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| (Image Source: Philippine Online Student Tambayan) |
As the Department of Education (DepEd) turns to multimodal learning delivery amid the COVID-19 pandemic, DepEd TV has become a destination for 18 million school-aged viewers nationwide. A recent analysis report shows that DepEd TV, the official TV-based instruction platform of the Education department, has had exponential increase in viewership across audiences in all areas across the country since its launching in October 2020.
"We are thankful to our partners and stakeholders who are helping us to reach the majority of our learners, especially in the remote area. This survey on DepEd TV shows that millions of Filipino learners have continued with their education amid the threats of the pandemic," quoted Education Secretary Leonor Briones in a media release on December 29, 2021. DepEd TV is broadcasted through the internet and TV stations across the country. The state-owned broadcast network Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13) started airing DepEd TV episodes on October 5, 2020.
In the Kantar Media Philippines report released by IBC-13, the majority of 18 million viewers of DepEd TV are children aged 2 to 12 years old. The same pattern was observed across all areas whether urban or rural or whether the audience was in Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao. Most viewers of DepEd TV on IBC-13 are digital households, especially in the rural areas of the country where modular distance learning and TV-based instruction are some of the primary learning deliveries, the report showed. The monthly reach of DepEd TV increased to 60 percent in the 12 months beginning October 2020, over the same period in October 2019. Data also shows that viewership in IBC-13 grew at least 1,000 percent during the hours that DepEd TV started airing based on data from the same period in 2020 and 2019 when DepEd TV was not yet being broadcast.
"With these new findings, the evidence of the success of the program is clear and further reinforces the proposal for DepEd TV to become a long-term strategy of the department, to strengthen the resiliency of the education system beyond the Covid-19 pandemic," said DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua. Pascua assured that DepEd TV will continue developing programs aligned with the most essential learning competencies to provide teachers and learners with more entertaining and educational resources. Among DepEd's plans is the launching of the DepEd TV History Channel to reinforce historical awareness of learners, teachers and the public.
On the other hand, DepEd TV's television broadcast partner GMA Network was recognized at the Singapore-based Marketing Excellence Awards 2021, the premier platform for marketers to showcase their creative excellence, successful strategies, and effective delivery. In a virtual awarding ceremony held by Marketing-Interactive last January 28, the Network’s project "DepEd TV On GMA" bagged the Silver Award in the Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility category. The Marketing Excellence Awards (MEA) is designed to celebrate, recognize, and reward the Philippines’ outstanding marketing campaigns. With the 2021 event being the inaugural MEA in the Philippines, the winners were chosen by an independent judging panel comprised of high-caliber, senior industry experts from reputable brands.
In line with GMA’s objective to enrich the lives of Filipinos everywhere through Serbisyong Totoo, the country’s leading network provided nationwide airtime via one of its digital channels to the Department of Education (DepEd). This aimed to support the latter’s initiatives on blended learning as they continue educating young students while keeping them safe from the threats of the pandemic. DepEd TV on GMA enabled students from Kindergarten to Grade 10 to attend classes at home via their TV sets and thus helped address DepEd’s challenge to reach as many students as possible through GMA’s extensive coverage all over the country. The DepEd TV channel can be accessed by millions of Filipinos nationwide via GMA’s digital TV receivers GMA Affordabox and GMA Now as well as available digital TV receivers in the market.
