TV5 takes over the vacated channel after CNN PH closure to mainly broadcast PBA games.
The Philippine news industry lost a big arm when the recent CNN PH shutdown. That same event created a vacuum in one of the country’s free TV channels.
Manny Pangilinan’s TV5 didn’t sit idle for too long and MediaQuest Holdings entered a partnership with RPN. This means that Pangilinan basically has two frequencies in PH’s free TV world.
Here’s what happened. TV5 launched RPTV on RPN on February 1, Thursday. Now, RPTV is the free-to-air home of PBA games and even live PBA games, such as D-League and 3×3 League. Others like Premier Volleyball League and Gilas Pilipinas games will also be aired.
On top of PBA games, RPTV will broadcast other TV5 shows, including Eat… Bulaga!, Wanted sa Radyo of Raffy Tulfo, and the news and public affairs show of Ted Failon and DJ Chacha.
The program schedule, as of Thursday, is as follows as per Rappler:
| Program | Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Ted Failon and DJ Chacha | 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. | – | – |
| Eat… Bulaga! | 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | – |
| Wanted sa Radyo | 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. | – | – |
| PBA | 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. |
RPTV is available on Channel 9 in Manila, Cebu, and Davao, Channel 5 in Zamboanga, Channel 12 in Baguio, and Channel 8 in Bacolod on analog TVs. It’s also aired by Cignal TV, GSat, and 300 cable providers. You can stream it as well via the Cignal Play app.
