MORE than half of homes in Metro Manila are watching television via digital terrestrial television (DTT), ABS-CBN Corp. said, citing surveys conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia Research, Inc.
The Lopez-led multimedia giant said in a statement the Pulse Asia survey results showed that 51% of homes in Metro Manila and 16% of households nationwide own a DTT box. The SWS survey results showed 56% of Metro Manila homes and 17% of households nationwide have a DTT box.
Pulse Asia and SWS conducted the separate surveys in March.
“The results from the polling firms show that more and more consumers are making the big switch from analog to DTT, as ABS-CBN reports it has sold a cumulative total of five million ABS-CBN TVplus boxes as of May 3,” the company said.
ABS-CBN launched its DTT box, which is branded as TVplus, in 2015. Since then, it has expanded its signal coverage in the country to reach residents in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Tarlac, Benguet, Cavite, Metro Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao.
Rival network GMA Network, Inc. is planning to launch its own digital TV device next month. GMA Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon has said its device will be “smaller” and “cheaper” than ABS-CBN’s TVplus. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo
