The Philippines' number one cable provider in ages, SKY Cable, is now in its death throes, and all channels, especially optional ones, become available for viewing until the February 26 deadline.
I know this is sad news for those loyal to SKY Cable since 1992 and now that the sun sets on our ever-favorite cable provider, now would be the ideal time to be thankful for what SKY Cable has done for us.
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When Filipinos like us welcome SKY Cable to our homes since dawn, we are greeted with the biggest entertainment feast our ordinary TV viewing can't. We got hooked on non-stop movie experiences from HBO, Cinemax, and Star Movies, kid-friendly entertainment from Cartoon Network, Nick, and Disney, international news from BBC, CNN, and Bloomberg, adventurous moments from Discovery and National Geographic, non-stop music from MTV, MYX, and Channel V, and massive Filipino content from Cinema One, Viva Cinema, and PBO.
Apart from the commonly enjoyed ones mentioned above, we enjoyed some home shopping in its dedicated SKY Mall channel, checking flight schedules, and of course, VID-OK! Does anyone remember VID-OK, the 24-hour videoke channel? Of course, you are. You have been solid SKY Cable subscribers since the day you became one.
There are too many megatons of information and entertainment to list but...you get the point. SKY Cable is the king of cable providers in the Philippines until that fateful moment...
Of course, there are plenty of cable providers that can't match SKY Cable's magnitude, until one major competitor came along...Cignal. The two Philippine cable giants fought ferociously and with the number of channels dwindling and replaced by ones no one heard of, the Pinoy cable wars had its tables turned.
When the COVID pandemic struck the globe, it seemed the days of SKY Cable's becoming numbered following the ABS-CBN shutdown. Of course, both SKY Cable and ABS-CBN are part of the Lopez Holdings portfolio, which explains the reason we got channels exclusive to SKY Cable such as Lifestyle Network (now Metro Channel), Cinema One, Teleradyo, ABS-CBN News Channel, and (I'm sure you remembered it) HERO. With the 2020 shutdown of ABS-CBN and the weakening grip of Lopez Holdings, it didn't take long until PLDT began acquiring SKY from the Lopezes.
Because of the highly-anticipated closing conditions of the PLDT-SKY acquisition deal, SKY will begin its transition into a dedicated service provider, meaning SKY Cable will cease operations effective February 27, 2024. The final broadcast and sign-off will be on February 26, 2024, at 2359 Hours Philippine Time.
It's absolutely sad to see SKY Cable vanish into thin air following the PLDT-SKY acquisition deal but we had some fond memories of becoming solid SKY Cable subscribers and the huge impact SKY Cable had on everyday Filipino lives. Many cable providers in the Philippines have tried to match it but SKY Cable always came out on top until the very end. It really is the OG of the Philippine cable business and our TV-viewing lives would be different if this didn't pop up at the start.
Movies, cartoons, animes, concerts, action, drama, horror, comedy, variety, home shopping, I guess it's true that real fandoms came from TV screens but hey, it's the power of cable TV that introduced us to fandoms known the world over and SKY Cable should be held responsible for this wonderful opportunity.
As SKY Cable nears its demise, the competition is going to pick up where it left off, especially Cignal. Still, it was one helluva rollercoaster ride over three decades in the making. I guess the #walangforever trend is true as it says, even for SKY Cable.
Anyway, it hurts saying this but...Thank you, SKY CABLE...
...and you're welcome.
