MUMBAI: Casbaa‘s TV Upfronts road show 2012 landed in Manila this month with a programme of ad sales presentations for agencies, clients and media. The Philippines Screenings followed similar engagements in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

A showcase for pay-TV networks to screen their upcoming programming. The Philippines Screenings included presentations from BBC Worldwide, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, History, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Turner Broadcasting.

The enthusiastic audience included agencies MediaCom, Mindshare, OMD, PHD, Starcom, Maxus, MEC and ZenithOptimedia, along with audience data providers AGB Nielsen and Kantar Media. The range of clients ran from senior buyers from Samsonite to P&G Philippines.

SkyCable chairman Eugenio Lopez III said, "The upscale consumer is one of the most difficult to reach and engage. Cable TV allows for the regularity of reaching this young, affluent, urban audience. Brands that are premium in nature, or that seek to create aspirational imagery, need to reach out to this segment of the market. Companies that do business with upscale consumers should recognise the power of the platform."

Casbaa CEO Christopher Slaughter said, "The Philippines has incredible growth potential. The multichannel TV market is expected to benefit from economic development in the coming years, attracting more advertisers looking to target an economically advancing population."

With approximately 7.6 million television homes in the country‘s urban areas, Metro Manila accounts for nearly half of TV households, where TV penetration exceeds 95 per cent.

"The growth potential of the pay-TV market is extremely favourable especially as multichannel TV digitizes and offers services beyond simply a greater choice of content but also high-definition programming and interactive services," said Slaughter.