On Sunday, TV5’s sister channel AksyonTV was relaunched as 5 Plus. It’s a move, which according to its President and CEO Vincent “Chot” Reyes, to expand its sports coverage and to engage younger audience.
“By having 5 Plus, it allows us to capture a younger audience. Our research shows that our audience for the PBA is very strong in the 35 to 44 years old segment and we’re not that strong in the younger segment. With 5 Plus, the target really is the audience between 18 to 25 years old, a much younger segment,” TV5’s head honcho told Manila Standard.
Reyes further said that 5 Plus acts as a secondary channel to 5, primarily serving atypical sports and sports-related content and showcasing action geared towards a younger, more adventurous audience.
“We are excited to start the new year with the launch of 5 Plus. The intent was to create a home for what we call atypical sports-titles with a highly engaged audience base that don’t typically receive visibility of this scale,” he said.
“The best way to describe it is like the X Games. You should be able to see skateboarding, skiing, windsurfing and all those sport events that you don’t normally see on regular free-to-air television,” Reyes added.
The television executive explained that expanding their sports coverage also enables them to serve content that resonates with the pace of the active lifestyle of its target audience.
The rebrand also sees a complete overhaul of the channel’s look, aimed at visually communicating its new identity. A young, dynamic design language was developed to represent the new programming and target audience. Music identity and sonic branding were also created to complement the visual changes of the channel.
“It’s not a big business move in a sense that it’s not something completely different but it’s really an extension. The combination of both 5 and 5 Plus allows us to cement and expand further our foothold in sports,” Reyes explained.
The channel will carry some of the biggest sporting events including the upcoming Southeast Asian Games and some of the international eSports competition.
For extreme sports enthusiasts, 5 Plus will cover the X Games, featuring sports like freestyle BMX and skateboarding. For eSports buffs, 5 Plus will air some of the biggest international eSports tournaments, along with the highly-anticipated The Nationals, featuring games such as Dota 2, Mobile Legends, and weaken.
For college sports fans, 5 Plus will broadcast the National Basketball Training Center League (NBTC), the National Cheerleading Championship (NCC), and more. Meanwhile, the simulcast of Radyo5 news programs airing on AksyonTV will be transferred to its new home on CIGNAL.
With its expanded repertoire, 5 Plus aims to complement 5’s main channel; as the latter will continue to promote more established sports like basketball, volleyball, and boxing, among others. A selection of 5 Plus’ atypical spoils coverage will also be made available online via www.tv5.com.ph and on 5’s various social media platforms.
