ABS-CBN goes digital

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PUBLISHED ON December 9, 2006 AT 6:48 AM

ABS-CBN, according to this report, is earmarking one billion pesos for the development of its digital TV broadcasting. This is good news. Of course, the network, and the others who might follow suit, will have to take into account the problems being faced by DTV in the United States.

I imagine that ABS-CBN’s DTV will target a high-end consumer market mainly because of the cost of new equipment (decoders, etc). We certainly cannot expect poor Filipinos, even the middle class, to plunk money in these times to experiment on DTV. Thus, the limited market for DTV in the Philippines might be ABS-CBN’s biggest problem. Would one billion pesos of investment be worth it then?

Then again, limited market was precisely one of the arguments many had when cable TV was introduced — and look at it now. Besides, according to some studies, Asia is digital television’s most promising market in the world.

For more on digital TV, check out the PBS’s “crash course” by Robert X. Cringely.

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One Response to “ABS-CBN goes digital”

Millette Burgos Says:
December 14th, 2006 at 1:48 am
Hello Mr Conde,

According to Mr Gabby Lopez, who I interviewed in HK last October, if the content is compelling enough, viewers would not mind shelling out money for the decoders. And he confirmed that the target audience are the ones not hooked up to cable, so that would mean the free-to-air viewers that is the bulk of ABS-CBN’s viewers.

With the cost of decoders getting cheaper, who knows? He may be right. DTV means more channel offerings. As for the network’s ROI, Mr Lopez said, they will gain it the old-fashioned way, via advertising revenues. For his network’s sake, I hope that he selected the right business model.

I think it is about time that the Philippines goes digital, and with the government backing, and the choice of the DVB-T standard, I think the country is headed at the right direction, as DVB-T is more suited to the Philippines, because broadcasters can add on other platforms like DVB-H for mobile TV or DVB-IP for IPTV services. Also, most countries in Southeast Asia which already migrated to DTV found the DVB-T standard more robust than the ATSC one from the US. Mayroon nga akong nabalitaan that the US Embassy in Manila is lobbying for NTC to consider ATSC, but in the end, the technical committee chose DVB-T, dahil nga mas praktikal.

Regards,

Millette Burgos
Managing Editor
Asia Pacific Broadcasting
Singapore

Web: http://www.apb-news.com

Blogsite: http://www.milletteburgos.blogspot.com

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