ABS-CBNmobile opens first store

Multimedia giant ABS-CBN has opened its first store for ABS-CBNmobile this Wednesday, marking the formal entry of the country’s third telco player.“This is the beginning of a new age in Philippine media. ABS-CBN’s programs on phones and tablets will change the boundaries of time and location,” ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio Lopez III (pictured) said during the launch this Wednesday.ABS-CBN is capitalizing on the venture by using ABS-CBNmobile as a new content distribution platform. Aside from your typical SMS, call and data services, ABS-CBNmobile can also stream  programs from ABS-CBN, ANC, Studio 23, Nickelodeon, E! and Knowledge Channel exclusively to its subscribers.“Today, it is a novelty in the Philippines. But sooner than we think, this will become the norm, like it is becoming the standard viewing practice in Japan and Korea,” he adds.In addition, users will also have access to the iWant Stars mobile application, which provides exclusive content, photos and videos from their favorite Kapamilya stars.ABS-CBNmobile initially kicked-off  last month by giving away 100,000 subscriber identification module (SIM) cards to help thousands of Typhoon Yolanda survivors communicate with their loved ones.“We might not have been able to launch with a fantastic ad campaign that our marketing team developed, but we are very proud of the fact that our improvised launch allowed us to show what ABS-CBNmobile really stood for – to be of service to the Filipino people,” said ABS-CBN Convergence head Carlo Katigbak.ABS-CBN first announced its foray into the telco business last May in a $3 billion network sharing deal between ABS-CBN Convergence and Globe in an attempt to become “the largest media and entertainment conglomerate.”The ABS-CBNmobile store is located at the ground floor of the ELJ Communications Center in Quezon City.