Anime Pilipinas has learned on Monday that SKYcable, the largest cable provider in the Philippines, has added the Southeast Asian anime channel ANIPLUS Asia on its channel listings.
The anime channel will be available on Channel 139 in Metro Manila, CAMANAVA and Rizal, which will be in Standard Definition (SD).
SKYcable will be the first major subscription service in the country to carry the anime channel on its line-up.
A representative of the network has told APN that the reason for making the channel available in SD at the moment is because of the cable provider’s technical issues, but suggest that it may change if there will be demand from subscribers.
The cable provider has yet to make any official announcement regarding the channel and what subscription package the channel be made available. As of press time, the channel is still “scrambled” and cannot be viewed on all subscription packages.
ANIPLUS Asia was launched in November 2013, and is the Southeast Asian counterpart of the South Korean anime channel Aniplus TV. The channel has been instrumental in airing big-name titles like Attack on Titan, Knight of Sidonia and The iDOLM@STER.
Recently, the anime channel is known to air “simulcast” titles from Japan, like Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, Kantai Collection, School-Live!, Bungo Stray Dogs and Occultic;Nine.
The channel is currently airing simulcast titles like Attack on Titan S2, Berserk S2, Granblue Fantasy the Animation and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sword Oratoria, which broadcast the program immediately after its Japanese telecast.
ANIPLUS Asia shows are also available through Video on-demand streaming services, like iflix and Tribe.
Recently, the Malaysian-owned streaming service Tribe added the anime channel’s simulcast titles on its on-demand line-up, within 24 hours after its airing on the linear channel.
The anime channel is also the content provider for the well-known TV5 AniMEGA block, which was re-launched in January.
The current programming under the banner includes Knights of Sidonia, Norn9, and more recently, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungon? (DanMachi).
The channel also distributes anime movies, which are being screened in local cinemas throughout the region, like Psycho-Pass the Movie and KanColle the Movie.
