SkyCable responds to GMA's latest NTC complaint

There was no network problem that could have caused the signal disruption during the kalyeserye segment of noontime show Eat Bulaga on GMA-7, SkyCable said.

 

“SkyCable Corporation reiterates that it did not experience any network problem that could have resulted in the loss of GMA 7’s signal only,” the pay TV subsidiary of ABS-CBN said in a statement.

 

“If there were incidents of signal loss affecting certain portions of the network in the areas and period referred to, these affected other channels as well, not just GMA 7,” SkyCable added.

 

SkyCable issued the statement late Tuesday after GMA Network filed a new complaint against the cable TV service company.

 

GMA Network asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to investigate SkyCable anew after subscribers complained about a disruption in signal during the kalyeserye, which features the AlDub love team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza who plays the character of Yaya Dub.

 

SkyCable claimed that there was "... no basis for this insinuation" that the signal interruption was confined only to the Channel 12 or GMA-7.

 

“We will, however, continue to cooperate with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) should they see the need to further investigate this matter,” SkyCable added.

 

In a September 17 letter to the commission, GMA Network asked the NTC to investigate the matter on the heels of new complaints by inconvenienced subscribers, maintaining that the signal disruptions are “irresponsible acts” on the part of SkyCable.

In the letter, GMA presented numerous complaints that were submitted through e-mail, as well as messages posted on GMA’s official Facebook page and viewer feedback reported through GMA’s hotline, including the following:

 

“hi. cherie here. Ang gma dito sa bangkal Makati as of 7:00am naputol ang signal. as in freeze ang channel 12 gma. PLS HELP! Manonood ako ng eat bulaga (received from cheriemvillanueva@gmail.com on September 5, 2015).” 

 

The complaint emphasized that the seeming similarity in the reports filed by viewers show that these are not isolated cases, citing that the signal loss and degradations have only been confined to SkyCable Channel 12 or GMA 7, only to the exclusion of other must-carry channels.

 

The network said there is basis to believe that the signal disruptions were done in order to reduce the viewership level of Eat Bulaga which has reached a peak in ratings propelled by kalyeserye.

 

Just this Saturday, the split-screen romance of AlDub scored a record-breaking feat on Twitter with over 12 million tweets  related to #ALDUBMostAwaitedDate in a span of 24 hours.

 

In the statement on Tuesday, GMA noted that it  "... requested the Commission to investigate the complaints of inconvenienced subscribers and to take the appropriate administrative action against SkyCable. An earlier complaint dated August 25, 2015 has been filed with the NTC likewise seeking their immediate action regarding this matter. "

 

The commission has yet to act on the August 25 complaint. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS/JST, GMA News