PLDT speeds up digital shift
- More than 60 per cent of PLDT’s revenues come from data and digital services
Country Business Reports interviews and articles by Discovery Reports www.discoveryreports.com
In cafes and restaurants, in cars and on buses, in their bedrooms at home, Filipinos – young and old – are busy gazing at their smartphones, checking their social media accounts – and, increasingly, watching online videos.
“Video is our new sweet spot, driving data usage and revenues on both our mobile and fixed networks,” says Manuel Pangilinan, chairman and CEO of Philippine telecom leader PLDT. “Indeed, recent studies show Filipinos now watch more videos online than on TV, and are among the world’s most enthusiastic online video viewers.”
Filipinos’ fascination with videos is one more sign of how much the telecoms business in the Philippines has changed. From voice calls on fixed line phones and text messaging on mobile, the business has, in recent years, decisively gone digital.
Studies show Filipinos now watch more videos online than on TV, and are among the world’s most enthusiastic online video viewers
More than 60 per cent of PLDT’s revenues now come from data and digital services, and the shift continues on all fronts. Sales of its fibre-to-the-home service are being driven by online video service bundles that include the likes of Netflix and YouTube. Cignal, a PLDT pay TV affiliate, is producing television shows and movies, including a new thriller about exorcism.
