The Filipino Channel
History | |
---|---|
Launched | September 24, 1994 |
Links | |
Website | mytfc |
Availability | |
Terrestrial | |
Zuku TV (Kenya) | Channel 145 |
The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a global subscription television network owned and operated by the Philippine media conglomerate
As of 2016, The Filipino Channel has over three million Filipino subscribers worldwide in over 40 countries across 4 continents, most of whom are in the United States, Guam, Saipan, Middle East, Macau, Europe, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Colombia, Australia, France, Taiwan, Alaska State, Paraguay, Canada, Hawaii, Chile, Uruguay, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Croatia, Tajikistan, Thailand, India, Singapore and Malaysia.[2]
History
While TFC traces its origins to 1994, the idea of broadcasting television programming via satellite to the millions in the
Plans to launch the channel began in April 1994 when J. Xavier Gonzales, chief financial officer of Benpres Holdings, said that it would launch a cable television channel aimed at Filipinos living in the West Coast of the United States, rerunning Filipino shows, as well as older movies and made-for-TV films.[3]
On September 24, 1994, ABS-CBN, through its newly established subsidiary ABS-CBN International, signed a historic deal with the PanAmSat to bring the first trans-Pacific Asian programming service to some two million Filipino immigrants in the United States using the then-newly launched PAS 2 satellite.[4] The following day, TFC was officially launched, first as a cable-only network for millions of Filipino Americans countrywide.
The first headquarters of TFC was a garage in Daly City, California, with only eight employees doing all the tasks from managing phones and computers.[5] By 1995, TFC has grown to 25,000 subscribers in the United States. Airings of Mara Clara and other teleseryes began in 1997, with the Esperanza and Mula Sa Puso being the most popular.
By 2004, TFC has grown to 250,000 subscribers in the United States. This growth led to the expansion of TFC to other countries and territories.[6]
In 2005, ABS-CBN International signed an affiliation agreement with
In 2007, ABS-CBN Global launched Myx (now
By 2015, The Filipino Channel already had three million subscribers worldwide mostly in United States, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Europe, Africa, Canada and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia).
In March 2012, ABS-CBN Global has chosen Etere to integrate its production facility for TFC. The ABS-CBN facility manages 24 channels with 3 different video servers in 3 different formats.(NLE).[11]
On February 23, 2018, TFC IPTV and TFC Direct via cable and satellite subscribers had instant online access to TFC Online (now iWantTFC) with TFC Everywhere (TVE) feature.[12]
In early February 2021, seven TFC channels went live with Amagi cloud platform to consolidate its play-out operations on the
There are currently 7 different international feeds broadcasting to Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Guam-Australia-New Zealand, USA East, USA West and Canada.
On September 1, 2020, TFC Online was merged with iWant to make the service accessible worldwide and was soft launched as iWantTFC.[15]
On February 20, 2021, TFC migrated all of its international feeds into the high-definition format, ending with the EMEA feed, becoming the first Philippine-based cable network worldwide to be broadcast in HD.[16]
Programming
The program line-up of The Filipino Channel is composed primarily of programs from
In 2007 the short lived Hero TV on TFC aired in April 2007-August 2007 and since 2019, most of
TFC has been relatively unaffected by the
On February 1, 2021, The Filipino Channel relaunched its programming lineup with new shows and more viewing options with the classification of four blocks: Early Mornings, FUNanghalian, Teleserye Playback and Primetime Bida, similar to its Philippine-based counterpart.[17]
TFC Direct
In 1996, TFC Direct! was launched, an independently operated direct-to-home cable and satellite television service that incorporates the TV channels Sarimanok News Network (now
Filipino On Demand
Filipino On Demand (FOD) is a video on demand service providing access to Filipino films, ABS-CBN classic shows and live concerts each month available on various cable providers in USA, Canada, Singapore and UAE.[19]
TFC IPTV
Type | IPTV |
---|---|
First air date | April 30, 2007 |
Broadcast area | Worldwide |
Owner | ABS-CBN Corporation |
Key people | Aldrin Cerrado (COO) |
Former names | TFCko |
Official website | TFC IPTV |
Launched on April 30, 2007, TFC IPTV (formerly known as TFCko)
Channels
Video on demand
- iWantTFC Originals
- Jeepney TV
- Karaoke
- KBO Unlimited
- MOR Entertainment
- TFC PPV
- Viva
Studio TFC
-
Ging Reyes, substituting for Gel Santos-Relos in Balitang America.
-
Adobo Nation, an original program taping from Studio TFC.
-
A show forMyx TVin Studio TFC.
See also
- A2Z
- ABS-CBN
- GMA Pinoy TV
- Kapamilya Channel
- Kapatid TV5 Channel
- Overseas Filipino
- Immigration
References
- ^ a b Valisno, Jeffrey (June 14, 2012). "Pinoy TV goes international". BusinessWorld. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ P. Valdueza, Rolando (April 24, 2015). 2014 Annual Report (17-A) (Report). Philippine Stock Exchange. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
- ^ "Cable TV planned for Filipinos in US". The Straits Times. No. 16 April 1994. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Jessel, Harry; Taishoff, Lawrence (2010). "Television and Radio". Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
- ^ "A Journey of Triumph of the Filipino Spirit" (PDF). ABS-CBN International. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ Katigbak, Antonio (April 11, 2004). "ABS-CBN's The Filipino Channel marks a decade of steady growth". The Philippine Star. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ Villanueva, Paul Michael (December 31, 2011), ABS-CBN 17-A 2011, Scribd.com, p. 8, retrieved August 9, 2012
- ^ "Customer Showcase: ABS-CBN". Advanced Systems Group.
- ^ "ABS-CBN International". World Teleport Association. December 14, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ "StudioTFC". ABS-CBN International. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ^ "ABS-CBN Chooses Etere to Expand its Existing, Etere System". www.etere.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "Get the convenience of watching anytime, anywhere with TFC Everywhere!". iWantTFC. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ Staff, S. V. G. (April 2021). "Philippines' ABS-CBN Corporation Pushes Operations to the Cloud With Amagi". SVG. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ Staff, S. V. G. (August 19, 2020). "VICE TV Transitions UK, France Linear Channels to Amagi Cloud". SVG. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "iWant to merge with TFC Online". ABS-CBN News. August 24, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "TFC high-definition programming now in the Middle East via satellite and cable partners". TFC EMEA. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "TFC launches exciting new programming lineup for your everyday viewing needs". TFC EMEA. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "The Filipino Channel: Bringing overseas Pinoys closer to home". The Philippine Star. March 24, 2003. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ Corporation, ABS-CBN. "TFC Middle East furthers reach in UAE through eLife and Switch TV partnership | ABS-CBN Corporate". ABS-CBN. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ "James Careless on how ABS-CBN is using IPTV to bring Filipino expats a taste of home" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
Further reading
- Regis, Ethel Marie P. (Fall 2013). Mediating Global Filipinos: The Filipino Channel and the Filipino Diaspora (PhD). University of California, Berkeley.
External links