Sky Cable is Cheating Its Subscribers

By Hail to the Chair — December 18, 2025

SKY Cable Corporation has been quietly cheating its subscribers. It is no wonder that many long standing patrons of this cable television (TV) service provider are considering the competitors, among them Cignal.

**Less channels, same peso—proof that inflation can’t beat imagination!**

The story begins in May 2020 when broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corporation was unable to get from Congress a renewal of its legislative franchise to operate its radio and TV network. ABS-CBN maintained that the non-renewal of its legislative franchise violated the press freedom clause of the Constitution. That argument was dismissed by the Supreme Court in ABS-CBN Corporation vs. National Telecommunications Commission (G.R. No. 252119, August 25, 2020).

As a consequence, ABS-CBN lost its principal source of revenue. All it had was Sky Cable, its long-running cable TV service. In desperation, ABS-CBN tried to enter into joint programming arrangements with other TV networks like GMA Network and ABC TV-5. So far, its limited deal with GMA is holding. In contrast, TV-5 has terminated its programming deal with ABS-CBN in view of the latter’s unpaid P1 billion debt.

ABS-CBN is currently in such dire straits that it sold three hectares of its vast 4.4 hectare compound in Quezon City to Ayala Land. With the financial bleeding of ABS-CBN continuing, damage control was inevitable.

Two years ago, PLDT was supposed to buy Sky Cable. In February 2024, however, that deal was terminated by both parties. Despite the aborted deal, Sky Cable assured its subscribers of continued “quality” service.

In July 2025, however, Sky Cable pulled out several channels from its regular subscribers’ menu, including the Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Food Network, TLC and Eurosport. This notwithstanding, Sky Cable did not reduce its subscription fees.

Just this December 2025, Sky Cable removed Cinemax and HBO Movies from its program line up. Cinemax was unceremoniously replaced with Lotus, a Macau-based low end movie channel with non-descript films, as well as Chinese programs. HBO Movies was replaced by another low-rung channel. As expected, there was no reduction in subscribers’ fees.

Cinema One, a Tagalog movie channel on Sky Cable, features old sex-oriented but censored motion pictures notorious in an age now long gone.

Advertising spots (commonly called commercials) on Sky Cable have long been replaced by materials that promote local films shown on Sky Cable. These materials consist of a brief song number by Piolo Pascual singing the same song, over and over, ad nauseam, and repeat broadcasts of just as nauseating segments from some of the films frequently shown on this run-of-the-mill channel.

Many subscribers lament that calling up Sky Cable for repairs and similar concerns is often an exercise in futility. If one is lucky, a call center agent will take the call and announce a litany of ambiguous excuses.

The National Telecommunications Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over cable TV service providers in the Philippines. It should intervene and demand an explanation from Sky Cable for its underhanded practices. The summary closure of Sky Cable should be on the agenda.

Congress should also step into the picture. Cable TV partly uses the airwaves for the transmission and reception of its programming. Under the old but still valid Radio Control Act, any enterprise that uses the airwaves must obtain a legislative franchise to operate. Because cable TV service providers only need a permit from the NTC in order to operate, it’s about time cable TV service providers, Sky Cable included, be required to obtain a legislative franchise to continue its business.

Public interests demands it. ■