Paris — A hefty investment in hardware and software technology is expected to boost the TV5/CignalTV network’s efforts to deliver a stronger PBA coverage next season with plans to provide exciting content even on non-playing days.
This was bared by TV5 president/CEO Guido Zaballero and CignalTV first vice president Sienna Olaso during the PBA Board of Governors planning session at the Hotel Warwick conference room here the other day.
In the coming 48th season, games will be aired Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with the opener at 5 p.m. and nightcap at 730 p.m.
Saturdays will be tapped for international or provincial outings.
Zaballero said robust viewership numbers the previous season reflect a clear trend that the PBA is back with a bang after surviving the challenge of the pandemic that led the league to stage two bubble conferences in 2020 and 2021.
He described the media platforms available in the Philippines and abroad as the springboard in laying out the blockbuster coverage of the games on TV5 with an estimated four million people reached every contest, CignalPlay with a viewership driver of 800,000 subscribers, OneSports social media with 400,000 people reached per PBA-related post and five million PBA hours watched via YouTube and International available to 13 million subscribers globally.
Zaballero said the PBA has reestablished itself as the most consumed sports property in the country.
Olaso noted that the network has invested P350 million for two OB vans, P25 million for an international refereeing system and a 22-camera set-up to be mobilized for the FIBA World Cup and the PBA.
She said other features are six slo-mo angles, six trucks to support the coverage and state-of-the-art technology from FIBA and European sources.
Plans will be made to produce PBA-related content on days when there are no scheduled games to complete a comprehensive coverage of the league “eight days a week.”
