ESPN5's Shortcomings
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| First Take is one of the ESPN US shows that has not yet been aired on its Philippine counterpart. |
Although ESPN5 has its usual sports coverages like the PBA, UFC, volleyball, NFL football and US NCAA college basketball, its other slots are still occupied by other shows like newscasts, home shopping programs and Tagalog-dubbed American shows and movies.
Other ESPN US shows like First Take, Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn and NFL Live have yet to be aired on the channel.
In fact, I've heard a lot of feedback that ESPN5's programming pales in comparison to that of ABS-CBN S+A, which has more popular sports like the NBA, UAAP, NCAA and even the recently-launched Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League under Manny Pacquiao.
The problem with ESPN5 is that the sports coverages that it airs are not that much popular among Filipino sports fans. In fact, its coverage of the Super Bowl didn't get enough commercials unlike here in the US where there were a lot of new ads that were shown on TV.
ESPN5 also produces the PBA D League but it is aired over its sister channel Aksyon TV 41 which has a limited reach. ESPN5 airs other sports on non-PBA days like the US NCAA basketball games and not much else.
I also heard that the Philippine edition of SportsCenter lacks the spunk of its American counterpart although that could change with the addition of Jinno Rufino as its newest host together with Aaron Atayde, Lia Cruz, Amanda Fernandez and Magoo Marjon.
It's understandable that ESPN5 has been hesitant to air a show like First Take on Philippine TV. That show has the very animated Stephen A. Smith who is known not to hold back anything when he criticizes a well-known athlete. His so-called "blasphemous" language may not be fit for Philippine free TV especially with the culture there very much different from here in the US. The MTRCB could also sanction ESPN5 head Chot Reyes if Smith's language becomes unfit for airing locally.
ESPN5 also needs a good marketing person who can sell the channel to the viewers and attract ads. It's not enough that products and companies owned by the channel's big boss Manny V. Pangilinan like Smart, NLEX, Meralco and Talk n Text get advertised a lot.
ESPN5 can also be a big player in the sports broadcasting scene in the Philippines if it can acquire the broadcast rights of the NBA which are currently under ABS-CBN and Solar. Given the recent differences between ABS and Solar, now's the time for ESPN5 to make a bid for the NBA when the current TV contract expires in 2019.
Here in the US, ESPN is facing a lot of problems as its subscriber base has declined due to many viewers now shifting to online streaming. This has resulted in a lot of their employees being laid off. And I fear that this may also happen in the Philippines particularly since most Filipino viewers prefer watching the primetime soap operas which are big money-makers.
It's still too early to tell if ESPN5 will be able to create a good impression among Filipino sports fans. The channel has been around for only a few months. But with the television scene in the Philippines really focused on the star system, it will take a lot of effort for Reyes and his gang to make ESPN5 work.
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