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|
 The brand logo of Sky Direct | |
| Type | Direct-broadcast satellitetelevision |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Headquarters | New Street Building,MacArthur Highway, Balibago,Angeles City,Pampanga |
| Owner | Reliance Broadcasting Unlimited Converge ICT (co-affiliate) (2025–present) ABS-CBN Corporation (2016–2020) |
| Parent | Sky Cable Corporation (2016–2020) |
Launch date | March 18, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-03-18) (first incarnation) February 2025; 9 months ago (2025-02) (second incarnation) |
| Dissolved | June 30, 2020; 5 years ago (2020-06-30)(expired legislative franchise, first incarnation) |
Picture format | DVB-S2MPEG-4 |
Official website | www |
Sky Direct (stylized asSKYdirect) is adirect-broadcast satellite subscription television service in thePhilippines.
From its founding in 2016, it was owned and operated bySky Cable Corporation, a subsidiary ofABS-CBN Corporation. Sky Cable had been eyeing for a DBS service and considered on acquiringDream Satellite TV from Antonio O. Cojuangco, Jr. The acquisition of Dream was reported to have reached an advanced stage but for some undisclosed reasons, the deal was not sealed. Sky's entry to the DBS market was hindered by various oppositions from the industry, citing legal issues and the slow growth of the pay TV market in the country. On December 23, 2015, Sky was granted by theNTC a provisional authority to operate and maintain a DBS service in 251 cities and municipalities in the country for a period of 18 months. Sky Direct offered both prepaid and postpaid packages with exclusive channels from ABS-CBN andCreative Programs. As of March 2019, Sky Direct had over 1 million subscribers.[1]
Sky Direct was shut down on June 30, 2020 after an alias cease-and-desist order by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).[2] In 2025, the ownership, management and operations of Sky Direct are now underReliance Broadcasting Unlimited, an affiliate of telecommunications firmConverge ICT under brand license agreement with Sky Cable Corporation.[3]
In May 2015, Sky Cable Corporation applied with theNational Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for the roll-out of its DBS service with plans of spending at least 252 millionpesos for the purchase of equipment (₱122 million) and working capital (₱130 million).[4] On December 23, 2015, Sky Cable was granted a provisional authority by the NTC to operate and maintain a DBS service in 251 cities and municipalities for 18 months.[5] Sky Cable plans to get 49,500 subscribers in the first year of operations and increase it to 864,600 subscribers in 10 years.[5] NTC approved the application of Sky Cable to offer DBS services despite opposition from 14 companies from the cable and television industry.[6]
In January 2016, Sky Direct began the trial period for its prepaid service in three areas through authorized dealers inMetro Manila, province ofCavite andQuezon.
Sky Direct had a soft launching on March 18, 2016, by releasing the television commercial advertisement with endorserKris Aquino.
The Sky Direct prepaid subscription package includes asatellitedish antenna, set top box (Integrated Receiver-Decoder) and remote control.Sky Direct uses theDVB-S2 digital television broadcast standard in theKu band to provide standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) TV broadcasts. For theconditional access, it uses the Verimatrix encryption system to scramble the data and protect its content from signal piracy.
On May 24, 2016,Luxembourg-based satellite ownerSES announced a multi-year, multi-transponder capacity agreement with Sky Cable, Sky Direct's parent, to broadcast DTH television channels via theSES-9 and New Skies NSS-11 satellites at 108.2 degrees East. SES-9 is expected to be operational middle of 2016.[7]
On June 30, 2020, Sky Direct stopped operations due to the aliascease-and-desist order (ACDO) issued by theNational Telecommunications Commission (NTC) andSolicitor GeneralJose Calida regarding theexpiration of ABS-CBN's legislative franchise.[2]
In 2024,Reliance Broadcasting Unlimited began entering its new business venture after the NTC has allowed RBU to operate a direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV service. In February 2025, RBU began its satellite test transmission using the Sky Direct brand thru its newly-acquired two frequencies on theJCSAT-4B satellite transponder. Prior to the revival, RBU had conducted its test broadcast onKoreasat 7 satellite.[8][9][10] It was later confirmed in April 2025 that RBU had acquired Sky Direct's idle DTH satellite broadcast equipment and infrastructure.[11]
Sky Direct is expected to relaunch by 2025 under RBU/Converge ownership and operations. This comes after Sky and Converge forged their memorandum of agreement in July 2024 allowing Converge to utilize Sky's fiber internet infrastructure and other businesses.[12][13][14]
In December 2015, Sky Direct began its test broadcast using SESNSS-11 satellite. But in May 2016, Sky Direct moved its full broadcast usingSES-9 Satellite.
Since its reactivation in February 2025, Sky Direct is currently test broadcasting onJCSAT-4B satellite transponder.
| Satellite | Band | Position | Frequency | Polarity | SR | Encryption | System | Status | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JCSAT-4B | Ku Band | 124.0° East | 11595 & 11625 MHz | Vertical (V) | 22415 | StreamGuard | DVB-S2MPEG-4 | Test broadcast | Philippines |
Sky Direct competes withCignal, the leading DTH provider with more than two million subscribers[15] owned by thePhilippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) throughMediaQuest Holdings, and withG Sat owned byGlobal Satellite Technology Services.
The entry of Sky Direct in the DTH service was being opposed by various groups citing violation of the anti-monopoly law,[5] including Cignal and its sister companyTV5 Network under the PLDT group,Dream Satellite TV, and thePhilippine Cable Television Association. In a filing with the NTC, PMSI said the DTH players in the Philippines are expected to continue incur losses[16] due to tougher competition with the entry of Sky Cable. From 2009 to 2013, Cignal TV incurred an accumulated deficit of 5 billion pesos, Dream with 1.1 billion pesos, and GSat with 173 million pesos.
In February 2016, TV5 Network, Inc formally filed a motion for reconsideration with the NTC asking the regulator to dismiss Sky Cable's application to offer DBS and reverse its order from December 2015 that allowed Sky Cable to offer both wired and wireless cable network services nationwide.[6] TV5 argued that DBS or wireless cable service is beyond the scope of Sky Cable’s franchise and articles of incorporation. According to TV5, Sky Cable's amended articles of incorporation states that it can establish and operate acable television which is wired in nature and not a wireless service like DBS. The regulator emphasized in its December 2015 order that DBS service is within the scope of Sky Cable's congressional franchise.[6]
On June 29, during the jointhearing by theHouse Franchises andGood Government committee, regarding on their operations ofABS-CBN TV Plus, Sky Direct and its blocktime deal withAMCARA Broadcasting Network, the Federation of International Cable TV and Telecommunications Association of the Philippines (FICTAP), National Chairperson Estrellita Juliano Tamano has urged theNTC to stop their operations, because of their expired franchise. After that, Telecommunications CommissionerGamaliel Cordoba announced that Sky Direct will cease operations, despite their objections made byRodante Marcoleta, which he asked him to resign as commissioner andBoying Remulla's threat to face graft charges before theOmbudsman against him.[17][18]
