Poor households may savor digital TV

MANILA, Philippines—Low-income households that cannot afford long-term cable television subscriptions will be the main beneficiaries of the rollout of digital television technology in the country, broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corp. said.

The company said millions of Filipinos, especially those living outside of Metro Manila, will no longer have to endure poor audio and video quality that analogue signals deliver once digital TV is brought to the country.

ABS-CBN has been conducting test digital TV broadcasts since the start of August. Net 25, GEM TV and state-run National Broadcasting Network (NBN) are also currently conducting their own tests.

“These test broadcasts, in turn, have further convinced free-TV or non-cable households, which constitute 90 percent of the total Filipino viewing public, especially in the provinces, that digital TV migration will give them a clearer and better quality viewing experience,” ABS-CBN said in a statement.

With digital TV technology, viewers will be able to enjoy improved audio and visual quality, as well as more channels for free TV broadcasts.

“The strongest drivers are the increase in channel options enabled by the digital multifrequency platform, as well as the dramatic improvement in signal quality or reception,” ABS-CBN said.

Miguel Mercado, head of ABS-CBN’s digital TV marketing group, said digital TV is targeted mainly at “D” and “E” or low-income households that cannot afford cable TV services. He said low-income households make up 90 percent of the television industry’s market.

Tests of the four broadcast networks are running on the Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB) television standard developed in Japan.