ABS-CBN champions sports development via S+A Channel

ABS-CBN is known for its entertainment and news programs, but it is also a major player in Philippine sports.

The country’s leading media and entertainment company has been at the forefront of delivering to the Filipino people some of the biggest and most exciting sports events through its sports channels Sports + Action (S+A) on free TV and S+A HD on cable. 

Embracing its new role as champion of sports development in the country and of Filipino athletes, ABS-CBN recently relaunched its sports channels with a new look, a new station ID (SID) and a new slogan, “Sumasaludo sa Pusong Palaban ng Lahing Pilipino.”

Featuring an original song written and performed by rapper Quest, the new SID features a mix of iconic Filipino athletes including volleyball stars Alyssa Valdez and Grethcel Soltones, basketball hotshots Jeron Teng and Jio Jalalon, mixed martial arts fighters Brandon Vera and Chris Hoffman, champion boxers Donnie “Ahas” Nietes and Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr., and even 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.

ABS-CBN Integrated Sports head Dino Laurena explained that the new SID sends the strong message that Filipinos — athletes or not — will do everything for their family, and will continue to fight, powered by the values of excellence, hard work, teamwork, resilience and nationalism.

“In our experience covering the games and interviewing the athletes, we saw the parallelism in the life of an athlete and the common Pinoy. At the end of the day, what keeps them going and fighting is the drive to better oneself, and more importantly, to make the people they love happy,” he shared.

Dino said this is the reason why even non-athletes or sports aficionados like watching sports as it does not only entertain, it also brings inspiration and lessons to viewers.

“We saw how it can promote youth development in the countryside. We bring entertainment through sports to areas that have no chance at seeing these big events, while at the same time, we are promoting the love of sports, and it’s really about showing the rest of the country that sports can and should be part of one’s lifestyle,” he added.

Apart from the two premier collegiate leagues in the nation, UAAP and NCAA, to the most watched basketball league in the world, the NBA, and the long-running boxing event Pinoy Pride, ABS-CBN Integrated Sports has also upped its game with new acquisitions that improved the variety of sports content in the channel, and surely spiced up viewing experience of Pinoy sports fans. 

Fight fans can now get their dose of cage action from Asia’s longest-running mixed martial arts league, Universal Reality Combat Championships (URCC) and Asia’s largest sports media property, ONE Championship. Volleyball fans got Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) and Shakey’s V-League (SVL). Young athletes from the regions also got the exposure they deserved when S+A covered and produced a documentary on the Palarong Pambansa earlier this year.

S+A has indeed expanded from covering sports events to producing more original sports content. Apart from the Palaro documentary, they also produced the documentary, Alyssa Valdez: The Flight of the UAAP Phenom, which trended No. 1 on Twitter in the Philippines and No. 5 worldwide, and a short TV series for UAAP called University Town. Features on the schools, teams and athletes are also seen before the games or during halftime of games in the NCAA, V-League and the UAAP.

Those who may not catch the action and the video segments on TV, meanwhile, can go to sports.abs-cbn.com, ABS-CBN Integrated Sports’ very own sports news hub. It covers not just sporting events and leagues on ABS-CBN, but also other local and international sports news and tournaments.

ABS-CBN’s commitment to sports, however, is nothing new. Even before reformatting its UHF channel to a sports channel in 2014, ABS-CBN has been bringing quality sports content to Filipinos on free TV. It was the first to air a live sporting event on high definition way back in 2009, and now maintains an HD channel dedicated to sports on cable TV.

Dino shared that ABS-CBN Integrated Sports will also be playing a more active role in the journey of both Filipino athletes and ordinary Filipinos from this point on.

“Apart from our TV programs and coverage of sports events on TV and online, we will also have on-ground projects that will have direct impact on the people. We will be the biggest supporter and cheerleader of the Filipino,” he said.

Indeed, sports is a different league to news or entertainment, which ABS-CBN is more known for, but the same standard of excellence governs it. It also follows the same vision and mission: To be in the service of the Filipino.

Catch inspiring, riveting and heart-thumping sports action on ABS-CBN Sports + Action (S+A) and ABS-CBN Sports + Action HD (S+A HD) SKYcable Channel 166, as well as via TFC and SkyCable Pay-Per-View. Avid fans can also get their sports fix on sports.abs-cbn.com and by following the official Facebook and Twitter accounts of ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports).