TV5 expands program partnership with ESPN

TV5 Network Inc., the television broadcast arm of telecommunications giant PLDT Inc., and multimedia sports entertainment company ESPN Inc. are jointly launching new products, including a subscription streaming service, today.

Through their cobranding collaboration ESPN5, the new offers include ESPN5-branded editions of ESPN.com and ESPN Player, a sports streaming platform.

The move is the latest in the partnership between TV5 and ESPN, which was first announced in October last year. The long-term agreement was aimed at shoring up earnings for TV5, its president Vincent “Chot” Reyes said.

In announcing new products, Reyes noted that ESPN5 would feature more local sports content.

“Now we can truly give our audience the broadest array of sports content when they want it, where they want it,” Reyes said.

“ESPN has a strong connection with fans around the world because we are fans ourselves, driven by a similar obsession for sports,” Joyee Biswas, head of Southeast Asia for ESPN, said in the same statement.

“The launch of our new
cobranded digital multisports products for Philippine sports fans showcases our digital leadership and offers sports fans outstanding news, features and video experiences around top sports of interest to Filipino sports fans,” Biswas added.

Reyes had said that TV5 was pivoting toward more sports and news-related content.

The partnership with ESPN included more than 2,500 hours of programming a year from ESPN’s sports rights, original and studio programs.

The focus on sports and news would also help the TV5 group control costs and possibly post a profit by 2019.