SkyCable redefines local TV viewing with Digibox

MANILA, Philippines - Leading cable television service provider SkyCable is redefining television with the introduction of the Digibox, a technology that allow subscribers to tailor their subscription according to their viewing preferences.

The Digibox, which is actually a digital set-top box, gives subscribers more flexibility, compared with the analog days when they only have a choice of two packages, Gold and Silver, cable retention marketing head Malou Esparago explained. Now, subscribers on the Gold package (analog era) can retain their package, get more free channels with the Digibox, and add/pay for additional channels, or they can convert to the basic package, and then choose from a line-up of channels and pay only for those that they actually want.

“A subscriber can change the line-up of channels that he has the following month if he wants to with the Digibox,” Esparago added.

More than 65 percent of SkyCable’s subscribers in Metro Manila are now on digital and the company aims to convert about 80 percent to digital by yearend.

A company official earlier explained that having a Digibox allows the customer to choose and pay only for the channels they want. “This allows them to control how much they want to spend per month assuming they don’t need all the channels in our current channel line-up,” the official pointed out.

SkyCable Select is an innovative service that lets consumers come up with their own cable TV line up, allowing them to pick and choose the channels they want added to any basic cable package like SkyCable 280, SkyCable 499, SkyCable Silver, and SkyCable Gold, resulting in a fully customized subscription package that conforms to the family’s viewing preferences and budget.

Current SkyCable Silver or Gold subscribers get a Digibox for every declared TV for free. It even comes loaded with new channels: FoxCrime, History, Biography, MTV Asia, Solar Sports, BTV, Euronews, and FX. Gold subscribers get two added bonus channels, CNBC and Fox News. 

Aside from additional free channels, company officials explained that the box itself has many added features including Electronic Program Guide with schedules or program summaries for up to two weeks, parental lock, among others. 

Esparago for her part noted that the Digibox will also allow SkyCable subscribers to take advantage in the future of new services that the company may be offering. 

TV viewers in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Taiwan are able to subscribe to a service that allow them to pre-record programs. Known as TiVo, which is actually a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo Inc. which provides an electronic TV programming schedule, whose features include “Season Pass’ schedules which record every new episode of a series, and “WishList” searches which allow the user to find and record shows that match their interests by title, actor, director, category, or keyword.

“Services similar to TiVo can only be provided by us in the future to subscribers that have a Digibox,” Esparago said.

Another service that cable TV subscribers may not be able to avail of in the future without a Digibox is video-on-demand, which will give the subscribers an electronic library of movies, among others, from which they can select. The provider will then send the chosen movie via video streaming.

One SkyCable subscriber currently enjoying the benefits of the Digibox reports that he can easily adjust the cable package he pays for whenever he leaves the country, without having to request for disconnection and get charged accordingly.

This is done by shifting from SkyCable Gold to a lower package, SkyCable 499 before his next scheduled trip and adding ANC to this package for an additional P20 per month, trimming down his monthly bill from P1,000 to P519. In addition, he can easily avail of the hottest live sports events on a pay-per-view basis just by calling the hotline. Live and uninterrupted boxing matches and other sports events will be activated on his Digibox while he is still on the line.

Another subscriber said that she can unbundle her current Skycable Platinum subscription by shifting to Skycable Gold and just adding one by one the channels that her family can’t live without. The result is lower subscription fees and yet a fully satisfied family which enjoys all the shows they want from their cable service.

Lopez-owned SkyCable, which has been consolidated into ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. is spending around P1 billion this year for capital expenditure, around P200 million of which will be spent for its shift from analog to digital transmission.

Company officials told The STAR that around P400 million has already been invested for the whole digitization process, which was resorted to by the country’s biggest cable television (CATV) to minimize if not totally put a stop to cable signal piracy.

They noted that with the digital box deployment, illegal connections on the SkyCable network have come down significantly, and will continue to do so over time.

But one official explained that SkyCable does not view the box deployment as a way of generating additional revenues from the existing subscriber base. “In fact, because of the box, subscribers can actually lower their monthly spending by choosing to pay only for the channels they watch. However, the biggest benefit of the box over time is the protection of our content from illegal connections. By preventing signal theft, hopefully, this allows the industry to again see another wave of subscriber growth,” the official said.