CABLE LINEHeadline | PCTa TOaSTS CaBle TV indUSTRY aT THe 22nd PCTa COnVenTiOn Page 4

INSIDE: PRESIDENT’S REPORT F.Y. 2013 - 2014 PAGE 6

Mar - Apr 2014 • Vol. 14 Issue 2

PHiliPPine CaBle TeleViSiOn aSSOCiaTiOn, inC.

The Official Newsletter ofTHE PHILIPPINE CABLE TELEVISION ASSOCIATION, INC.

3CABLE LINE

The opinions, views and/or contents expressed in the articles, contributors or paid advertisements of Cable Line are exclusively that of their author or originator, and do not necessarily reflect the position or stand of the

PHILIPPINE CABLE TELEVISION ASSOCIATION, INC.

D I S C L A I M E R

Edi to r ’s Note

Jose Luis E. Dabao, Editor-in-Chief

Greetings!

I hope this issue finds you well, with excitement bubbling for what is going to be an eventful PCTA Convention 2014. This year we are taking am in depth look at the threats and opportunities for Cable operators and the themes will center on interconnection. Economies of scale will be best achieved by operators cooperating and investing in technology allowing us to offer broadband, HD and OTT!

I invite everyone to attend the technical and management sessions where we intend to explore the options for interconnection from hardware to programming options.These are exciting, turbulent times. Let’s ride the currents together to a bigger and better future!!

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{Anne B. Manalansan}

Hundreds of cable television operators from all over the country gather once again to confer and mark the 22nd edition of the industry’s longest-running event, the Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) Convention. With the theme, Interconnect! PCTA Convention will take place on April 1-4, 2014 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

The PCTA has invited Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office to be the Keynote Speaker during the Opening Ceremony on April 2, Wednesday. Sec. Coloma will be joined by special guest Commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba of the National Telecommunications Commission.

The honored guests will also lead the Ribbon-cutting Ceremony of the Exhibition, located at Function Rooms 1 and 2 which will follow the formal opening. Forty-one (41) companies are on board to display their latest content offerings, technology solutions, and high-technology equipment. This year’s Gold Sponsors are Fox International Channels (FIC), Cable Box Office Shows and Systems (Cable Boss), Asian Cable Communications, Inc. (ACCION), SES, Al Jazeera Media, and Trinity Broadcasting Networks (TBN), while the Silver Sponsors include France 24, HBO, Solar Entertainment, Euronews, Channel News Asia, and TV5 Monde.

Mr. John Medeiros, Chief Policy Officer of CASBAA, will discuss the Philippines and regional pay TV industry as well as foreign investment and the importance of maintaining an open market, after the luncheon hosted by Fox International Channels. Right after, the PCTA, led by President Cedric Sazon and Chairman Allan Dungao, will present the Loyalty Awards to its long-time members.

Later in the afternoon, the PCTA members gather in a General Membership Assembly where association matters and other issues are addressed and the new members of the Board for 2014-2015 are elected. On April 3, Thursday, the Conference will have simultaneous sessions – one for Management and another one for Technical - that will start at 9 o’clock in the morning.

The Management session will have panels of speakers discussing the theme of Interconnection and how it will address the challenges posed by new technologies and other delivery platforms, as well as highlight the legal, financial, technical, and regulatory implications of interconnected cable systems.

Executives from content companies and distributors are set to present their point of view and suggestions on the issue, while technology providers will line up solutions that could further enhance the cable TV business. The impact of Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) deployment on the pay TV business will also be discussed to provide delegates with insights to effectively position their business for sustainability.

The confirmed speakers and resource persons for the Management session are the following:1. Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. – Chairman, Asian Vision Cable

Holdings2. Deputy Commissioner Carlo Jose Martinez – NTC3. Mr. John Medeiros – COO, CASBAA4. Engr. Alvin N. Blanco – Chief, Broadcast Services Division,

NTC5. Engr. Edgardo V. Cabarios – Director, Regulation Branch, NTC6. Mr. Cedric Sazon - President, PCTA7. Mr. Allan Dungao – Chairman, PCTA 8. Mr. Rodrigo A. Montinola – COO, SkyCable 9. Mr. Frank Miller - Huawei Globe MSO CTO 10. Atty. Goering George C. Paderanga – Chairman, Misamis

CATV Network Inc. 11. Mr. Felipe B. Bince Jr. – CFO, Asian Vision Cable Holdings 12. Engr. Elpidio M. Paras - President/CEO of Parasat Cable TV

Inc.13. Mr. Jude Turcuato – VP, Territory Head, Philippines, Fox Int’l.

Channels14. Mr. Timothy Bautista – COO, CABLE BOSS15. Mr. March Ventosa – Line of Business Head, ABS-CBN

Narrowcast Group16. Mr. Jaque Ruby – COO, Asian Cable Communications Inc.17. Engr. Joseph Arguelles – Engineering Manager, Asian Vision

Cable Holdings Inc.18. Mr. Jose L. Lobregat – Senior Vice President, FUBC19. Mr. Alex Paras - Operations Manager, Parasat Cable TV Inc.20. Mr. Rob Gelphman, VP – Marketing and Member Relations,

MoCA21. Mr. George Li - Marketing Director, Gospell22. Mr. Sung Hun Kim - Business Dev’t. Manager – SPV, CISCO23. Mr. Roger Siow - Sales Director SEA, Conax

For the Technical session, local and foreign technology experts will present and dissect the issue of Interconnection as well as the impact of the adoption of ISDB-T in the country’s cable TV industry. FTTX solution will also be discussed, and the challenges and opportunities on video delivery over cable TV infrastructure will be presented. Finally, TESDA will provide an update on the

PCTA TOASTS CABLE TV INDUSTRY AT THE 22ND CONVENTION

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President’s Report

Dear fellow PCTA members and colleagues,

Warm greetings to everyone! My term as the President of our Association will end in two months’ time and as customary, I would like to report on what your PCTA Board had done in the past months.

On the heels of the passage of the Anti-Cable TV and Cable Internet Tapping Act of 2013, our association promptly produced copies of a video infomercial to create awareness and to duly inform the public about R.A. No. 10515. Our members, as well as some programmers, were given a copy of the material for them to air over their cable systems and channels, respectively. At the same time, your Board had submitted to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) our comments on the proposed Implementing Rules and Regulations of the law, and earnestly participated in crafting its final version. Finally on October 16, 2014, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular 04-10-2013, setting the rules of this landmark regulation that will protect the cable television and internet industries.

Recently, our association was informed of a proposed Pole Regulation Bill filed in Congress for our consideration and support. We conducted a simple survey among our members to gather information that would guide us in tackling this piece of legislation. We shall inform everyone as soon as we have come up with our stand on the matter.

Also last February 19, 2014, our Association was invited by Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) Chairman Eugenio Villareal to present to their board an overview of the cable television business for their better understanding and appreciation. The past year saw the horrific destruction of many communities brought on by natural calamities such as typhoons Santi (Central Luzon) and Yolanda (Eastern Visayas) in October and November 2013 respectively. The PCTA, led by the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee Chair Bing Ledesma, has donated a total of Php120,000.00 to the people in the affected communities through the cable operators in those areas.

Our Association also continued to update the technical knowledge of the people working in our industry. Led by Technical Committee Co-Chairmen, Engr. Romeo Zerrudo and Engr. Julian Ventura, the PCTA conducted technical seminars in Cebu City on October 17-18, 2013; in Calamba, Laguna in November 14-15, 2013; and in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan in January 23-24, 2014. The seminars presented updated topics such as local area network (LAN), IP for Cable Technician, Challenges of Cable TV, OTT, IPTV, and Cable Wi-Fi to further keep everyone abreast of technological developments in the cable TV industry.

In line with the Memorandum of Agreement that the PCTA signed last year with the Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP), the association continues to grant CPE credit units to participating members of IECEP during the technical seminars.

{Cedric M. Sazon}

June 1, 2013 – May 31, 2014

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NCII and NCIII assessment which the agency is undertaking in coordination with PCTA.

The roster of speakers and resource persons for the Technical session is as follows:1. Atty. Teodoro C. Pascua - Deputy Director General, TESDA 2. Engr. Teodoro D. Buenavista Jr. - Director, Planning, Financial & Management Branch, NTC3. Engr. James Santiago - Consultant, ARIB/DiBEG4. Engr. Mar L. Apuhin - Supervisor SVP, CISCO 5. Mr. Demian Lee - Technical Director, Irdeto 6. Engr. Eduard Cheng - Engineering Head, Ricklee 7. Mr. Raynor Huang - Senior Marketing Manager-AN Product Line, Huawei 8. Mr. Wang Hai (Sean) - Technical Director, King Type (KT) 9. Mr. Yogi Yao - Engineering Director, Ocom Communication, Inc. 10. Engr. Bonby P. Manalo - Global Engineering Services, ABS-CBN Global, Ltd. 11. Engr. Lance Filio, Sky Cable Corp.

As in the past, the Pre-Convention session on Tuesday, April 1, will present interesting topics that inspire participants towards improving not only themselves but the way they conduct their business. The session also provides opportunity for some

organizations to present their cause and advocacies to the members of the cable TV industry. This year, the speakers and presenters are Ms. Abbygale Arenas-De Leon, President of Personi-fi Image Studio Inc.; Mr. Boom San Agustin, Senior Consultant of Our Knowledge Consulting Asia; Ms. Salve Duplito, Host of ANC’s “On the Money”; Mr. Jones Castro, Vice Chairman of PhilDev; and Ms. Cristina Lim-Yuson, Council Member of NCCT-DEPED. The much-awaited PCTA Fellowship Night will be presented by Discovery Networks Asia on the evening of April 3rd together with Creative Programs Inc. as Bar Host. Discovery Networks Asia, which is observing its 20th anniversary, is a first-time sponsor of the PCTA party. It will be held at Function Room 4 of the SMX Convention Center.

On March 22, technical personnel from different cable TV companies will pit skills in a bid to be declared champion of the 11th Cablelympics. The technical skills show will be conducted by members of the PCTA Technical Committee led by Engr. Romeo Zerrudo, Chairman, and Engr. Julian Ventura, Co-chairman. At stake is P5,000 for the Champion, P3,000 for the Second placer, and P2,000 for the Third placer plus a medal each.

Although this requirement by the NTC does not include religious programming specifically, such requirement may have had its origins from the US communications regulations particularly the Radio Act of 1927 and the Communications Act of 1934 wherein provision was made for the regulatory body to oversee communication services to local communities which would serve the ‘public interest, convenience, and necessity’. The Radio Commission and the subsequent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) both took steps under this doctrine to ensure that a wide range of community interests would be served by broadcasting, religion being prominent among those interests.

According to Stewart M. Hoover and Douglas K. Wagner in their work, History and Policy in American Broadcast Treatment of Religion , the newly-regulated and regularized broadcasting that evolved in the period 1927-35 had an important incentive to give account of religion as part of its overall service obligations, and a further incentive, based on the experience of the period before 1927, to ensure that what religion was aired was of a variety that involved ‘broad truths’ and was noncontroversial. Thus, the networks arrogated to themselves responsibility for control over religious content by refusing to sell air time to sectarian groups whose content would not be considered ‘public service’ programming because of their limited audience. Second, at the same time, the networks moved quickly to divest themselves of the responsibility for the content of this air time, turning it over to established religious institutions, like the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Church with the expectation that the approach taken would be broad and noncontroversial.

The said trend has continued to the present and is further amplified by the emergence of numerous religious institutions that have established themselves to the point that most already have their own networks and production arms. This development would have been very encouraging

if interreligious understanding is the prominent goal, however, as earlier discussed that has been seemingly eroded by the intent to influence politics in the country among other agendas.

Going back, Radio Veritas will forever be remembered for its role in helping uphold democracy during the EDSA revolution. Former University of the Philippines president Francisco Nemenzo stated that: "Without Radio Veritas, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to mobilize millions of people in a matter of hours." And in another account it was said that: "Radio Veritas, in fact, was our umbilical cord to whatever else was going on.”

Like Radio Veritas, cable TV operators, individually and collectively, possess the inherent capacity to disseminate ideologies and beliefs that can change the course of a country or at the very least the life of a person. However, let us be mindful that not all these ideologies and beliefs have the public’s interest at heart and so the exercise of judiciousness is necessary.

Thus, every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Paul Sagmayao, Mercado; Tatad, Francisco S. (1986), People Power: The Philippine Revolution of 1986: An Eyewitness History, Manila, Philippines: The James B. Reuter, S.J., Foundation,

OCLC 16874890

Bacani, Teodoro [1987]. The Church and Politics. Clarentian Publications, Diliman, Quezon City cited in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Status_of_religious_freedom_in_the_Philippines

http://www.abscbnnews.com/nation/05/05/10/church-leaders-wield-power-philippine-elections

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/407229/religious-groups-infiltrate-congress-via-partylist-elections#ixzz2uakIRoTA

Jennings, 1969: 3; FCC Blue Book, 1946: 10-13

Media, Culture and Society” (Sage Publications), Vol. 19, Number 1, January 1997, pp. 7-27

McCargo, Duncan (2003), Media and Politics in Pacific Asia, Routledge, p. 20, ISBN 0-415-23375-5, retrieved 2007-12-03

Matthew 7:17; New International Version (NIV)

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C o m m i t t e e R e p o r t

For the longest time, the Philippines have always been one of calamity's favorite punching bags. Recent weather events, however show that the intensity and coverage and occurrences of these weather disturbances have significantly increased.

The effects of Typhoon Sendong two years ago in Mindanao, up to the recent Typhoon Yolanda and its 10-meter tall water surge that hit the Visayas and literally razed Tacloban, portions of Leyte, Cebu and neighboring towns to the ground are of a magnitude that have not been experienced in recent past. The devastation of the earthquake that hit Bohol and its historical heritage sites as well as Cebu is unprecedented. Typhoon Pablo that visited the Nueva Ecija, and Bulacan, and Tropical Depression Agaton which inundated several areas in Mindanao all indicate that calamity will continue to be part of our normal existence. Blame it on climate change, irresponsible stewardship, illegal logging and indiscriminate waste disposal and what not. The fact is they're here to stay. Today's buzzword is not Mitigation but Adaptation. What do we need to do to adapt to this climate change in our environment. We have to live with it.

In addition to property damage, all these have caused huge losses in the lives and livelihood of Filipinos, including many of cable operators and fellow PCTA members. The fund needed to rehabilitate the cable system and infrastructure is both formidable and overwhelming. Note further that financial requirement for this extraordinary event is not normally provisioned and I strongly doubt if cable systems are insured and adequately covered against flood and related and similar calamities. Mr. Cable Operator/Calamity Victim thus will need to source additional funds, perhaps from

retained earnings (assuming there is such fund), or additional investment and or borrowings. We’re still in the dark on how many of our fellow cable operators who are victims of these calamities such as Yolanda have actually completed their system rehabilitation. Considering that cash flow is hampered, fund sourcing for system rehabilitation is quite difficult.

With this as the background, a number of questions may be of interest:

INSTITUTIONALIZED RELIEF ASSISTANCE AND DISCOUNTS AND SUBSCRIPTION FEE MORATORIUM

It is a fact and which I personally will attest to, that many, if not all program providers have been magnanimous and have wholeheartedly extended assistance to these affected cable operators and their employees either in the form of cash or goods. Program fee moratoriums were also graciously granted by Program Providers and Distributors, the level of which depended upon the extent of the damage, as well as the strength of the cable operator programmer relationship. Unless I am mistaken, there appears to be no formula on these payment reliefs and moratoria. The discount among different program providers follows no fixed standard. The level of relief also varies from programmer to programmer.

While one may correctly argue that relief assistance to typhoon victims/cable operators should remain purely voluntary, one couldn’t help but ask whether this practice could be Standardized and Institutionalized? For as long as this remains arbitrary, it may not be equitable and could be susceptible to abuse.

{Ralph B. Casiño}

CALAMITY: AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE

Continued on Page 6

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Take note that from a program distributors’ standpoint, the discounts to cable systems take them farther from their Minimum Guarantees (MG) obligation to their principals. It would be of interest to find out if there are mechanisms in the program distributors’ contract that allow some leeway in terms of their MG relief to the likes of HBO, Discovery etc.? The absence of such provision puts the distributor in a precarious position, between extending a meaningful relief, and meeting its obligations to their principals. By institutionalizing relief and assistance, guidelines can be set towards a meaningful and fair relief package that goes to the deserving calamity victim. Program providers should also have similar levels of discount to the same cable operator.

This topic could be a subject to a lengthy discussion. PCTA members are encouraged to submit their comments which would be a basis for the cable associations to carry it forward, create a TWG among cable operators and program providers and design mechanics for implementation.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE

From a cable operator’s standpoint, these natural calamities which likely will occur with higher intensity and frequency will pose as an opportunity to become a more relevant factor in the community. Local government is mandated to beef up and strengthen its risk reduction capability against these natural calamities. Being an integral part of communications media, CATV operators must make their facilities available in disseminating vital information and advance warnings of the onset of these disturbances and in the airing of relevant information and educational materials geared towards upgrading the community’s overall preparedness. Training materials on first aid, earthquake and flood preparedness and emergency protocol are available from various government and NGOs. Airing them free would be of major help.

These initiatives would be viewed by all as giving back to the community as a corporate social responsible business organization and improve the system’s standing in the community.

Please note further that to be truly perceived as corporate responsible business enterprise, efforts should be bereft of any political color or private agenda with nothing but the good of the community as its driving force. Any benefit from this will come as a natural consequence.

RISK ANALYSIS

But following the tenet that charity begins at home, before one could even imagine doing the above, we need to conduct our own risk reduction analysis. We need to view the physical location of our major assets (at least those would create a major breakdown in our operation) and evaluate the risk these assets may be exposed to. Key and high value assets need to be identified with their corresponding risk exposure evaluated. Impact simulation will have to be conducted which should result in a risk-mitigation and corrective action plan. Are key outside plant assets such as power supply, line amplifiers and receivers properly installed? Which ones need to be transferred to a more secure location? Is our headend susceptible to flood; is there a need to elevate the headend? Risk assessment is foremost in the consciousness of both government agencies and the private sector and seeking help from them such as securing a geo hazard map of our local community should not be difficult and a good start.

We need to develop our own emergency response protocol for our personnel to follow in the event of various emergencies like flood, mudslide, fire, earthquake and the likes. Once this protocol is implemented, perhaps it can be expanded in coordination with other establishments in the community. These are but few of the many initiatives that we as a CATV service provider can seriously consider.

The incidents that happened in the past two years from Sendong to Pablo, Yolanda and Agaton have shown that while government may have all the good intention to help in times like this, their resources and resulting output have been wanting. Two years after Sendong, we still see evacuation centers loaded with refugees. Five months after Yolanda, Leyte and other areas affected still have to be rehabilitated. To expect more from the government at this point in time may be advantageous. We need to take care of our own and if this is done on a community basis, we can be better off and perhaps we can rest better at night thinking that we have done what is needed to protect our businesses. As a responsible corporate citizen, we would have done our share in being a part of the solution rather than becoming a burden.

From Page 5

V i s a y a s D a t e l i n e

Recently, in the last commemoration of the 1986 EDSA Revolution, I was again reminded of the events which occurred when I was only two years old. In a nutshell, during the regime of then President Marcos, grave oppression and serious human rights abuses were prevalent in the country, highlighted by the assassination of Senator Ninoy Aquino. In an effort to regain control over the country and legitimize his presidency, Marcos initiated the holding of a snap presidential election wherein he was declared the winner. The blatant corruption that marred the said election led into a coup attempt to oust Marcos involving the take-over of key strategic facilities, such as the airport, military bases, TV and radio stations, the General Headquarters of the AFP in Camp Aguinaldo, and major highway junctions to restrict counter-offensive by Marcos-loyal troops. Aiding the coup was Archbishop Cardinal Sin who in a message aired over Radio Veritas appealed to the Filipinos to aid coup leaders by going to the section of EDSA between Camp Crame and Aguinaldo and giving emotional support, food and other supplies. Many people, especially priests and nuns, trooped to EDSA. As Marcos-loyal troops with tanks and armored vans approached nearer to the camps, nuns holding rosaries knelt in front of the tanks and men and women linked arms together to block them. Eventually, the troops retreated with no shots fired . In the end, Corazon Aquino was inaugurated as President while Marcos and his family fled the country.

Looking back, one could not overstate the importance of the EDSA Revolution to our country’s democracy and history. However, I could not avoid noticing the crucial role that religion and media have on politics as seemingly demonstrated in the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

It is said that when the Philippines was placed under martial law in President Marcos’ time, things changed dramatically when some bishops opposed the martial law and ultimately led to the ouster of Marcos.

In the Philippines, religious freedom is guaranteed by the

Constitution and further buttressed by American jurisprudence. Thus, religious organizations have become morally influential to its citizens even during election time.

In the last presidential election in 2010, popular preachers Mike Velarde of the "El Shaddai" fellowship and Apollo Quiboloy of the "Kingdom of Jesus Christ" sect have demanded attention from presidential candidates by telling their millions of followers for whom to vote. President Aquino, then, was endorsed by the Iglesia Ni Cristo which has about 6 million members and requires its followers to vote only for the candidates named by its leaders.

In the 2013 elections, religious groups reportedly have infiltrated Congress through the party-list system. Although religious groups are prohibited from joining party-list organizations, their affiliates are propped up as separate advocacy groups apparently to skirt the rules and penetrate Congress such as the incumbent.

Recently, religious organizations have ventured into broadcasting and production for radio, TV and the internet. Some of these networks are the Cebu Catholic Television Network, TV Maria, the Sonshine Media Network International, and the Iglesia Ni Cristo Television among others.

Despite the limited channel capacity of analog cable TV systems and although most if not all are not covered by the must-carry rule, many of our fellow cable TV operators are currently carrying these programs in their system. The reasons for carrying such programs range from finding an inexpensive way to fill their channel line-up, to promoting the beliefs of a particular religious organization, an accommodation thereto or to its leader or for commercial purposes through lease of airtime.

According to the provisional authority granted by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to cable TV operators, one of the terms and conditions of the grant is that it “must carry in its program line-up at least one (1) community channel, one (1) news and information channel and one (1) educational, cultural and civic-oriented channels.”

A TREE AND ITS FRUIT{Atty. Goering G.A. Paderanga, Jr.}

The PCTA also hosted an Executive Cable Conference in Cebu City last October 16, 2013 to discuss with our members in the Visayas the different ways that they could enhance their cable business, sharing with them the experience of cable operators in Thailand and India.

I am pleased to report that the 22nd edition of the PCTA Convention will once again be held at the SMX Convention Center from April 1-4. Under the able leadership of our hard-working Director and Convention Chair, Lorlyn G. Velarde, I am confident that all of us will have an eye-opening experience during the conference as we dissect and discuss the advantages of having an interconnected headend and other value-added services for our cable TV business.

Our newsletter, Cable Line, which comes out every two months, has been a valuable source of information for all industry stakeholders. I would like to express our appreciation to all the advertisers who, through their continued support, had ensured its continuous publication and dissemination as scheduled.

Through the years, the PCTA has steadily grown in numbers and at present, I am happy to report that we have a total of 359 regular members and 28 affiliate members. In addition, through prudent use of financial resources, our association continues to be in a good and healthy fiscal position.

In addition to the above projects and activities, the PCTA also addressed the following issues and concern in the past year:

1. The Association filed a letter of complaint to the National Telecommunications Commissions (NTC) against Media Scape, Inc. (CIGNAL TV) for offering DTH service to multi-dwelling units using coaxial cable and fiber optic cable. The case is still ongoing at the agency.2. The Association filed an opposition against the application to install and operate a nationwide multi-point video distribution system on KU band by Kumintang Broadcasting System.3. The CBCP case which the Association also opposed was finally archived by the NTC.4. The Association actively participated in the Technical Working Group (TWG) for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) at the NTC. On November 4, 2013, Memorandum Circular No. 05-11-2013 had been released by the NTC mandating the use of ISDB-T as the standard format for DTT implementation in the Philippines.

As technology develops and evolve, our Association will remain steadfast in our mission to ensure the growth and sustainability of our cable TV business. I encourage our fellow cable operators to keep at pace with these developments and plan ahead to remain competitive and relevant. Above all, let us keep an open mind and consider new ways of leveraging our foothold on the pay television market to our advantage. Finally, on behalf of the PCTA Board, allow me to thank all of you, our fellow members, for entrusting us with your support and cooperation. Our Association will only be as strong as its members so let us continue working together to have a viable cable TV business and a thriving cable TV industry.

Very truly yours,

CEDRIC M. SAZONPresident

S t r i c t l y t e c h n i c a l

There are several questions that have been circling around in our industry such as: Is the Cable TV being challenged? Are we threatened to lose our subscribers? The answer to these questions is a resounding yes, but we should not worry nor panic if we start making our ‘smart move’ now. Cable TV should continue to be relevant and remain that way. How?

Have you ever heard the term ‘Direct-to-Consumers’? Well, it is a method of delivering the content directly to the viewer online, a contrast to the traditional way of delivering content through a distribution channel like cable tv or satellite. In return, a consumer is paying his online subscription directly to the content owner. The fee directly goes to the content owner in full while the ‘middlemen’ are generally out of the equation. Now, that is taking away the very reason why cable tv is here to operate. A film outlet who owns the movie right featuring ‘transforming alien robots’ experimented on this concept and tested the market yielding positive results. Consequently, many content and copyright owners are now following suit. Sports events, documentaries and animated shows, just to mention a few, are now available direct-to-consumers, as well.

Another non-traditional way of delivering content, is the subscription-based video-on-demand. In the US, Netflix® is very successful doing that at the expense of cable and telco internet providers. Here in the Philippines, similar setup is emulated like Clickplay.ph (free promotions here). Another one is a video-streaming website which not only offers archived titles, but also offers Live TV which used to be available only in cable and satellite platform.

So, what does that mean? Viewers have more options now in accessing their favourite shows and movies. No longer the monopoly of cable tv, but shows and movies are now accessible through the internet.

Philippine internet FactsSmartphone and tablet owners are growing at an exponential rate. A study of Mobile Life 2013 , almost half of total combined smartphones and tablet owners use their devices for instant messaging, playing games and accessing social networks. With all their data consumptions, 45% use WiFi in the home, 32% use mobile network data and the remaining use public WiFi. According to Philippine Internet Usage 2013 , there are over 33 Million

Active Internet Users, which means 3.5 out of 10 Filipinos are online, and the average Filipino spends over 16 hours of Internet per month. 82% of Filipino Internet users access entertainment websites and spends close to 3 hours. That’s the amount of time taken away from watching TV to watching in the Internet. Why am I showing these? Because most likely, majority of them are accessing these information via DSL and mobile networks (3G or LTE). How can we get our hand into this market?Going back to my previous statement about being and staying relevant, our cable system should be able to provide internet access or deliver broadband service.

Two-way cable system is expensiveConverting or upgrading the cable system to a DOCSIS-based network entails a considerable amount of investment. Maintaining the cable network in ‘tip-top shape’ and ingress-free requires a great deal of technical expertise and troubleshooting skills from our technicians and engineers. But there is an alternative for the budget-conscious cable operators: Ethernet-Over-Coax (EOC) offers a hopeful approach to upgrade the network from a ‘cable tv-only’ service into a broadband-enabled cable system. Ask around, shop around, and inquire from your preferred local or foreign suppliers.

Bandwidth is expensiveThat is a fact. If you buy bandwidth in small amounts (say 4 or 10 Mbps only), definitely the cost per Mbps is relatively expensive. You will find a hard time recovering your cost, either because the profit margin is small (worse nothing at all) or the selling price of your internet service is higher than the competitors. Solution? Work together with other cable operators, preferably adjacent areas and aggregate your bandwidth requirements, and negotiate for a better deal with our ‘friendly’ ISPs and avail of volume discounts. You may even save some of the local loop cost when you share a common fiber backbone. Now is the opportune time to talk about consolidation, cooperation, and collaboration among fellow cable operators.

Now is the best time to unite and INTERCONNECT!

1http://www.tnsglobal.com/sites/default/files/whitepaper/tns-mobile-life-data-devices.html#sthash.gqfBYjDK.

dpbs

2http://www.forward.ph/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/The-State-of-Philippine-Internet-Usage-2013-

Infographic-Forward-Solutions1.png

Staying Relevant{By engr. Joseph M. arguelles, PeCe}

April 1, 2014 – Tuesday Venue: MEETING ROOMS 7 - 9

01:30 PM Invocation Mr. Alex G. Paras – Director, PCTA

National Anthem

01:45 PM Opening Remarks Ms. Lorlyn Garcia-Velarde - Overall Chair, PCTA Convention 2014

02:30 PM 88 Things Every Professional Should Know Ms.AbbygaleArenas-DeLeon–President,Personi-fiImageStudioInc. 03:00 PM Salesmanship in the Digital Age Mr. Boom San Agustin – Senior Consultant, Our Knowledge Consulting Asia

03:30 PM Philippine Open Internet Exchange Mr. Bayani Benjamin R. Lara - Network Operations Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) - DOST

Coffee Break

03:45PM FinancialDisasterProofing Ms. Salve Duplito – Host, On the Money, ANC 04:15 PM Our Nation’s Future through Technology Innovation Mr. Jones Castro – Vice Chairman, PhilDev

04:45 PM Promoting TV Literacy to Children Ms. Cristina Lim-Yuson – Council Member, NCCT-DEPED

05:05 PM Session Closing Remarks Ms. Amelita G. Ledesma – Director, PCTA

6:00 PM Party hosted by Creative Programs, Inc. The Food Club Manila

April 2, 2014 – Wednesday Venue: FUNCTION ROOM 3

09:00 AM Invocation National Anthem

09:10 AM Welcome Remarks Mr. Cedric M. Sazon - President, PCTA

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The Official Newsletter ofTHE PHILIPPINE CABLE TELEVISION ASSOCIATION, INC.

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09:30 AM Message from Guest of Honor Hon. Gamaliel A. Cordoba - Commissioner, National Telecommunications Commission

09:45 AM Introduction of Keynote Speaker Mr. Allan P. Dungao - Chairman, PCTA

09:55 AM Keynote Address Hon.Herminio“Sonny”B.ColomaJr.-Secretary,PresidentialCommunicationsOperationsOffice

10:15 AM Exhibit Opening Remarks Ms. Lorlyn Garcia- Velarde, Overall Chair, PCTA Convention 2014

10:20 AM Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

10:30 AM Viewing of Exhibits

12:00 NN Luncheon hosted by Fox International Channels

01:30 PM The Philippines’ Pay TV Industry in Focus Mr.JohnMedeiros–ChiefPolicyOfficer,CASBAA

02:00 PM Presentation of PCTA Loyalty Awards Mr. Cedric M. Sazon – President, PCTA Mr. Allan P. Dungao – Chairman, PCTA

02:30 PM General Membership Assembly03:30 PM Regional Elections / Coffee Break Visayas – Meeting Room 4 Mindanao – Meeting Room 704:30 PM National Election

05:30 PM Announcement of newly-elected members of the PCTA Board for 2014-2015

6:00 PM Party hosted by HBO (by invitation only)

April 3, 2014 – Thursday MANAGEMENT SESSION Venue: MEETING ROOMS 7 - 9

09:00 AM The Case for Interconnection: Is it really the answer? Keynote: Sen. Ramon B. Magsaysay Jr. – Chairman, Asian Vision Cable Holdings Panelists: Mr. Allan P. Dungao – President, Satellite Cable Network Inc. Mr. Cedric M. Sazon – President, Kalibo Cable TV Network Mr. Rodrigo A.P. Montinola – COO, SKY Cable Mr. Frank Miller - Globe MSO CTO , HuaweiModerator: Mr. Ralph B. Casiño – Vice Chairman, PCTA

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10:30 AM Coffee Break sponsored by ZooMoo

10:40 AM Challenges to Interconnection Legal Atty. Goering George C. Paderanga – Chairman, Misamis CATV Network Inc. Financial Mr. Felipe B. Bince Jr. – CFO, Asian Vision Cable Holdings Technical Engr. Elpidio M. Paras – President/CEO, Parasat Cable TV Inc. Regulation Engr. Alvin N. Blanco – Chief, Broadcast Services Division, NTC Engr. Edgardo V. Cabarios – Director, Regulation Branch, NTC Moderators: Mr. Efren Arayata Jr. – Director, PCTA Atty. Goering G. Paderanga Jr. – Vice President-Visayas, PCTA

12:00 NN Luncheon hosted by Disney

12:30 PM Sponsors’ Video Presentation Gold Sponsors Trinity Broadcasting Network SES Al Jazeera Media Network Cable BOSS ACCION Fox International Channels

01:30 PM Enhancements and Solutions for Interconnected Cable Systems Subscriber Management System – Mr. Alex Paras, Operations Manager, Parasat Cable TV Inc. Connected Home – Mr. Rob Gelphman, VP – Marketing and Member Relations, MoCA Over the Top (OTT) – Mr. George Li, Marketing Director, Gospell C-DOCSIS Remote PHY – Mr. Sung Hun Kim, Business Dev’t. Manager – SPV, CISCO Outsourcing Service for Conditional Access – Mr. Roger Siow, Sales Director SEA, Conax Moderator: Mr. Joel Dabao – Director, PCTA

03:00 PM Programmers’ Take on Interconnection Mr. Jude Turcuato – VP, Territory Head, Philippines, Fox Int’l. Channels Mr. Timothy Bautista – COO, CABLE BOSS Mr. Antonio “March” Ventosa – Line of Business Head, ABS-CBN Narrowcast Group Moderators: Ms. Lorlyn Garcia-Velarde – Director, PCTA Mr. Alex Paras – Director, PCTA

04:00 PM Coffee Break / Sponsors’ Video Presentation Silver Sponsors Euronews Solar Entertainment Corporation HomeBoxOfficeAsia TV5Monde Channel NewsAsia France24

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04:15 PM Digital Terrestrial TV and the business of Pay Television Hon. Carlo Jose Martinez – Deputy Commissioner, NTC Engr. Joseph Arguelles – Engineering Manager, Asian Vision Cable Holdings Inc. Mr. Jose L. Lobregat – Senior Vice President, FUBC

Moderators: Dr. Venancio C. Lo – Vice President, Luzon, PCTA Mr. Pompeyo Abergas – Director, PCTA 05:15 PM Session Closing Remarks Mr. Victoriano Sy Sr. – Vice President, Mindanao, PCTA

TECHNICAL SESSION Venue:MEETING ROOMS 4 - 6

09:00 AM Interconnection: What, Why, When, and How 1.1 DWDM Optical Transport – Engr. Mar L. Apuhin, Supervisor SVP, CISCO 1.2 Conditional Access (CAS) – Mr. Demian Lee, Technical Director, Irdeto 1.3 C-DOCSIS – Engr. Eduard Cheng, Engineering Head, Ricklee 1.4 Distributed CMTS – Mr. Raynor Huang, Senior Marketing Manger-AN Product Line, Huawei 1.5 Ethernet Over Coax (EoC) – Mr. Wang Hai (Sean), Technical Director, King Type (KT) Moderator: Engr. Joseph M. Arguelles – Director, PCTA

12:00 NN LUNCHEON

01:00 PM The Impact of Adoption of ISDB-T in the Philippine Cable TV Industry 1.1 Private Sector/HW Supplier Point of View – Engr. James Santiago, Consultant, ARIB/DiBEG 1.2 Regulator takes on the Matter – Engr. Teodoro D. Buenavista Jr., Director, Planning, Financial & Management Branch, NTC Moderator: Engr. Fernando C. Morales – President, Visayan CATV Network Inc.

02:15 PM Fiber-to-the-X (FTTX) Solution Mr. Yogi Yao - Engineering Director, Ocom Communication, Inc.03:00 PM TESDA Updates Atty. Teodoro C. Pascua - Deputy Director General, TESDA

03:15 PM Coffee Break 03:30 PM Challenges and Opportunities on Video Delivery over Cable TV Infrastructure 1.1 IPTV / VIDEO STREAMING – Engr. Bonby P. Manalo, Global Engineering Services , ABS-CBN Global, Ltd. 1.2 OTT/Multiscreen – Dr. Gordon Chen, CEO, Telelynx

Moderator/Reactor: Engr. Ronaldo G. Tuzon – Supervisor CAP, SKY Cable

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04:45 PM Renewable Energy for Cable Operation Engr.OligarioS.Serafica–GoverningCouncil,RenewableEnergyAssociationofthePhilippines

05:30 PM Session Closing Remarks Engr. Romeo Zerrudo - Technical Committee Chair/Director, PCTA

6:00 PM PCTA Fellowship Night presented by Discovery Networks Asia Function Room 4, Second Level, SMX

April 4, 2014 - FridayMANAGEMENT SESSION Venue: MEETING ROOMS 7 - 9

09:00 AM Huawei Product Presentation 10:00 AM Gospell Digital Technology Presentation11:00 AM Angel TV Presentation 12:00 PM Luncheon hosted by Scripps Network 01:00 PM CONFERENCE CLOSING REMARKS Ms. Lorlyn Garcia-Velarde – Over-all Chair, PCTA Convention 2014

TECHNICAL SESSION MEETING ROOMS 4 - 6

09:00 AM CABLELYMPICS PCTA Technical Committee

11:00 AM Awarding of Winners Mr. Cedric M. Sazon – President, PCTA Engr. Romeo Zerrudo – Chairman, Technical Committee, PCTA Engr. Julian Ventura – Co-chairman, Technical Committee, PCTA

11: 45 NN Session Closing Remarks Engr. Julian Ventura – Co-chairman, Technical Committee, PCTA

*END OF CONFERENCE*

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

As of Printing deadline March 20, 2014

To allow us to better serve our members:

1. Please update your official authorized representative, address, contact number (s) and

email with the secretariat to facilitate better communication.

2. In an agreement entered into by PCTA with TV5MONDE, France24, Al Jazeera,

Euronews, and Channel NewsAsia, these channels are giving free carriage to PCTA

members. Members are therefore encouraged to carry FTA signal and advise the

channel assignment to facilitate authorization documentation.

3. Assistance in processing MTRCB permits.

4. Use of the comments/suggestions box by members is highly appreciated.

Advisory to PCTA Members

editor-in-chiefJOSE LUIS E. DABAO

editorial BoardCEDRIC M. SAZONALLAN P. DUNGAORALPH B. CASINO

Managing Editor & Advertising ManagerROSANNA B. MANALANSAN

editorial assistantJENNEFER A. MANGUSSAD

ContributorsCABLE BOSS

design and layoutSAM L. LANUZA

CirculationARLENE C. TANBEN L. SARILLALYN S. ODULIO

PublisherPHILIPPINE CABLE TELEVISION ASSOCIATION (PCTA), INC. Unit 504 Taipan Place Condominium, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Tel. Nos.: 63.2.638.8541 • 63.2.638.8544 Fax No.: 63.2.638.85.42Email: secretary@pcta.org.ph exsec@pcta.org.ph Website: www.pcta.org.ph

all RigHTS ReSeRVed.