The Future Looks Bright: CASBAA Philippines in View 2014

Manila, Philippines, January 23, 2014-- CASBAA’s first event of 2014, "Phillippines in View" took place on Tuesday, January 21 at the Edsa Shangri-La in Manila. Featuring a high profile roster of influential speakers, this informative forum explored the issues molding the local broadcasting market today through a program of keynotes and panel discussions.

“We could not have asked for a better event to kick off the New Year than Philippines in View,” said Christopher Slaughter, CEO, CASBAA. “The potential for growth in the multichannel TV industry is substantial but there is a real need for more detailed information and knowledge in order to take advantage of the opportunities in the country.”

Bringing a wealth of experience to Manila, this year’s line-up of speakers included high-level executives Rodrigo Montinola (COO, SKY Cable), Guido Zaballero (VP, Marketing Head, Cignal TV), Timothy Bautista (SVP & COO, Cable BOSS), Allan Dungao (Chairman, PCTA), Christine Fellowes (MD, Asia Pacific, Universal Networks International), Nicanor Gabunada Jr. (President & CEO, Omnicom Media Group Philippines), Phillip Jones (Regional Director, Kantar Media - South East Asia & Pacific), Jude Turcuato (SVP, GM, FOX International Channels Philippines) and many others.

During the Philippine Market Overview panel, Christine Fellowes highlighted: “The exciting thing in terms of mobile video is what’s happening in the smartphone space where you’ve got 45% penetration and almost a 100% penetration of phones. That’s where the opportunity is with such a young population that is very smartphone savvy and is starting to go there for, at the moment, short form video. But that, to me is an incredibly exciting growth opportunity.”

Speaking on the future of multichannel TV in the Philippines, Allan Dungao held a positive view: “The market for cable in the provinces (and even in Metro Manila) will grow….partly thanks to the new signal theft law. Illegal subscribers were used to watching cable, and when they cannot get it for free, they will subscribe later on.  This is because of the high penalties in the law (50,000 peso fines plus 1 year to 6 months of imprisonment). It takes time (for court cases), but what’s important is that people know there is a law.”

Rahul Johri, SVP & GM – South Asia, Head of Revenue – Southeast Asia & Pan Regional Advertising Sales, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific explained the popularity of cable TV for marketers by stating that: “The basic design of cable is to provide you entertainment that you want, at the time you want. In an environment where there is an overdose of content, one of the main jobs programmers do is to act as adept curators so we can get a more engaged audience. What does an advertiser want? An advertiser wants more value. And how does that value get delivered to the advertiser? …By having their message exposed to a more engaged audience.”

But it wasn’t all business during Philippines in View. In addition to providing an essential overview of the Philippines market, 15% of proceeds from the event were also donated to Habitat for Humanity to aid in the rebuilding effort following the devastation wrought by typhoon Haiyan last November.

Philippines in View was  supported by Presenting Sponsor Tata Communications and Sponsor SES.