ABS-CBN expects hefty profits from Internet TV

By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes, The Philippine Star

ABS-CBN expects its Internet television business to be a major revenue earner as company officials project the number of subscribers to easily double by next year.

Through ABS-CBNnow!, an Internet-based video-on-demand service, viewers, primarily the overseas Filipino workers, anywhere in the world can watch ABS-CBN programs using a personal computer with high-speed Internet or broadband connection.

ABS-CBNnow! sales and marketing director Rowell Tolentino revealed that their Internet tv service currently has 23,000 subscribers worldwide. "Our target is to add another 23,000 by next year or to double our existing subscriber base. We also expect the average revenue per user to increase," he said.

The biggest share of subscribers comes from Filipinos in the United States, more than 8,000 of who have subscribed to ABS-CBNnow! Another 6,000 are in the United Kingdom, 4,000 in Canada, and the rest in Korea, Japan, and the Philippines and other Asian countries. In the Philippines, there are around 700 customers for the service which was launched in April of last year.

While the Middle East is a potentially huge market, Tolentino said the limitation is that Filipinos there have no credit cards. "Their option is to have their relatives in the Philippines buy the prepaid cards and just send the personal identification number (PIN) to them," he suggested.

In Japan, he disclosed that a Japanese broadband provider which has 15 million subscribers is currently in talks with ABS-CBNnow! for the latter to provide content.

Tolentino revealed that their subscriber base has been increasing at a rate of more than 1,000 every month. For a subscription fee of $4.95 per month, Filipinos abroad can access through the Internet 87 ABS-CBN shows, in addition to pay per view shows for which they can pay $1.99 per show for a seven-day access period.

He said that ABS-CBN will continue to add shows to the menu. "The key to making ABS-CBNnow! is to improve the content," Tolentino stressed.

Just recently, ABS-CBNnow!, in partnership with BTI Global Communications Japan, launched a new type of prepaid card service in Japan. Dubbed as an "E-Wallet" prepaid card, it has features to make calls, text, and payments for ABS-CBNnow! and Pinoy Big Brother licenses. In most countries, subscribers can pay either through credit cards, G-cash, prepaid dealer pins, and money orders.