Bloomberg partners with Cignal TV for Philippines launch

Bloomberg Television has announced a partnership with Cignal TV to create Bloomberg Television Philippines.Bloomberg Television Philippines is scheduled to launch in 2015.The Philippines has become a key focus for US media groups, after CNN went live in the market last month.Cignal TV is a subsidiary of multimedia conglomerate Media Quest Holdings, which in turn is wholly owned by the country's largest telco PLDT."This partnership with Bloomberg Television heralds a new era in Philippine television," Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, said."This also comes at the time when we are expecting to become the country’s biggest pay-TV service provider with more than one million subscribers by the end of this year."Presented in English, the local extension of Bloomberg Television will expand the reach of Bloomberg news. It will be distributed exclusively via Cignal Digital TV, the Philippine's direct-to-home satellite provider with around 844,000 subscribers.Cignal Digital TV currently has 97 channels, including 27 high-definition channels."The Philippines is fast becoming a premier broadcast destination because of its strong subscriber growth," said Gary Groenheim, Commercial Director of Bloomberg Television, Asia Pacific."MediaQuest's substantial media footprint and stellar reputation make them an ideal partner for us as we expand our brand in Asia. Being in the third largest English-speaking country in the world will help us reach a vast new audience by combining elements of our daily global broadcast material with unique, tailor-made local content."The new channel will be run by Bloomberg and TV5, MediaQuest's free-to-air TV channel.This initiative continues Bloomberg Television's momentum in Asia, complementing local partner channels in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mongolia.