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| (Image Source: The Seoul Story/Spotify) |
Spotify has launched a site dedicated to all things K-Pop, bringing fans closer to the music they love and the artists who create it. K-Pop ON! Track will provide anyone from the K-Pop curious to bonafide K-pop Stans a home base for all of Spotify’s K-Pop news, as well as exclusive artist interviews, happenings within the industry, up-and-coming trends and more.
Curated to complement the streaming experience, K-Pop ON! Track is chock-full of content that will take fans deeper into the K-Pop universe. From breaking down the wide world of Kpop terminology to step-by-step guides on creating a Spotify Blend playlist with BTS, from a series dedicated to who ‘We Stan’ to sit-downs with Spotify’s K-pop music experts, the site celebrates the talent behind the tracks and the fans at the forefront of K-Pop. The launch of K-Pop ON! Track comes as Spotify continues to see momentum of K-Pop streams around the globe. The newly named K-Pop flagship playlist K-Pop ON! (온) has racked up billions of streams for the genre since it first launched in 2014. With K-Pop dominating the charts and touching lives across the world, K-Pop ON! (온) has more than 3.9 million followers as of May 2022, with the USA, Indonesia and the Philippines topping the ranks for countries that stream the playlist most. With K-Pop being more than a music genre, but a cultural hub for fandoms, superstars, fashion moments, and more, K-Pop ON! Track will be a playground for fans to immerse themselves even further in the worldwide phenomenon.
With new content dropping weekly, head over now to check out K-Pop Comebacks to Look Out For and be sure to Add These K-Pop Rookie Idol Groups to Your Playlist as we place the spotlight on up and coming artists to watch. Get closer to the beat of K-Pop by visiting Spotify’s K-Pop ON! Track.
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GMA Network Gets Highest Trust Score Anew Among PH News Brands
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| (Image Source: GMA Network) |
The Philippines’ leading broadcast firm GMA Network continues to be at the top among 15 news brands after getting the highest trust score for another year in the latest Reuters study. In the Digital News Report 2022 released by the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 70 percent of the respondents who have heard of GMA Network find the brand trustworthy.
In turn, GMA’s flagship AM radio station, Super Radyo DZBB climbed to the third spot this year with 65 percent in the said ranking, beating other radio stations included in the report. The said report likewise ranked the weekly reach of the brands’ TV, radio, and print as well as online platforms with GMA still emerging as the number one in both categories. The Network topped the “TV, Radio, and Print” category, recording a weekly usage of 57 percent for its newscasts bannered by ‘24 Oras’ and ‘Saksi.’ For online, GMA News Online got the highest weekly usage with 51 percent.
The Digital News Report 2022 was based on a poll of 93,432 people, where 2,023 are Filipino adults. Respondents are from 46 media markets in six continents polled online between January 18 and February 2. It noted that overall trust in news rose as Filipinos turned to media amid a surge of COVID-19 cases around the time the survey was conducted.
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Viber Offers Filipino Users Free Monthly 30-Minute Calls
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| (Image Source: Philstar.com) |
Viber, one of the world’s leading apps for free and easy communication, is giving its Filipino users more ways to stay connected with their family, friends, or colleagues wherever they are in the world by offering them free 30 minutes of calls to any mobile or landline number every month.
Viber has been allowing its users to get in touch with loved ones, coworkers, or businesses who don’t have a smartphone or access to the internet by simply subscribing to an affordable calling plan. With this new offer, Filipino users are now able to enjoy longer calls to any number in 60 countries around the world. The Philippines is one of the first markets in the world to enjoy this special offer, as it is the messaging app’s key growth area in the Asia Pacific with a 50% increase in voice calls in 2021. Free Viber calls will also be available in countries that have growing Filipino communities like Hong Kong, Kuwait, and Singapore.
“Innovation and our users will always be at the center of everything we do at Viber. Offering free calls to our Filipino users is our response to their increasing demand for high quality, crystal clear calls even with non-Viber users. With this special offer, we hope we’ll be able to help them reach out to family, friends, colleagues, or anyone in the world, even those who don’t have Viber yet. It’s our own little way of bringing the convenience of our technology to more people,” says Rakuten Viber Asia-Pacific (APAC) Senior Director David Tse.
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Shopee Expands Presence In Mindanao With Series Of Seller Onboarding Initiatives And New Hubs
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| Department of Trade and Industry Region XI Division Chief, Small and Medium Enterprise Division Marie Ann J. How, Shopee Philippines VisMin Seller Acquisition Head Dane Mangoba, SY Glow Cosmetics shop owner Lou Putian, and Cacao Culture shop owner Sheila Lao at the Shopee University Roadshow in Davao City (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Shopee Philippines) |
As part of its continuous efforts to bring a fun and seamless online shopping experience to more Filipinos across the country, Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, expands its serviceable areas through the establishment of new Shopee Xpress hubs across Mindanao. Through these new hubs in Davao City, Davao Del Sur, Davao Del Norte, and other areas, local sellers are provided with greater opportunities to expand their business through e-commerce and compete at a national level. For Davao to Davao purchases, both shoppers and sellers can now enjoy shorter delivery times.
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| Shopee Philippines Seller Communications and Education Lead Mia Mendoza, SY Glow Cosmetics shop owner Lou Putian, and Cacao Culture shop owner Sheila Lao at the Shopee Kumustahan event in Davao City (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Shopee Philippines) |
Shopee also partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to hold its first Shopee University Roadshow in Davao City. The masterclass educated Davao-based sellers on how to grow their businesses with e-commerce and onboarded new sellers to improve the overall online selling experience for Filipinos. Shopee also held another live seller engagement event in Davao City, Shopee Kumustahan, wherein representatives from the platform held roundtable discussions with local Shopee sellers to know more about their experience and get insights on what can help drive their business forward.
“Here at Shopee, we are always driven by our objective to make e-commerce accessible to everyone. Through the Mindanao hub expansions and conducting educational workshops, our goal is to equip local sellers and business owners with the necessary knowledge and tools to make the most out of their e-commerce journey with Shopee,” shared Shopee Philippines Director Martin Yu.
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IMPACT Wrestling Supports Filipina-Born Transgender Star Gisele Shaw
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| (Image Source: IMPACT Wrestling) |
IMPACT Wrestling Knockout competitor Gisele Shaw has disclosed she is a transgender woman to the wider public. Shaw, who joined IMPACT’s roster in January 2022, informed IMPACT of her decision several months ago and made the disclosure in a recent series of interviews as well as at a Pride Toronto event. IMPACT Wrestling fully supports Gisele, including connecting her with prominent LGBTQ+ resources, including GLAAD and Athlete Ally, and will continue to support her.
IMPACT Wrestling Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore said, “IMPACT Wrestling has been at the forefront of empowering female performers for over 15 years. Our company believes featuring storylines with women athletes and characters from all different walks of life can not only entertain, but also inspire. Inclusiveness and representation are important to IMPACT and parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment, but I’ll also add Gisele is in IMPACT Wrestling because of her wrestling ability, her charisma and because she fits in with our roster. She is in IMPACT Wrestling because she’s one of the best young talents anywhere in the business.” Reigning two-time IMPACT Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace expressed her wholehearted support for Shaw’s decision saying, “As her friend, I’m excited for Gisele to be able to inspire people with her story. I know that is important to her. I’m biased, but I think the trans community has a great role model in her.”
Born in the Philippines, Shaw (Gisele Mayondo) began her professional wrestling career on the indies in 2015 and has appeared in various promotions such as Progress and Revolution Pro where she won multiple championships during her run in the said promotions. She wrestled a collection of matches in IMPACT Wrestling in 2018 before signing with the company and debuted four years later. Shaw was also part of Women Of Wrestling (WOW) in 2019 as Azteca. During the Pride Toronto festivities as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the 33-year old Shaw relayed, "Sports is great, I would want everyone to be included. People are getting away from, that trans people are discriminated against, that trans people are the targets of violence. That's why I want to come out now, to help people hear about these things, that are so much more important than what they're talking about on sports," as a deeper meaning behind her announcement as a proud transgender woman who knew she was a woman at six years old and made the transition in 2010.
