It wasn’t the first time PLDT tried to purchase Sky Cable and failed.
A few weeks ago, PLDT announced its acquisition of Sky Cable from ABS-CBN. This acquisition, worth PHP 6.75 billion, was approved by the Philippine Competition Commission. If pursued, this would require ABS-CBN, Sky’s parent company, to relinquish all of Sky’s cable division and those who still have cable would have to cancel their plans.
However, just yesterday, PLDT announced that it will not proceed with the deal and that Sky’s services including its Broadband and Cable TV, will remain unaffected. The now-cancelled deal was signed March last year. “PLDT Inc. and ABS-CBN Corp. have mutually decided not to proceed with the sale of Sky Cable to PLDT under the sale and purchase agreement signed by and among the parties in March 2023,” the telco giant said.
It wasn’t the first time PLDT attempted to acquire Sky Cable. The first time was in 2020 but abandoned the plan due to monopoly concerns. Other telecommunications companies like Cignal TV also attempted to buy the cable service but political pressure prevented them from proceeding.
If you already cancelled your Sky Cable subscription. Well… tough luck. However, those who stayed, Sky has your greatest thanks. “We thank all our Sky subscribers for their continued patronage and support. We remain committed to providing the same level of customer experience and service for both our cable and internet services,” ABS-CBN said in a statement.
PLDT has not given out a reason as to why they cancelled their plans but the two companies arrived at a “mutual decision” to not push through the sale. Under the agreement, PLDT will acquire a 100% stake of Sky Cable, including Sky Fiber and Sky Broadband.
Source: Rappler, SunStar, Inquirer
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