Cignal subscribers hit 3 million

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT-backed Cignal TV continues to grow its reach and make waves in the pay TV industry as it reached a new milestone in terms of subscribers.

PLDT chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan, in a social media post over the weekend, said Cignal on Friday breached the three million subscriber count, which the businessman called a “milestone for the pay TV industry.’’

Pangilinan said Cignal’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or EBITDA are also strong.

A cable industry source told The STAR that Cignal is a major recipient of the demise of ABS-CBN’s Sky Direct, thus the growth in subscribers.

Sky Direct, the direct-to-home satellite service of Sky Cable with 1.5 million subscribers, was ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission to cease and desist operations last June 30.

Cignal in 2018 gained over two million subscribers, making it the most-subscribed pay TV provider in the country by then.

Cignal is owned and operated by Cignal TV Inc., a subsidiary of the PLDT Group’s media and content arm MediaQuest Holdings.