A new online video network from Philippine telco PLDT will leverage both the company’s TV and mobile assets – an apparent sign of closer co-operation between the two business units as media revenue models and competitive dynamics take shape beyond traditional TV, for domestic and international audiences.

4ME, the name of a multichannel network (MCN) that PLDT is priming for launch next month, aims to host over 5,000 short-form lifestyle-oriented videos in its first year, roughly split 50/50 between original content and licensed programming.

The service will be pushed to subscribers of PLDT’s two cellular networks, Smart and Sun Mobile, with some shows and talent shared with TV5, PLDT’s free-to-air channel.

“Some content from 4ME’s MCN will appear on TV5 and vice versa,” says Leah Camilla R. Besa-Jimenez, first vice-president and group head for media convergence at Smart Communications, and one of the heads of the new venture.

“The 4ME MCN will be promoted to PLDT Smart and Sun Mobile customers, and that is all we can reveal for now,” she adds.

More details on the collaboration should emerge when 4ME launches next month.

4ME will encompass a variety of genres, including food, health, fashion, celebrities, home décor, gaming, tech, music, comedy, travel, motorsports, outdoor sports, careers and business.

Some of the original content will be made by Brand New Media, a digital media and content marketing specialist. The company is also supplying 4ME’s technology platform, ChannelPlay, which offers its own audience aggregation and amplification tools.

“The main challenges and opportunities for this are building awareness and repeat users for the platform as part of their regular media diet,” says Damien Bray, Brand New Media’s global director.

Third-party content partners include History Channel and Outdoor Channel.

CONTENT AND CONVERGENCE

As broadband penetration grows, especially across mobile, media competition in the Philippines is increasingly seen as a two-horse race between PLDT, the country’s biggest telco, and the biggest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, a well-entrenched entertainment major across free and pay-TV that has been busy fortifying its own position in online media.

In a press release announcing 4ME’s launch, TV5 president and CEO Emmanuel C. Lorenzana called the MCN a key component towards delivering on PLDT’s multiplatform promise.

“Given TV5’s capacity to produce high-quality content, the programs to be shared around the world via the 4ME multi-channel internet TV will surely benefit more Filipinos, especially as media consumption skews increasingly towards mobile devices,” he said.

The service will run independently to TV5’s existing digital platforms within MediaQuest, PLDT’s media arm, which also houses a pay-TV business, Cignal, as well as smaller print and radio assets.

“MediaQuest sees a broad range of digital content opportunities moving forward – to leverage existing media brands such as TV5 as well as new media brands such as 4ME,” Besa-Jimenez tells Media Business Asia.