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| (Image Source: Cignal TV Inc.) |
Cignal TV Inc. and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) are joining forces for the official launch of the "Isang Daang Taon Laban Para Sa Bayan: Celebrating 100 Years Of Filipino Excellence In The Olympics" initiatives which will kick off the Philippines' campaign for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics slated to be held on July 26-August 11, 2024 where the country is seeking to snare medals and achieve more glory in France. “Cignal TV has always believed in the skills and talent of the Filipino athlete and this partnership only reiterates our commitment to them. We want them to know that we’re with them every step of the way,” said Cignal TV Inc. and MediaQuest Holdings Inc. President & CEO Jane J. Basas. “We’re honored to have Cignal TV be our gracious partner for the Paris-bound athletes and this early, we have high hopes of another memorable showing in the Olympics,” said POC President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino.
This isn’t just any other Olympics for the Philippines as this also marks 100 years of participation for the country in the quadrennial meet. Runner David Nepomuceno was the first Filipino to qualify for the Olympics, participating in the 1924 Paris Games. A century later, the country is banking on our proud representatives spearheaded by pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, weightlifters Vanessa Sarno, Erleen Ann Ando and John Febuar Ceniza, and gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan which have directly qualified for the Olympics as Team Philippines once again tests itself with the best athletes in the globe. Meanwhile, according to Tolentino, weightlifter Rosegie Ramos is technically qualified in the women’s 49kg class although she's number 11 in the world rankings after the Phuket World Cup, the final Olympic qualifying event while swimmers Kyla Sanchez and Jarrod Hatch have qualified under the universality rule. Hoping to qualify are Robyn Brown (athletics), Kurt Barbosa (taekwondo), Cris Nievarez and Joanie Delgaco (rowing), brothers Keisei and Shugen Nakano and Yuta Watanabe (judo), Jericho Francisco (skateboarding), Patrick Coo (BMX cycling), Shagne Yaoyao (MTB cycling), Emma Malabuyo (gymnastics), Bianca Pagdanganan (golf) and boxers Carlo Paalam, Criz Laurente, Hergie Bacyadan and Rogen Ladon.
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| (L-R) Cignal TV Inc. First Vice President and Head of Channels and Content Management Sienna Olaso, Cignal TV Inc. and Mediaquest Holdings Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Jane J. Basas, Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino, Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary General Atty. Wharton Chan (Image Source: Philippine News Agency/Cignal TV Inc.) |
From the buildup in their preparations and training, their respective campaigns, and the aftermath of their performance, Cignal TV will be chronicling the journey of the Filipino athletes through comprehensive news coverage which will be aired and featured on the various MediaQuest platforms, primarily on Cignal TV platforms including Free-to-Air and Pay TV, and on digital and social media through One Sports, One News, and News5. Speaking during the campaign's press launch event held last April 18, 2024 at Cignal's Launchpad Building in Mandaluyong City, Bases shared, “We will bring every memorable moment to the Filipino fans, from the time our athletes leave to their (pre-Games) training all the way until they come back hopefully bringing medals for the country. To do this, we commit all available resources across the MediaQuest group from our pay-TV platforms to our free-to-air platforms to our digital platforms and we are working closely as well with PLDT and Smart to make sure that we scale the distribution and reach and content across the country."
All athletes who qualified for Paris will attend a month-long training camp in a world-class facility at Les Arenas Metz in La Moselle, marking a first in POC history. Slated to be the final phase of the Filipino athletes' preparation for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the training camp will be bankrolled by Cignal as part of its undaunting commitment to support the national team on its pathway to glory in one of the world's most prestigious and highly anticipated sporting events. Aside from bankrolling the training camp, Cignal TV Inc. First Vice President and Head of Channels and Content Management Sienna Olaso announced that the leading pay TV service in the country will further promote the Philippines’ Olympic drive in all platforms for the next 99 days before the official opening of the Paris Olympics, produce a 13-part miniseries with reporters embedded to chronicle their journey and provide regular updates on the athletes and their preparations. Cignal is slated to be the official broadcast media partner of the Paris 2024 Olympiad in the Philippines upon finalilization of its broadcast rights deal with Dentsu. “We’re in the tailend of our discussion with the official rights holder for the Olympic Games. We don’t have a final agreement yet but we’re trying our best with the support of our chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and the POC to secure the rights,” said Basas. Basas also assured that Cignal will also air the Olympics on free TV/free-to-air through RPTV Channel 9 and One Sports once they have obtained the television broadcast rights, stressing, "Kung magawa po naming successful ang pag-uusap namin with Dentsu, ang tinitignan namin is as many as 18 channels bringing the (Olympics) as the most comprehensive coverage of the Games. Pero ang priority namin is the Filipino athletes." The Philippines is coming off a historic performance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where Hidilyn Diaz became the country’s first ever gold medalist with Petecio also taking home silver and Marcial and Carlo Paalam bagging bronze medals.
