The new set-up begins on Friday.
On Thursday, February 1, TV5 Network and Cignal TV jointly announced that the country’s oldest professional basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is on the move again, sort of.
This, as a new broadcast set-up will be implemented beginning with the first game of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup finals series between the Magnolia Hotshots and San Miguel Beermen on Friday, February 2.
The PBA will now air all of its games live via the new RPTV on RPN channel 9, which was formerly known as CNN Philippines — a channel that aired weekend PBA games throughout January 2024.
During the finals series between Magnolia and San Miguel, PBA will broadcast live on RPTV every Wednesday or Friday at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 6:15 pm.
The PBA’s intended new home, the A2Z channel of Zoe Broadcasting Network, will continue to carry the final matches via a delayed telecast at 8:00 pm on Wednesday and Friday, and simultaneously on Sundays at 6:15 pm.
TV5 Network and Cignal, however, did not clarify whether its set-up with A2Z will continue to broadcast the PBA until this season’s Philippine Cup.
At the start of current conference in October 2023, all PBA games were transferred to A2Z as TV5 transitioned into a full-time entertainment and news station.
A2Z was later complemented on television by both One PH and CNN Philippines every weekend, while all matches were streamed online via the Pilipinas Live app.
Although, moving forward, RPTV will become the new home for all PBA action, as well as its related leagues like the PBA D-League, PBA 3×3 tournament, and PBA E-sports.
RPTV-9
Aside from the PBA, the new channel 9 will also be broadcasting games of the Philippine national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas.
RPTV will also be the place for all the action from the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).
Aside from sports, RPTV also offers entertainment and news programming from TV5 and Cignal TV, as well as archived content from Nine Media.
RPTV airs nationwide via free-to-air and pay television platforms, as well as on the Cignal Play app.
The new station, handled by Mediaquest of tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, replaces CNN Philippines on the RPN frequency.
The news station ended its nine-year run in all platforms on Wednesday, January 31, after incurring immense losses in the past few years.
The demise of CNNPH likewise resulted in the loss of 300 jobs in the media sector.