ABS-CBN Corp. said it has managed to contain the losses for its mobile business in 2017, while the multimedia giant holds discussions with Globe Telecom, Inc. on the future of ABS-CBNmobile.
“We contained the losses this year for ABS-CBNmobile. We are still in discussion with our partner. In the next few weeks, we’ll probably have some decision on mobile. But we are still in discussion with Globe in terms of the plan into the business,” ABS-CBN Chief Finance Officer Aldrin M. Cerrado told reporters after a company briefing in Taguig City on March 23.
ABS-CBNmobile is a mobile virtual network operator launched in 2013 in partnership with Globe Telecom. Mr. Cerrado said losses from the segment amounted to P560 million in 2017, around the same level it reported in 2016.
With the Globe deal set to expire in June this year, the two parties are currently discussing what to do with the business.
This year, the company is banking on the expansion of its digital terrestrial television (DTT) business, broadband services through Sky Broadband, direct-to-home (DTH) business, and international markets to drive its growth.
“The Sky Broadband business is really growing for us. And the third driver is direct to home, these are cable homes. Homes that can buy cable, but with the satellite offering… in less than two years, our DTH subscribers have grown to close to 400,000, so that’s a driver,” Mr. Cerrado said.
The ABS-CBN executive also said the international market is a potential growth driver for the company, given partnerships with streaming services such as iFlix.
“All our content that’s sitting in our library, now we are able to monetize them because there are markets that are looking for content that they can actually use,” Mr. Cerrado said. — Arra B. Francia
