ESPN, TV5 form partnership, establishes ESPN5

ESPN5. Coming soon

Those attending the DigiCon 2017 event at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay on Thursday morning got the surprise from TV5 President Chot Reyes, as he officially announced the return of ESPN to the Philippines with a partnership with TV5.

Addressing the throng present, he says, "Our belief has always been that the Filipino audience deserves the world’s best in sports programming and this drives us to be better in what we do. By competing in sports, it gives us the chance against the giants in our business. There is no way we can compete with them in other fields. But in sports, we have a chance to be called #1."

In the subsequent press conference, Reyes explained that evening programming will be devoted to local coverage with the morning devoted for international sports. He adds that news remains part of the picture, retaining their program coverage on both TV5 and Aksyon TV 41.

In their corresponding official statements, ESPN and TV5 provided further details on how the partnership will work.

• Sports5 now becomes ESPN5, which then handles all sports coverage under TV5's window. The transition officially begins
• TV5 will have access to at least 2,500 hours of programming per year from ESPN's portfolio of content, whether live sports, original programming, or special content (i.e: 30 for 30), bolstering its current sports portfolio highlighted by the PBA and Philippine SuperLiga.

Here is a list of programming included in the ESPN5 launch: Around The Horn, Pardon the Interruption, NCAA College Basketball (including the NCAA Tournament), X Games, NCAA College Football (including the College Football Playoff and Bowl Season), Indycar Racing (including the Indianapolis 500), NFL playoffs (including the Super Bowl).

• SportsCenter will have a local equivalent that will be produced daily at the TV5 Studios in Mandaluyong, which will be shown on TV5. The Philippine edition of SportsCenter likely begins in December, just before that start of the PBA season on December 17. Reyes says they are currently screening talent.
• Both ESPN and TV5 will develop a co-branded multisport ESPN5 website, as well as an ESPN5 app. End goal will see Filipino fans getting their updates and analysis from either option.
• A local version of the ESPN Player streaming service will also be launched later this year, providing hours and hours of streaming content.

TV5 also put out this YouTube clip on their release, with ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth, NFL Live's Trey Wingo, Tony Reali of Around The Horn, and the duo of Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon lending their presence, as well as a message from TV5 Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan.



Here are the thoughts from ESPN Asia-Pacific's Mike Morrison and Reyes about the partnership.

Morrison: "ESPN’s focus around the world is simple: to serve sports fans. This long-term collaboration across television and digital allows us to jointly serve millions of sports fans in the Philippines with exceptional content and coverage. We are very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we bring ESPN’s great content, and decades of experience in sports media together with a dynamic leader in Philippine sports broadcasting like TV5."

Reyes: "Our partnership with ESPN, long recognized as the worldwide leader in sports, gives us tremendous upside in the quality of sports programming that we bring to the market. ESPN strengthens our current position as the country’s sports authority. It is also a testament to our belief that the Filipino audience deserves the world’s best in sports content and programming."