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| The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons finally culminated their 36-year journey to the UAAP men's basketball crown after defeating the Ateneo Blue Eagles in a heart-stopping do-or-die Game 3 of Season 84 Finals which was aired live on TV5 and UAAP Varsity Channel. (Image Source: Manila Bulletin/Cignal TV/TV5 Network Inc./UAAP) |
The recently concluded UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball final game was the most talked about sporting event last week following the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons’ historic win over the seemingly invincible Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles squad which ended the team's 36-year championship drought. UAAP broadcast partner Cignal also marked its own milestones with the UAAP finals series reaching millions of Filipinos via free-to-air channel TV5 while Cignal’s UAAP Varsity Channel leads the charge for OTT via the Cignal Play App, with record-breaking numbers as well.
Sports fans of all ages who thronged the SM Mall of Asia Arena for the intercollegiate basketball crown match between Ateneo and UP saw a heart-stopping game that was literally settled in the final seconds of Game 3. On TV5, the game registered an average minute rating (AMR) of 2.8% (10.45 SHR) or over 4 million audience reach and was the network’s highest rated program on May 13. The live airing AMR peaked at 5.5% during the final minutes of the game. Game 3 of the UAAP S84 men’s basketball finals was the highest rated program on TV5 in the last three weeks, lifting the ratings up by 13% versus the previous weekday (May 6). On average, 1.3 million viewers tuned in every minute of the UAAP Finals Game 3 on TV5.
For OTT (Over-The-Top) Streaming on Cignal Play, Game 3 also garnered over 333,000 site and app visits with its peak at 30,000 concurrent users for the final minutes of the game, the highest traffic numbers for a live finals match since the app was launched. The UAAP Varsity Channel remains to be a pillar driver of paid subscriptions for the app which continues with the ongoing coverage of UAAP Volleyball and the Cheerdance Competition. Social media views and engagement were also remarkably boosted by their UAAP content, scoring over 700,000 YouTube views for the platform’s UAAP content.
Cignal boasts of a comprehensive coverage of UAAP Season 84 that allows fans to watch the games through different platforms – on free and pay television, desktop, and mobile. The games are aired on free television via TV5 and One Sports (channel 59). For Cignal subscribers, all UAAP games and related content are available on the UAAP Varsity Channel 263 in High Definition. More than just the Season 84 games, the channel also broadcasts classic UAAP matches and documentary-style shows that feature current UAAP athletes. Cignal Play, which caters to fans who opt to stream the games online, can be downloaded for free from Google Play store and the Appstore. On the other hand, UAAP and Philippine sports fans outside the country are able to enjoy live games, replays of previous Season 84 men's basketball and women's volleyball games, classic matches and more via the UAAP Varsity Channel now available via live streaming for international audiences on iWantTFC.
