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Saturday, August 15, 2015

Bloomberg TV Philippines promises to boost Filipinos' financial literacy, economic contribution

Bloomberg TV Philippines, the first 24-hour business news channel in the country that starts airing in September, aims to boost its audience’s financial literacy, as well as their participation in the economy.

This is according to executives of Bloomberg Television, MediaQuest Holdings and its subsidiary Cignal TV during the trade launch on Wednesday night at the Makati Shangri-La.

Cignal became Bloomberg Television’s fifth local partner in Asia in March, when the two signed a multiple-year contract in Manila. As opposed to the Bloomberg Television channel that Cignal already carries, Bloomberg TV Philippines will have more local content.

According to Noel Lorenzana, president and chief executive officer of MediaQuest and TV5, the partner-companies envision Bloomberg TV Philippines as a means to promote business and financial literacy among Filipinos.

“I think Bloomberg will be the centerpiece of that,” he said.

Bloomberg Asia Pacific head of editorial Jeremy Custance said they want to deliver to the public an understanding of the goings-on in business.

“Because without the participation of the public, the economy and the country as a whole cannot be a success. And this is one of the major drivers for coming here and partnering with Cignal,” he said.

PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said business news was increasingly becoming an important component of Philippine life. The new channel would also connect the Philippines and Filipinos to what was happening outside of the country.

“Because clearly, economic trends outside the Philippines will affect our economy,” he told reporters in an interview after the event. MediaQuest is part of the PLDT Group.

Viewers can expect intelligent, credible, and in-depth analysis of business and news topics through the shows that would be piloted next month, according to Media 5 president and chief operating officer Jane Basas.

MediaQuest’s free-to-air channel, TV5, is working with Bloomberg Television to run Bloomberg TV Philippines.

Cignal chief operating officer Oscar Reyes, Jr. said Bloomberg TV Philippines would be a world-class operation given that Cignal was now the number one pay TV provider in the country, while Bloomberg Television was a leading authority in business news.

He said Cignal aims to have 2.5 million households and 12.5 million viewers by the end of the year.

Bloomberg Television in turn is “a global powerhouse” with around 310 million viewers globally, as well as 16.5 million unique viewers online, he said.

Custance said the audience can be assured of a “very, very talented operation,” which will count on Cignal’s experience in producing TV content, and Bloomberg Television’s financial and business knowledge.

Content would be in the form of fast, accurate information for the business audience; interviews with key players at the heart of business decision-making; and insights about young entrepreneurs across the Philippines.

Among Bloomberg TV Philippines’ anchors and presenters are entrepreneur Quintin Pastrana; TV correspondent Shawn Yao; finance analyst and management specialist JP Ong; corporate lawyer and commercial arbitration specialist Jean de Castro; international business reporter Regina Lay; international trade expert, economist, and law professor Tony Abad; social entrepreneur Michael Alimurung; and marketing expert Rod Nepomuceno.

The 20 million smartphone users and 30 million Internet users in the Philippines would also be tapped by Bloomberg TV Philippines’ digital platforms. Website Bloombergtv.ph will provide access to news and commentary online, while its social media presence (@bloombergtvph on Twitter) would give netizens information wherever they are.

A Bloomberg TV Philippines app is also available for download, as well as a Philippine Stock Exchange game that would teach players how the market worked and enable them to graduate to real stock portfolio management.

Content released by Bloomberg TV Philippines will be carried by the Bloomberg Television global network, informing people around the world about the dynamism of the Philippine economy, Custance said.

“I wish them the best of luck,” Pangilinan said. “I think they’re a great business channel for the country. We’re bringing to our shores a great business news organization in the form of Bloomberg.”

Cignal subscribers can tune in to Bloomberg TV Philippines on channel 8 SD and channel 127 HD.

- Interaksyon

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