah). It is owned 18.8% by
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 ...
and 78% by Lopez Inc.
On March 30, 1995, Central CATV Inc. was granted a 28-year provisional franchise to establish, construct, maintain and operated community antenna television system in the Philippines through Republic Act 7969.
In 1997, Sky Vision Corporation acquired 47% of Pilipino Cable Corp., operator of Sun Cable for P900 million.
In 2001, Benpres Holdings Inc. and
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
signed a master consolidation agreement for SkyCable Corporation to consolidate its interest.
In July 2001,
Unilink Communications Corp. operator of
Home Cable
Home Cable was a cable television service in the Philippines. It covered parts of Metro Manila from April 27, 1992, until its closure on June 30, 2005, when it was folded into Sky Cable's operations.
Beyond Cable Holdings, a 50-50 joint venture ...
, Philippines second largest cable TV company, merged its CATV operation to SkyCable and created Beyond Cable Inc. with an
enterprise value Enterprise value (EV), total enterprise value (TEV), or firm value (FV) is an economic measure reflecting the market value of a business (i.e. as distinct from market price). It is a sum of claims by all claimants: creditors (secured and unsecured) ...
of P14.5 billion. Beyond Cable Inc. controls 66.5% through Benpress Holdings Corp. and 33.5% through
MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.
MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. is a Philippine-based media conglomerate that provides radio and television broadcasting, as well as direct-to-home satellite services and print media. Though an affiliate of telecommunications company PLDT, MediaQue ...
On December 7, 2001, Beyond Cable Holdings Inc. was incorporated.
In May 2011, Singaporean firm
Sampaquita Communications Pte. Ltd. acquired 40 percent of SkyCable through Philippine Depositary Receipts worth P3.612 billion and P250 million of convertible notes to fund the expansion of SkyCable's broadband Internet and cable TV services.
On May 11, 2012, SkyCable bought Destiny Cable Inc., Uni-Cable TV Inc. and Solid Broadband Corporation's cable TV and broadband internet assets and subscribers with consolidating value of P3.497 billion.
Basic cable packages
Skycable allows its subscribers to select their own packages or channels, comparable to a pay per channel service most generally used in the United States. SkyCable also introduces the package-pricing model typically used by other cable television providers in which channels are classified into packages.
Postpaid
The SkyCable postpaid bundles are categorized into 10 clusters named as Select, Bronze 299, Bronze 399, Bronze 499, Silver HD, Gold HD, Postpaid HD (299, 549, 999, 1999) and a separate payment scheme for its Premium/Pay-Per-View.
Prepaid
SkyCable also offered prepaid packages to its cable TV service, the Silver Prepaid and Select Plus Prepaid. It was a prepaid cable TV service based on a non-recurring subscription scheme and allows non-postpaid customers to subscribe to selected channels and pay only for the desire duration of viewing and the service requires a digital addressable set-top box. The prepaid plans came in an array of card denomination to choose from that is suitable to its non-postpaid subscribers. Silver Prepaid and Select Plus Prepaid packages came in similar denomination: 3, 15 and 30 days. But as of around 2011 or 2012, it currently no longer offered for new subscribers and status of remaining subscribers remained uncertain. But recently, as of around 2015, the Prepaid service were relaunched and introduced Prepaid 99 and Prepaid 250, and each prepaid package/s valid within 30 days. It was offered initially available for Greater Manila Area and provinces nearby (Cavite and Laguna). It was later expanded its service for regional system areas, first it was expanded for new subscribers in Cebu and Davao, then the rest of Visayan cities (Bacolod, Iloilo and Dumaguete) and lastly expanded in General Santos. In the 4th quarter of 2016, prepaid plans had been phased out. However, it is still available for loading amounts.
Digital system
In an ongoing exertion to battle cable piracy and averting illegitimate connections, SkyCable through SkyCable Digital adopts digital video broadcasting for cable or
DVB-C. It is a standard for transmitting digital television signal over cable. SkyCable uses digital video compression or distribution through its digital addressable box or the Digibox, a digital
set-top box
A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
that uses the DVB-C broadcast standard to give its subscribers access to its digital infrastructure.
Smart card
SkyCable Digital's Digibox conveys programming with encryption to alleviate signal piracy. It utilizes
ISO/IEC 7816
ISO/IEC 7816 is an international standard related to electronic identification cards with contacts, especially smart cards, and more recently, contactless mobile devices, managed jointly by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ...
smart cards, which transmit digital signals to the receiver to decrypt the programming for viewing. To fully consummate the Digibox, it uses Irdeto Access B.V. smart cards, which are ISO/IEC 7816 compliant. It is given to all subscribers with standard and high definition set-top boxes. The smart card stores the subscriber's information and the plan to which they subscribe.
High-definition channels
On September 19, 2008, SkyCable initiated the pay-per-view broadcast of the
2008 Ryder Cup golf tournament in high-definition (HD). It is transmitted in 1080i resolution and paves the way for the Philippines to convey the first HD signal. In July 2009, Skycable also commenced a locally produced HD program through, Balls HD, the collegiate basketball tournament—University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. At present, SkyCable offers over 20 HD channels accessible through separate payment. Lineup consists of
RTM HD,
ABS-CBN HD,
ABS-CBN Sports + Action HD,
ANC HD,
CNN HD,
Discovery Asia,
Discovery HD
Discovery HD is the international name of the high-definition television channels owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The international Discovery HD (later Discovery HD World in Asia-Pacific markets, no ...
,
History HD,
Kapamilya Channel HD,
National Geographic HD,
HBO HD,
NBA Premium TV HD,
Fox Movies HD,
Fox Crime HD,
FOX Life HD
Fox Life is an international pay television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group in 2004. The network has been discontinued in several markets over time, except for the Middle East, Bulgaria, Portugal, the Balkans, India and Greece.
The ...
,
Comedy Central HD,
HBO Hits HD,
Fox HD
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
,
MTV Live HD
MTV Live (formerly MTVNHD and MTV Live HD) is an international 24-hour high-definition live music pay television network that is operated by Paramount International Networks' subsidiary Paramount Networks EMEAA. The channel is currently avail ...
,
Fox Family Movies HD,
ASN HD,
Cartoon Network HD,
Nickelodeon HD
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. Its ...
,
Outdoor Channel HD,
Fashion TV HD, Freeview Channel HD,
AXN HD
AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Funded th ...
,
Disney Channel HD,
Fox Sports HD, Fox Sports 2 HD and Fox Sports 3 HD.
Personal video recording
On December 8, 2010, SkyCable announced that it would launch a new service similar to U. S.-based
TiVo
TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fea ...
for its high and standard definition services within the first quarter of 2011. Initially, the service will be called
PVR or personal video recording, which has a 500GB internal hard drive enough to record 135 hours of cable programs in high definition or 217 hours for its standard definition service. Distinct from regular
digital video recorder
A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with direct to d ...
s, the PVR uses the built-in electronic program guide that enables its subscribers which programs to be recorded. The new service will also feature
Timeshift Time shift or Timeshift may refer to:
* ''Timeshift'' (TV series), a BBC documentary series
* ''TimeShift'', a video game released in 2007
* Time shifting, a form of personal consumer media recording
* Timeshift channel, used in the time-delayed r ...
, a new way of recording programs to be viewed to at a time more opportune to its subscribers, and that would also allow recording of favorite programs on a time delay basis. Timeshift will also allow its subscribers or has the ability to pause live broadcast and in slow motion. On March 21, 2011, SkyCable launches its first personal video recording in the Philippines, the iRecord. It is an enhanced version of its digibox. It allows subscribers to record cable programs up to 145 hours in standard definition or 86 hours in high definition platform. It comes with a 320GB disk space.
Carriage and content disputes
GMA Network signal tampering/distortion
In February 2003,
GMA Network
GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...
filed a complaint against SkyCable for allegedly moving its signal from channel 12 without approval of the
National Telecommunications Commission
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC; fil, Pambansang Komisyon sa Telekomunikasyon) is an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over ...
. Authorities decided on April 25, 2003, that SkyCable violated the provisions of Memorandum Circular 4-08-88 and ordered to carry the free-to-air television signal on its system except when theoretically impracticable. It also ordered SkyCable to faithfully and strictly conforms with the requirements and to conclude from randomly changing channel assignments without notice and approval from local authorities. As a result, SkyCable filed a motion for reconsideration addressing the rule invalidate the means as it conflicts with a state law on intellectual property but local authorities denied the motion and directed SkyCable to comply with its previous decision. Consequently, the latter filed another appeal through an appellate court but still rejected their request and ordered them to conform to local authorities resolution.
In August 2015, SkyCable Corporation answered GMA Network's complaint over the loss of television signal during the
KalyeSerye
''Kalyeserye'' is a soap opera parody segment that was aired live on the Filipino noontime variety show ''Eat Bulaga!'' on GMA Network. The mini-show, as it has evolved, focused on AlDub, the fictional couple pairing — or "love team" as it is ...
segment of
Eat Bulaga
''Eat Bulaga!'' (), formerly ''Eat... Bulaga!'', is a noontime Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Produced by TAPE Inc., it is the longest running variety show in the Philippines with over 13,000 episodes. Originally ...
. Citing tweets from outraged fans of the
AlDub
AlDub is a Philippine supercouple which first appeared in the Kalyeserye portion of the "Juan for All, All for Juan" segment of the variety show ''Eat Bulaga!'' They were also called as the "phenomenal love team" due to their rise in popula ...
love team featured in the said segment of the noon-time show, GMA filed a complaint before the
National Telecommunications Commission
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC; fil, Pambansang Komisyon sa Telekomunikasyon) is an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over ...
(NTC) through a letter dated Aug. 25. The network said subscribers "are being short-changed through irresponsible acts of their service provider" and appealed for the NTC to take immediate action about the "apparent sabotage" perceived by the viewers. In its statement, SkyCable denied the accusations assuring their customers of their commitment to provide the best service and resolve any glitches.
“The complaint of GMA 7 with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) last August 25, 2015, regarding shortchanging of our SkyCable subscribers via irresponsible acts, is a malicious accusation and is without basis," the Lopez-owned firm said. "If there were service interruptions that inconvenienced some of our subscribers, these were isolated and would have affected other channels, not only GMA 7." The cable provider also expressed their willingness to cooperate with investigations that the NTC may pursue regarding the incident.
Carriage disputes with Solar Entertainment
On January 1, 2008,
Solar Entertainment Corporation
Solar Entertainment Corporation (simply known as Solar or SEC) is a Filipino media company based in Makati, Philippines. Founded and owned by the brothers, Wilson, William and Willy Tieng. Solar Entertainment operates two digital free-to-air c ...
pulled its 6 cable channels from Sky Cable; namely
Basketball TV
Basketball TV or BTV was a Philippine pay television sports channel with offices on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong. It was owned by the Solar Entertainment Corporation. It was launched on October 1, 2006, rebranding the Sports Plus channel. On Se ...
,
Solar Sports
Solar may refer to:
Astronomy
* Of or relating to the Sun
** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun
** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. " solar panels")
** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indica ...
,
ETC Entertainment Central,
2nd Avenue,
Jack TV
Jack TV (stylised as JACK TV) is an online web portal owned by Solar Entertainment Corporation and based in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. It was known as a Philippine pay television network mainly offering multi-genre programming from the United ...
and
Crime/Suspense. The channels were replaced by 6 new channels owned by fellow subsidiary
Creative Programs, Inc.;
AXN Beyond
AXN Beyond was a pay television channel, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment in the Asia-Pacific region. It was launched on 1 January 2008.
Feeds
* Southeast Asian feed - available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Indonesia
* Philippine ...
,
Balls,
Fox Crime
Fox Crime (stylized as FOXCRIME) is a television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group, which airs across several countries of Europe, Africa and Asia such as Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Its basic programming include numero ...
,
KidsCo
KidsCo was an international children's television channel founded and owned by a joint-venture between Corus Entertainment, DIC Entertainment, and Universal Networks International, Sparrowhawk Media Group in April 2007. By the end of 2007, Spar ...
,
Maxxx
Maxxx was a general entertainment channel for men owned by Creative Programs, Inc., an ABS-CBN subsidiary.
Channel Information
Maxxx had a test broadcast together with Velvet and Balls (both defunct) since September 2007. Maxxx had an official ...
and
Velvet
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
. While vice president Juno Chuidian stated in a report to
GMA News TV
GMA News TV (GNTV; visually rendered in its logo in all capital letters as GMA NEWS TV) is a 24-hour Philippine-based international pay television channel owned by Citynet Network Marketing and Productions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GM ...
that the new channels were added because they would offer less "redundant" programming and feature more series that had never been aired in the country before, reports surfaced that the channels were pulled due to a dispute; ABS-CBN believed that Solar's lower fees for advertising on its channels were causing ABS-CBN to lose revenue.
Solar Entertainment however, retaliated by expanding its partnership with the terrestrial broadcaster
Radio Philippines Network
Radio Philippines Network, Inc. (RPN) is a Philippine Media of the Philippines, television and radio company based in Quezon City. It is the flagship media property of Nine Media Corporation of the ALC Group of Companies; along with the Pre ...
; adding programming from its
C/S cable channel to its primetime lineup, and using the channel as part of its successful bid against ABS-CBN for the next
PBA broadcast contract.
AksyonTV
On March 14, 2011
TV5 filed a complaint to the National Telecommunications Commission against Sky Cable, accusing it of refusing to carry
AksyonTV
Aksyon TV () was a Philippine free-to-air television network. It was a joint venture of Nation Broadcasting Corporation and TV5 Network, Inc. (international operations is under its subsidiary Pilipinas Global Network Ltd.), both under PLDT med ...
, despite law designating all free-to-air television networks as
must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.
North America Canada
Under current CRTC regulations, the lowest tier of service on ...
channels.
The channel was added to Sky Cable's digital lineup on April 30, 2011.
See also
*
Sky Direct
Sky Direct was a direct-broadcast satellite subscription television service in the Philippines owned and operated by Sky, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. Sky Cable had been eyeing for a DBS service and considered on acquiring Dream Satellite TV from A ...
*
Sky Cable Corporation
Sky Cable Corporation, doing business as Sky, is a Telecommunications in the Philippines, Filipino telecommunications company based in Diliman, Quezon City. A subsidiary of the media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN, the company offe ...
*
Cignal
Cignal (pronounced as ''signal'') is a Philippine satellite television and IPTV provider, owned by Cignal TV Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund.
Cignal's prepaid electronic ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sky Cable
Philippine companies established in 1992
Cable television companies of the Philippines
Companies based in Quezon City
Telecommunications companies established in 1992
Internet service providers of the Philippines
Telecommunications in the Philippines
Television in the Philippines
Sky (cable company)
Assets owned by ABS-CBN Corporation