UAAP to enjoy premium coverage

MANILA, Philippines — After two long years, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines is returning with Cignal and Smart Communications serving as the league’s new broadcast partners.

All bases will be covered in UAAP’s highly-anticipated Season 84 opener tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena with Cignal and Smart kickstarting a premium coverage from across all platforms in a goal to be the premier collegiate league’s “best coveror ever.”

“TV5 and Cignal are privileged to cover the UAAP games for the first time. We are as well just as excited as the athletes and the fans. We wish to assure the league of our responsibility in raising our coverage of broadcast quality to a much higher standard to be the best coveror of the UAAP games ever,” said Manny V. Pangilinan, chairman of the MVP Group of Companies.

Cignal, the country’s leading pay TV provider, will air live coverage of the games on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays via One Sports (free-to-air) and in high definition on the UAAP Varsity Channel (pay TV) and Cignal Play (OTT streaming).

But more than that, UAAP games will be available live and on-demand for the fans at the comfort of their mobile phones especially with the restriction on in-venue crowd for now with Smart, the country’s fastest mobile data network, through its GigaPlay app.

GigaPlay, which also provides content NBA, PBA, PVL and FIBA games, is accessible for free not only for UAAP basketball but also for the women’s volleyball and cheerdance competition in May.

“With Cignal and Smart providing an extensive coverage of the UAAP tournament, we welcome the whole collegiate community and the passionate fans who are part of the UAAP journey, from beginning all the way to the championship games. Together, we experience a more thrilling UAAP season as the hardcourt comes ‘fully alive’ once more with the intense basketball action we’ve all been craving for. Rest assured that we will be giving the best possible front-row coverage of the UAAP games for the whole basketball community to enjoy,” said Cignal President and CEO Robert P. Galang.

“Our partnership with UAAP is aligned with our commitment to bring our subscribers closer to their passions, powered by no
less than the country’s fastest mobile data network. We thank the organization for all their hard work to finally kick off the games, and we wish the best of luck to all the teams as they play for passion and pride,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT Inc. and Smart President and CEO.

Included in the optimum coverage of Cignal and Smart on live TV and online is a star-studded broadcast team made up of veteran and new anchors, former UAAP stars as analysts and correspondents, instead of courtside reporters, from the member schools.

The UAAP hosted by De La Salle University opens shop tomorrow with a loaded four-game billing bannered by another chapter of the fabled “Battle of Katipunan” between three-time titlist Ateneo and University of the Philippines.