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| Germany stands tall as the undefeated and undisputed champions of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. (Image Source: The Manila Times/FIBA) |
After more than two weeks of nonstop basketball action, the FIBA World Cup 2023 held in Manila came to a close last September 10, 2023 with the undefeated Germany conquering the world's biggest basketball tournament after defeating Serbia in an all-European final inside the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Excitement ran at an all-time high for the local fans as the Philippines enjoyed the honor of hosting the world’s best teams as they battled it out for basketball supremacy alongside 31 other teams across the globe.
The opening match between Gilas Pilipinas and the Dominican Republic at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on August 25, 2023 set the new FIBA World Cup record for live attendance as some 38,115 fans witnessed history unfold. Fans also met the first Filipino Digital Human named “Pearl” – a collaboration between Smart-PLDT, NTT Data, and MediaQuest. And for those who worked tirelessly to make this event a resounding success, the team effort of the entire MVP Group of Companies was commended by International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Secretary General Andreas Zagklis as the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 has “lived up to expectations and delivered in terms of drama, fan engagement, social media stats, and overall experience".
Delivering the task of staging the games and providing world-class coverage, Cignal TV applied its combined strengths in event production and sports broadcasting to bring to the world stage an unforgettable spectacle. Fans from all over the Philippines were able to enjoy the games at the 238 watch parties held in 92 locations nationwide spearheaded by the country's leading pay TV service in partnership with participating malls and barangays. On the other hand, those who have enjoyed watching the games from their homes were provided various options including free-to-air channels TV5, One Sports and PTV; pay TV channels One Sports+ and PBA Rush; and Cignal and SatLite PPV. Meanwhile, Cignal TV’s Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming platform Pilipinas Live showed all 92 games without commercial interruption. This innovative sports app raised the fans’ viewing experience to a whole new level by providing a host of unique features including multi-camera views, behind-the-scenes, and the fan stream feature.
“As the official Philippine Media Rights Holder of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, we produced the best game coverage using state-of-the-art equipment as well as the studio shows for our various broadcast and streaming platforms,” said Cignal TV’s First Vice President and Head of Channel and Content Management Sienna G. Olaso who also served as Broadcast, Media, and Ceremonies Head for the FIBAWC2023 Local Organizing Committee (LOC). For Mediaquest Holdings and Cignal TV President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jane J. Basas who also served as FIBAWC2023 LOC's Head of the Ways and Means Committee, the successful hosting and broadcast of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in Manila was the culmination of years of hard work made possible by the MVP Group. “We are truly honored to be given the opportunity to deliver this memorable experience. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all our partners at FIBA, SBP, Smart-PLDT, our production and broadcast teams from Cignal, and all the volunteers who made this possible,” said Basas.
With the successful conclusion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Cignal TV is now ramping up efforts of furthering its world-class production and broadcast capabilities and has set its sights on the upcoming 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China as well as the 2027 FIBA World Cup to be held in Qatar while continuing to deliver unprecedented and undaunting action from the most exciting and highly-anticipated sporting events in the country and across the globe including PBA, NBA, Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, UAAP, Premier Volleyball League and ONE Championship among others.
