Press Release
Watch TV anytime, anywhere on Smart’s myTV
No need for road rage because you’re stuck in traffic and it’s seconds to go before the end of the tie-breaking finals match in the PBA. No need to do the steel chair maneuver on your brother because he wants to watch the wrestling match and you simply must get the latest buzz on Paris and Lindsay.
No more long idle hours waiting at the doctor’s office and no need to feel blue while you’re lunching alone in a café. And no need to worry about power interruptions before you watch television. myTV has arrived to set you free. Yes, myTV means no wires. And no need for a TV set at your office or at school. Just flick open your phone and watch TV.
myTV is being offered by MediaQuest Holdings subsidiary 360media in cooperation with Smart. The service is being broadcast using the mobile TV platform called Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld or DVB-H.
For just P488 a month, Smart subscribers with mobile TV-capable handsets can now enjoy myTV’s range of top-rated TV channels including 24-hour news channel CNN, music channel MTV Philippines, kid channel Cartoon Network, documentary channel National Geographic Channel, local movie channel Pinoy Box Office, the highly acclaimed The History Channel, Solar Sports, Basketball TV, ETC and Jack TV, the last four on test. myTV has also announced that it will carry the PBA games live on its service beginning with its upcoming season.
Other postpaid and prepaid plans offering various combinations of channels will soon be available. The mobile TV package will be an additional charge on top of the regular postpaid airtime plans. Pre-paid subscribers on the other hand, need only maintain P1 airtime load on top of the P488-monthly myTV package to avail the service.
“myTV is the latest life-changing innovation of Smart. Through this service, we are enabling our subscribers to be informed and entertained through TV while on the go,” said Napoleon L. Nazareno, Smart president and CEO during myTV’s celebrity-studded launch.
myTV is the first mobile service to offer TV shows using a digital broadcast signal. Unlike 3G’s video streaming technology, myTV broadcasts the shows directly to a hand phone so it works like a like a miniature TV set that receives a broadcast signal – with digital quality video and stereo sound.
“Mobile TV is a natural for a market like the Philippines,” said MediaQuest and 360media Corp president and CEO Orlando Vea. “Studies show we spend nearly four hours day on the average watching television. myTV will allow us even more viewing time and will forever change TV primetime as we know it.”
For myTV subscribers, it’s “primetime” all the time – whether on a long road trip, while waiting at the doctor’s office, as you wait to turn bronze in Boracay, or during a leisurely lunch break. With this, it changes TV-viewing habits as there is no need to be sitting in front a TV set much as SMS or texting has set Filipinos free from the confines of their homes to wait or make a call. It makes rushing home to get your fill of the next episode of your favorite show a thing of the past. As such, myTV might just be the most amazing life-changing technology to hit mobile phone users after texting.
“To give our subscribers an opportunity to try out the service, the service will be free until August 31,” said Danilo J. Mojica, head of Smart’s Wireless Consumer Division.
Initially, myTV can be viewed in Mega Manila (extending to North and South Luzon Expressway), Cebu, Davao, Tagaytay, Batangas, and Baguio City. Boracay and Cagayan de Oro will soon be covered.
“This is great value for money. The monthly plan is affordable. Moreover, the content package includes a mix of popular channels plus channels that are either available only to premium cable TV packages or are exclusive to myTV. Finally, the television is mobile,” said Raymund T. Miranda, 360media Managing Director for Mobile TV.
As quickly as Filipinos have made texting a part of their lives, myTV as the next big thing is sure to be the next must-have this year.
About Smart Communications, Inc.
SMART Communications, Inc. is the Philippines' leading wireless services provider with over 27 million subscribers on its GSM network as of July 2007. SMART has built a reputation for innovation, having introduced world-first wireless data services, including mobile commerce services such as Smart Money, SmartLoad and Smart Padala. SMART also offers SmartLink, a prepaid satellite telephony service and Smart 3G, a 3G service, as well as a wireless broadband service, Smart Bro. SMART is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippines' leading telecommunications carrier, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company.
About MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. and 360media Corp.
MediaQuest is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. 360media Corp (formerly GV Broadcasting System, Inc.) is a wholly owned subsidiary of MediaQuest and has a Congressional franchise, which allows it to provide broadcast services. 360media also has a Direct-to-User license that permits it to broadcast via satellite and terrestrial wireless transmission Mobile TV and DTH services.
MediaQuest has interests in various media-related ventures in addition to 360 media, including a controlling interest in Nation Broadcasting Corporation (“NBC”), which operates a network of radio stations, a minority interest in Central CATV, a cable TV company trading under the name of “Sky Cable”, and a 30% interest in BusinessWorld, the leading business newspaper in the Philippines. MediaQuest focuses on media related investment opportunities.
