CASBAA Philippines to address online piracy issue

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To counter piracy, the Philippines needs "High quality, convenient and legal content" says CASBAA in its "Philippines in View 2017 Report"

MANILA, Aug 24, 2017 - The "Philippines in View 2017" Pay-TV conference, hosted by regional industry body CASBAA, on 30 August 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Manila, will highlight the country's role as a continuing growth market for digital video in all its forms. However, the Philippines is also a market likely to face growing challenges from online video piracy as broadband infrastructure improves.

At the Conference, CASBAA will launch its "Philippines in View 2017" Market Report which encompasses an exclusive of study of younger urban consumers in the Philippines.

The CASBAA study reconfirms that Filipino youth audiences in particular, continue to seek out unauthorised, pirated video content. Some 86 percent of survey respondents admitted to downloading pirated content from flash memory sticks. "But that will change -- and soon", said John Medeiros, CASBAA's Chief Policy Officer "as this is relatively low-tech".

The study revealed that the vast majority of consumers in the Philippines said they would consume more (legal and pirated) TV content as soon as they can secure improved internet connectivity.

"And that's why the TV industry in the Philippines, and around the world, urgently needs to run fast and work hard to place high-quality, convenient and legal content options in front of consumers to prevent the pirate syndicates from easily winning them over", said Medeiros.

As a curtain raiser, the conference will be keynoted by Carlo Katigbak, President & CEO, ABS-CBN Corporation.

The day-long program, features C-Suite speakers drawn from the leading Cable TV and Direct-to-Home satellite TV systems in the Philippines, as well as the most powerful regional satellite operators, fixed line and wireless broadband distributors.

With content creation and distribution at the sharp-end of consumer relationships, discussions on accurate audience measurement will play a central role during the information packed day.

The packed agenda will also include a review of the fast-expanding mobile broadband environment in the Philippines, the development of local-language OTT services and the central role served by satellite services in a country with more than 6,000 islands.