Will TV5’s gamble in partnering with Aniplus continue until the end of the year?
That is the question I like to put out as the airing of Knights of Sidonia and DanMachi are nearing its end. We are now nearing into the end of the third quarter and yet, TV5 has not yet confirmed what will be the next anime shows on their lineup will be.
Sure, what TV5 did in convincing the guys at Aniplus to allow their titles be broadcast over Free-to-air in a landmark partnership is nothing short of extraordinary, but I presume that the hype that has been touted in December is slowly starting to lose steam, and I am scared of it.
Plus, the fact that these titles are airing for the first time in Free-to-air TV in the country is no mean feat. True to the network that “creates Courage”, they were able to air Knights of Sidonia in a prime timeslot, right after the PBA Wednesday Games. Sure, there is the possibility of the game going well into overtime, but for fans, it does not matter, Seeing the popular anime show at the prime spot between the PBA and Ed Lingao’s Aksyon Tonite mean one thing: TV5 sure wants to gamble.
But I am afraid because of the fickle ratings the shows are receiving, plus if there is any such support, I have a gut feel that network management is not convinced of the support the fans are giving.
Would the network go back again to the dark ages where no anime aired on the network? Abangan.
ABS-CBN In a Quandary
Oh, I nearly forgot about the network in Sgt. Esguerra! Yes, ABS-CBN sure seems to be in a roll lately of not giving a damn on answering TV5’s barrage of Anime titles.
Apparently, ABS-CBN is convinced again that TV5’s channel shares of its anime shows does not merit competing.
Instead, they are again focusing on showing all the anime shows on its two channels, HEROtv (which is for the less than a million people paying SkyCable postpaid plans above PHP 549) and YeY! (whose anime shows air only for just all of 7 to 10 hours a fricking week and viewable only to 3.2 million homes in major cities with ABS-CBN DTT signal available)
Or, as logic would say, paraphrasing a former network executive: “If you want more Anime shows, watch HEROtv“.
Sure, the network has some aces up on their sleeve, with pilfering rights of some of the biggest anime movies shown in the country like your name. and A Silent Voice (which, ironically, was given the preview on their Tagalized film channel TAG, possibly to have that semblance of generality), but as for Free to air rights to their anime shows?
I would not even see why some of their big titles that aired on Pay TV last year were not even given the chance to see air on the main network (in HD of course!)
I had been clamoring for the network to air Captain Earth or even Your Lie in April on the “Kapamilya” network, but apparently, they are more focused on building their tagalized movie block that was taken from…
You guessed it, TV5!
HEROtv Not Getting The (Satellite) Love
Speaking of HEROtv… The ABS-CBN-owned channel still has not been given the satellite love it deserves.
By satellite love, I mean SKYdirect.
SKYdirect has been on the skies (pun unintended) for more than a year already, and yet, the Filipino-language anime channel, being part of the basic Cable TV channel package that CPI offers for its cable clients, has not yet been part of the lineup.
Part of the non-inclusion must have been because if you will notice the SKYcable packages, the anime channel is not offered on plans lower than PHP 549/Month.
Yes, which means they are not available on the lower plans and even on SKYcable Prepaid, forcing those people who want to get their anime fix to instead add the channel for PHP20 per month (what a cost!) on top of their plans, or, if on Prepaid, make good with YeY!
Since the satellite service’s plans are tied to the cable service’s prepaid plans, ergo, you have to wait for SKYdirect to have a plan 549 before they can include HEROtv in their lineup.
Sure, we could understand Sky’s predicament in not putting HEROtv on SkyDirect: Satellite lease is expensive, SkyDirect still has not yet reached the 100,000 threshold and they are just starting, but what I do not understand is why should SKYcable subscribers also feel the wrath too?
I remember that Hero TV was part of SKYcable’s old Plan 280 bundle, What happened?
But in any case, SKYcable subcribers are still lucky to have the big three anime channels on their system (I am talking about Animax, HEROtv and, just recently, Aniplus Asia), while Cignal TV subscribers like me are still clamoring for Aniplus to be added in the lineup.
But that is another story.
The Community Ten Years On.
Well, it has been a long (very long) time since I last wrote a column again on our website, and yes, seeing our brand new look makes me proud of what we have achieved in a short time.
Seeing our redesigned website also allowed me to look at what has happened on our community for the past ten years of which I am a part of. I am not going to wax poetic again and dwell on the memories, rather, I would like to lament on the state of the events scene in our country.
As I write this column again, A stoush has exploded between an organizer that we have already discussed in this space. A birthday party for a 2D character has been viral and everyone had a say on whether it was proper or not, plus the never ending issues that hound our community that for me makes me think that probably, ten years ago was the best time the community has been.
Ten years forward, we are seeing an explosion of events here and there, Japanese artists are beginning to notice our huge fandom, and now attend our big events.
The Philippines has been making the inroads in cosplay via the World Cosplay Summit and the Asian Regional Cosplay Championships, and yes, the chronicling of the community on Anime Pilipinas.
For ten years, I have been lucky enough to be a part of this community that we thrive in, and you bet, I will have more stories to tell in the coming weeks.
So, come on in, join me in the next ten years and beyond as we write another Dispatch from the frontlines of history. Hopefully, sooner than later.
And that’s the way it is.
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The views and opinions expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect the views of Anime Pilipinas, its members, partners, and colleagues. If you have comments or reactions, please email at [email protected].
