ABS-CBN TV Plus
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
provider owned and operated by ABS-CBN Convergence, a subsidiary of
ABS-CBN Corporation ABS-CBN Corporation is a Mass media in the Philippines, Filipino Media conglomerate, media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment television and film production, Broadcast syndication, progra ...
. The service distributes digital set-top boxes with
freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium", is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ( ...
and free-to-view digital TV channels, Broadcast Markup Language, Emergency Warning Broadcast system, and pay per view services to selected areas in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. In order to avail the service, users must buy an ABS-CBN TVplus
set-top box A set-top box (STB), also known as a cable converter box, cable box, receiver, or simply box, and historically television decoder or a converter, is an information appliance device that generally contains a Tuner (radio)#Television, TV tuner inpu ...
and activate it through ABS-CBNmobile SIM card; activation requirements for the digital channels through other mobile networks later became available around the second quarter of 2018.


History

ABS-CBN Corporation initially applied for a license from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to operate a digital terrestrial television service in the country back in 2007. ABS-CBN planned to utilize
multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...
to offer ABS-CBN, the
Studio 23 Studio 23 (officially Studio 23, Inc. and stylized in all uppercase as STUDIO 23) was a Tagalog television network owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. The network was named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV and carried on UHF chan ...
(later
ABS-CBN Sports and Action ABS-CBN Sports and Action (stylized as ABS-CBN Sports+Action or simply S+A or S and A), was a free-to-air television network based in Quezon City. It was owned by ABS-CBN Corporation with some of its programs produced and licensed by ABS-CBN ...
), and 5 additional specialty TV channels. The conglomerate is expecting to spend around
The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Latin script, Latin letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol u ...
1 billion annually for the next five years for their DTT transition. ABS-CBN utilized UHF channel 51 Manila (695.143 MHz), later UHF Channel 43 (647.143 MHz), for test broadcasts in the
DVB-T DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Fe ...
format. ABS-CBN was expected to begin digital test broadcasts in January 2009. In 2010, the NTC announced that it would formally adopt the Japanese standard ISDB-T for digital broadcasting and issued a circular ordering the entire country's television networks to switch off their analog services on December 31, 2015, at 11:59 p.m.,
Philippine Standard Time Philippine Standard Time (PST or PhST; ), also known as Philippine Time (PHT), is the official name for the time zone used in the Philippines. The country only uses a single time zone, at an UTC offset, offset of UTC+08:00, but has used dayligh ...
(
UTC+8 UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00. It is the most populous time zone in the world, as well as a possible candidate for ASEAN Common Time, mainly due to China's large population, with an estimated population ...
). Due to the continuous delay in the release of the implementing rules and regulations for digital television broadcasts, the target date was moved to 2023. In April 2011, ABS-CBN announced further details about its DTT plans, which will offer ABS-CBN and
Studio 23 Studio 23 (officially Studio 23, Inc. and stylized in all uppercase as STUDIO 23) was a Tagalog television network owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. The network was named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV and carried on UHF chan ...
(later S+A). Five new channels will be exclusively available to its digital users and will be offered once the digital broadcast starts. The specialty TV channel line-up includes one news channel, two youth-oriented channels, an educational channel, and a movie channel. ABS-CBN is also planning to utilize the 1seg (one segment) broadcast standard for handheld devices. The set-top box, then known as TV+, was previewed on
ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
's morning show '' Umagang Kay Ganda'' on March 22, 2012, where they offered free samples to their studio audiences. Since then, until its official launch, TV+ has been distributed as a prize for the quiz segments of DZMM's ''" Failon Ngayon sa DZMM"'' and "''Ang Mahiwagang Blackbox''" (The Magical Blackbox). On December 18, 2014, the NTC issued the implementing rules and regulations for digital terrestrial television broadcast in the country. ABS-CBN Corporation officially launched ABS-CBN TVplus on February 11, 2015, through a ceremonial switch-on at the
ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center The ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center (also called ABS-CBN Broadcast Center; formerly known as Broadcast Plaza from 1974 to 1986 and current edifice formerly spelled officially as ABS-CBN Broadcasting Centre) in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines is th ...
. In July 2015, the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA; ) is a government agency of the Philippines responsible for constituting the regional government of Metro Manila, comprising the capital city of Manila, the cities of Quezon City, Caloocan, ...
(MMDA) signed a memorandum of agreement with ABS-CBN for the inclusion of the Emergency Warning Broadcast system (EWBS) in ABS-CBN TVplus. The feature was activated during the Metro Manila Wide Shake Drill held on July 30 through an over-the-air update. In March 2016, in celebration of its first anniversary, a redesigned version of the set-top box was released, with a new processor and support for
HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary digital interface used to transmit high-quality video and audio signals between devices. It is commonly used to connect devices such as televisions, computer monitors, projectors, gam ...
and HDTV resolutions; the latter feature was later removed when the price of TVplus was reduced in the fourth quarter of 2016. In May 2016, TVplus was awarded two bronze Stevies for "Best in New Product Innovation" and "Best in Branded Development" in the 2016 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards. TVplus updated ABS-CBN's main channel by putting their regional network feed in provinces that have their own audiences. On July 30, 2018, ABS-CBN TVplus conducted a free trial of the new set of freemium channels using UHF Channel 16 (485.143 MHz). It includes cable channels from sister company Creative Programs: O Shopping (also aired as overnight programming for ABS-CBN),
Jeepney TV Jeepney TV is a Philippine pay television channel owned and operated by Creative Programs, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. Its programming features classic television programs produced by ABS-CBN. The channel was named after the jeepne ...
, and Myx (which previously had a complimentary channel called Myx2 before TVplus launched in 2015). Also included in the lineup are two new exclusive digital channels,
Asianovela Channel Asianovela Channel was a Philippine free-to-air television channel owned and operated by ABS-CBN Corporation. It was one of the former digital channels of ABS-CBN TV Plus ABS-CBN TV Plus (formerly Sky TV+ and stylized as ABS-CBN TVplus, r ...
and
Movie Central Movie Central (occasionally abbreviated as "MC", mostly in program guides) was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Movie Central was designated to operat ...
. Initially, the five new channels will be broadcast from
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
,
Metro Cebu Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu (; ), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the nearby island of Mactan. It accounts for 19. ...
and
Cagayan de Oro Cagayan de Oro (abbreviated CDO and officially the City of Cagayan de Oro; ; Bukid language, Binukid: ''Ciudad ta Cagayan de Oro''; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippi ...
, with plans to extend their coverage to existing ABS-CBN DTV stations. On November 10, 2018, ABS-CBN TVplus launched its digital service in
Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...
, making it its 16th signal coverage area. On June 1, 2019, ABS-CBN launched a digital TV dongle called ABS-CBN TVplus Go for Android smartphones. It was initially available in
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
,
Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
, Laguna, Rizal,
Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...
,
Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...
,
Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital cit ...
,
Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...
,
Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...
,
Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...
,
Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...
,
Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...
,
Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...
,
Metro Cebu Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu (; ), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the nearby island of Mactan. It accounts for 19. ...
,
Cagayan de Oro Cagayan de Oro (abbreviated CDO and officially the City of Cagayan de Oro; ; Bukid language, Binukid: ''Ciudad ta Cagayan de Oro''; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippi ...
, and
Metro Davao Metro Davao, officially Metropolitan Davao (; ), is a metropolitan area in Mindanao, Philippines. It includes the cities of Davao City, Davao, Digos, Panabo, Samal, Davao del Norte, Samal and Tagum and spanned parts of all five provinces of the ...
. As of February 2020, ABS-CBN TVplus had sold over 9 million units of its set-top boxes. On May 5, 2020, ABS-CBN TVplus was affected by the cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
Jose Calida due to ABS-CBN's franchise expiry ''(inability to renew the franchise before its expiration date)''. ABS-CBN's main channel and S+A ceased broadcasting, as well as the regional digital stations operated by ABS-CBN. Some TVplus channels resumed broadcasting on May 8, but with limited coverage (
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
, Laguna province,
Iloilo province Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regio ...
, and selected areas of
Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...
) through a blocktime agreement with an unnamed third-party broadcast company. On June 1, 2020, Jeepney TV and Asianovela Channel resumed broadcasting and took over the channel spaces of ABS-CBN and S+A, respectively. On June 30, 2020, all the digital channels of ABS-CBN TVplus were forced to stop operations due to the alias cease-and-desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission. Yey! and Asianovela Channel stopped broadcasting, while Cine Mo!, TeleRadyo, and Jeepney TV are still available on
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 th ...
and other cable providers. However, digital broadcasts of other broadcast television networks remained on-air on TVplus. During the same Congressional hearing, ABS-CBN Corporation confirmed that they had stopped selling TVplus boxes in February 2020 after their subsidiary and its parent, ABS-CBN Convergence failed to secure a separate legislative franchise during that same month.


Recent developments

In September 2021, the unsold units were renamed the ABS-CBN TVplus Digital TV Receiver with new packaging. These units are now promoted as a regular digital TV set-top box (similar to TV5's Sulit TV,
GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...
's Affordabox, and Adtel's Baron Digital TV Box) in the sense that they also receive free-to-air digital channels. The tagline ''"Ang Mahiwagang Black Box"'' () is also rescinded, alongside traces of ABS-CBN's free-to-air digital channels and cable channels.


Offered services


ABS-CBN TVplus

An original and flagship product, it is a digital television converter box that can be used on both house and vehicle use.


ABS-CBN TVplus Internet

This variation of ABS-CBN TVplus includes an internet dongle stick that connects the TV to the internet via the prepaid plans of its selected provider, ABS-CBNmobile. It was available in selected areas only, until was discontinued after the closure of ABS-CBNmobile in 2018.


ABS-CBN TVplus Go

An encrypted dongle stick that allows Android smartphones to watch the digital channels that ABS-CBN TVplus can receive and is mainly meant for outdoor use.


Channel line-up


UHF Channel 43 (647.143 MHz) 1


UHF Channel 16 (485.143 MHz) 1

1 For Mega Manila only, channel and frequency vary on regional stations.
2 These channels are encrypted and protected using their own encryption system, thus requiring SMS activation to access those channels in a limited time according to the subscription. In addition, all non-encrypted digital terrestrial TV channels broadcast within the area of the household will also be carried.
3 On June 1, 2020, Jeepney TV and Asianovela Channel temporarily took over the respective channel spaces of ABS-CBN and S+A after ABS-CBN received a cease-and-desist order on May 5, 2020.


Channel and frequency

Channel 1 of the ABS-CBN TVplus broadcasts the following channels per their respective broadcast areas:


See also

* Digital terrestrial television in the Philippines * Easy TV (defunct) * GMA Affordabox * Sulit TV


References


External links


Official website
(archived) {{CATV Africa, Asia, Middle East and Oceania ABS-CBN Convergence Assets owned by ABS-CBN Corporation Digital television in the Philippines Products introduced in 2015 2015 establishments in the Philippines