Many Filipino families used to endure grainy television pictures just so they could watch an episode of their favorite program, including the Morillo family. When the TV signal would get weak, Romeo Morillo would go outside the house to fix their antenna.
How digital TV transformed Filipino family lives
“I would climb our roof to fix the antenna, but when something causes it to move, the signal would get blurry again,” Romeo recounts.
Since the Morillo family only had limited channel options on free TV, they would also go to their neighbor’s house to watch more TV programs.
That is, until the arrival of the ‘mahiwagang black box’ or the ABS-CBN TVplus.
The box dramatically improved their TV reception since the picture quality became instantly clearer. Marilyn, Romeo’s wife, even shared that since they switched to digital TV, their family had more quality time together.
“Since we had the TVplus, we’ve spent more time together. My two kids don’t even go outside often because they are happy with the cartoons they watch on YeY,” she said.
The Morillo family is among the many consumers who have made the big switch from analog to DTT, so that they can enjoy its benefits, driving up sales of ABS-CBN TVplus boxes to five million as of May 3.
The milestone even translated into higher viewership of CineMo and YeY, the two exclusive channels that have reported a 7% and 5% average audience share as of April. This indicates that CineMo and YeY are now the third and fourth most watched channels in Metro Manila, according to Kantar Media.
Rolando Tupaz, for instance, said tuning into CineMo is his way of enjoying quality content on digital TV.
“Instead of leaving the house, I just watch CineMo so I can watch good movies,” he shares.
Besides the better TV reception and much wider selection of channels without any monthly and installation fees, the digital TV experience delivered by ABS-CBN TVplus enables families to subscribe to affordable pay-per-view services.
Residents in some ABS-CBN TVplus coverage areas have also experienced the Kapamilya brand of entertainment and public service via the “Sorpresaya Truck” event, which aims to show gratitude to fans who have been supportive to ABS-CBN. Some of the network’s biggest stars visited barangays in Bulacan, Laguna, Pampanga, and Cavite to deliver fun games and special performances, while news and current affairs public service programs catered to people in need.
Life-changing moments also happened to lucky TVplus users who joined and won in the Masaganang Pa-Thank You promo, which raffles off prizes like house and lots as the jackpot with the last one to be raffled off on May 28. The contest has so far changed the lives of three individuals and their families, one of which lost his home to fire twice before joining the contest.
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As more consumers bid goodbye to analog TV, more families like the Morillos and Tupazes will enjoy the significant impact of ABS-CBN TVplus in their lives.
ABS-CBN is the first media and entertainment company in the country to make the historic switch from analog to digital terrestrial television to transform the TV viewing experience of Filipinos when it launched ABS-CBN TVplus in 2015.
It continues to harness technology and innovation, as it transitions into an agile digital company with the biggest online presence among all media companies and a growing list of digital properties.
