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NBA TV Philippines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NBA TV Philippines
CountryPhilippines
Broadcast areaNationwide
NetworkNBA TV
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerCignal TV, Inc. (MediaQuest Holdings Inc.)
National Basketball Association
Sister channels
History
LaunchedJuly 31, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-07-31)
Former namesNBA Premium TV (Solar Entertainment Corporation)
Availability
Streaming media
NBA.SmartWatch Live (for Smart and TNT subscribers)

NBA TV Philippines is a Philippine pay television sports-oriented network owned by MediaQuest Holdings through its subsidiary Cignal TV. The channel is a joint venture between Cignal and NBA TV and is a live simulcast broadcast of NBA TV, the league's dedicated channel in the United States.[1][2][3][4]

Features

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NBA TV Philippines is the sister channel of One Sports, One Sports+, PBA Rush, and UAAP Varsity Channel, but the channel is slated to air more games and NBA-content than its sister channel or TV5 (free TV partner).[1][2][3][4]

History

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Upon the expiration of the decade-long contract of Solar and NBA, Sky of ABS-CBN Corporation and Cignal TV of TV5 Philippines in their joint statement said that they were jointly negotiating directly with the NBA to make games and programming available to millions of fans in the Philippines.[5][6] However, Sky and ABS-CBN Corporation later dropped out of the bid due to its issue on legislative franchise renewal which led both ABS-CBN and its sister station, an all-sports channel S+A ceased broadcast on free-to-air television on May 5, 2020, as well as the dissolution of its sports division on August 31, 2020, as part of the company's retrenchment after the denial of its franchise renewal,[7] leaving Cignal as a sole bidder.[1][2]

On the start of the 2019-20 NBA season, the NBA was left without broadcast partner in the Philippines, they temporarily streamed their games in the NBA Philippines page via Facebook Watch and Twitter, it was only on November 16 when NBA temporarily went onto an agreement with CNN Philippines to air their games albeit only on weekends, the broadcast of games continued throughout the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.[8]

After months of negotiations on July 27, 2020, Cignal TV announced the multi-year partnership deal with the NBA, on the announcement it was also mentioned that the provider will launch the channel along with the airing of games through its free-to-air channels, TV5 and One Sports.[3] The channel was launched on July 31, 2020, the same day when the NBA's restart of the current season started (July 30 in Orlando time).[2][3][4]

Cignal plans to offer the channel for syndication to other cable operators.[4]

In addition, the deal would allow Smart Communications to provide a livestreaming of NBA TV Philippines on Smart's official website for Smart prepaid and TNT subscribers with GigaVideo subscription, as well as for Smart Signature postpaid subscribers. The livestream, however, is separate from the league's own streaming service NBA League Pass.[4]

The deal with Cignal TV was renewed in September 2023, ahead of the 2023–24 NBA season, which adds the NBA 2K League as part of its programming. Cignal's sports streaming app Pilipinas Live will broadcast NBA and NBA 2K League games that are aired on the network's television channels.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "NBA games return to Philippine television via Cignal-Smart collab". spin.ph.
  2. ^ a b c d Henson, Joaquin M. (July 29, 2020). "NBA is back home". Philstar.com. The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Cignal, Smart join forces to deliver live NBA games in PH". Philippine Star. July 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Villanueva, Eros (July 27, 2020). "How to watch NBA games in the Philippines". ESPN5. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. ^ "NBA disappears from pay TV; Sky Cable, Cignal negotiating new deal". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  6. ^ "Cignal, SKY negotiate joint bid for NBA broadcast". Rappler. October 1, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Matel, Philip (July 16, 2020). "ABS-CBN Sports, longtime home of numerous leagues, signs off". ESPN5.com.
  8. ^ "CNN Philippines to air NBA weekend games". CNN Philippines. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Sports, Manila Standard (September 28, 2023). "Cignal is official broadcast, digital partner of NBA, NBA 2K League in the PH". Manila Standard. Retrieved September 30, 2023.