IN spite of more entertainment options available online, cable provider SkyCable is still seeing growth in their core business.
Chief Operating Officer Ray Montinola, who was in Cebu yesterday to open their SkyZone business center at the SM City Cebu North Wing, said the company has responded to such issues by providing customers with more value plans and addressing specific needs of the market.
He noted that a la carte services address the need for affordability. They also bundle their cable offerings with broadband, complementing the needs of their customers who use the Internet to stream or download content that cable TV provides.
Although they still consider themselves the market leader, Montinola said they continue to work hard to ensure the company is the preferred provider over competing companies.
“Our biggest competition is from satellite TV providers and we are always on our toes to stay ahead of the competition. So we offer more channels in our available plans and exclusive content,” he said.
In the Philippines, SkyCable subscribers are the only ones given access to HBO Go, a streaming service that offers all original HBO Productions across all devices connected to the Internet.
In Cebu, General Manager Nino Rey Sarabosing said they are preparing to expand their wireless and fixed line broadband to the corporate space, saying they are able to provide at least 115 Mbps for commercial accounts. He hopes they can provide an alternative connection to companies seeking large broadband requirements for their operations, especially business process outsourcing companies. Most of their commercial clients are hotels and restaurants.
Sarabosing believes the cable TV business is still able to deliver. During Manny Pacquiao’s bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sarabosing said they exceeded their targets for pay-per-view, having nearly 5,000 residential and commercial activations, many of which were applied for the day before the fight. They had to deploy several teams around their franchise area to make sure any disruptions were immediately repaired.
He said rather than target an age group, they are focusing on lifestyles, offering channel packs that cater to specific interests such as sports, fashion, cartoons, movies, news, knowledge and home.
They are also offering their broadband services as part of a bundle with their cable services, saying it makes for a better value proposition than their competition’s offer, which combines broadband with a landline telephone subscription. “Who still uses a landline these days?” Sarabosing said.
To attract more clients, they opened the SkyZone business center on the second floor of the SM City Cebu. Aside from accepting payments, the center also serves as a showroom to showcase their services. Staff can address inquiries and customers can preview available channels and surf the Internet to check the speeds.
It is the second SkyZone in Cebu, after the first was opened on the fourth floor of the Ayala Center Cebu. They also have two SkyZone branches in Davao.