RIYADH, 8 April 2005 — Nora Eastern Corporation (NEC), the group behind the Pinoy Plus package of Orbit Channel, has sought understanding from the Filipino community amid mounting criticisms over their television programs.
Armando Tongol, the managing director of NEC in the Middle East, said the package is just new and it should be given time to grow and improve.
“Pinoy Plus is still a baby. We plan to add more programs and become an independent channel as it grows,” Tongol told Arab News by telephone.
“We ask the Filipino community to please bear with us, because in due time we will definitely have live and updated programs from GMA in Manila,” he added.
When it was launched last month, Pinoy Plus got a very warm welcome across Saudi Arabia and nearby Gulf countries from many Filipinos who said they were sick and tired of the poor signal and policies of The Filipino Channel (TFC).
Pinoy Plus became a household word within the Filipino community, with many saying they found the offer attractivce as they could also avail themselves of Orbit’s other programs.
The outpouring of support did not last long, however, when some of the early subscribers found the Pinoy Plus package to be not only inferior but also as inflexible as TFCs.
TFC, the international channel of ABS-CBN Broadcast Network, has been been in the Middle East since 1998. ABS-CBN is the archrival network of GMA 7, now considered the top television channel in the Philippines.
Filipinos who were made to understand that GMA 7 has reached the Middle East say they were “deceived” by NEC and Orbit Channel.
In an e-mail to a Manila-based daily tabloid, Roel Ylarde said: “I paid cash for a two-month subscription to Orbit and my credit card number was given as guarantee for my one-year subscription only to see rehashed Eat Bulaga shows and non-stop basketball games.”
Another Pinoy, who asked not to be named, said: “I have been receiving threats and nasty phone calls from various persons because of the e-mail I sent out to the community telling my sentiments when I learned GMA 7 is not yet in the Kingdom.”
“I felt I was betrayed,” he added, referring to his subscription to Pinoy Plus.
A subscriber in Dammam said: "Our subscription of Orbit programs is worth the money but what upsets me is the trick to switch from TFC to Pinoy Plus.”
In answer to questions circulated via the Internet, GMA Worldwide, Channel 7’s overseas marketing arm, issued a statement to Arab News saying GMA Network has no tie-up with Orbit Channel.
“GMA International Channel is not yet in the Middle East,” said Darlene M. Dimaano, vice president of GMA Worldwide, Inc.
She said while the network plans to expand in the region, they have not “definite timetable so far for its launch in the Middle East.”
Dimaano said it is with NEC that GMA Worldwide, Inc. has syndicated four GMA programs, namely: Eat Bulaga, I Witness, Saksi, and Habang Kapiling Ka.
As such, NEC has acquired the rights to broadcast these programs over Pinoy Plus Channel through Orbit in the Middle East.
Raul Matalang of Riyad Bank, learning of GMA 7’s statement, could only lament: “So that explains why we get only selected and outdated programs from GMA 7. Eat Bulaga is seen for 30 minutes only,” he said of the most popular Philippine noontime show which lasts for more than two hours.
Tongol, the NEC official, explained in a telephone interview that the plan to syndicate and bring GMA 7’s shows to the Middle East started in year 2000 but it was only this year that group was able to get the necessary permits.
TFC Gets Aggressive
Even as enthusiasm over Pinoy Plus’s entry waned, TFC has started getting aggressive in an apparent bid to prevent an exodus of its supposedly 30,000 kapamilya subscribers all over the region.
Last month, TFC officials hosted dinner meetings with members of the Filipino community in Riyadh and Jeddah and liberally gave participants a chance to air their concerns.
Last week, TFC’s senior manager for operations Jet Gonzalez led the TFC staff, together with Balitang Middle East correspondents based in Jeddah and Abha, in fielding questions as they launched the channel’s new “Refer-a-Friend” promo at the at the La Parilla Restaurant in Jeddah.
“No matter what, TFC is here to stay in the service of the Filipino people,” said Gonzalez. He assured community members who were present that all their complaints were being noted and addressed.
TFC sales manager Tony Tantuan said the mechanics of the “Refer-a-Friend” promo is simple. All current and active kapamilya subscribers may refer a friend, flat-mates, colleagues or any kababayans to become a TFC subscriber. As a reward, a referrer will earn a corresponding commission of either SR40 or SR50 for every successful new TFC subscriber referred.
The program period is from April 1 until July 31, 2005 and only referrals who subscribe during the program period will be subject to commission payments, said Tantuan.
“For a total monthly plan of SR1,407 (initial payment is SR434), a TFC subscriber enjoys unlimited news, sports and entertainment programs from four TV channels namely TFC, ANC, CinemaOne Global, Pinoy Central and two radio stations WRR101.9 and DZMM,” he said.
