RPTV, One Sports in line to broadcast Paris Olympic events on free TV

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANDALUYONG--Pending a final agreement with the global television feed provider, the games involving Filipino athletes in the Paris Olympics will be shown on national television through two of the Cignal umbrella's free TV networks.

Cignal TV president Jane Basas said on Thursday that once the negotiations have been finalized, the Paris Olympics games will be aired on RPTV and One Sports.

Basas then said that the talks are still ongoing with the television feed provider.

"Right now, we are on the tail end of our discussion with the official rights holder for the Olympic Games, which is Dentsu," Basas said during the press launch of Cignal's partnership with the Philippine Olympic Committee for the Paris Olympics at Launchpad just beside the TV5 Media Center.

Basas then assured that they were trying their best to forge the agreement.

"Ang objective namin is to put as many games, particularly the games where the Filipinos are competing in, in all available platforms," Basas added, further saying that Cignal is planning to put up 18 dedicated cable channels for Olympic events.

A similar setup was put up during the Tokyo Olympics back in 2021 where Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo's successful gold medal conquest in the women's 55-kilogram weightlifting event was shown in one of Cignal's dedicated Olympic channels.

Many fans, though, showed their dismay that the live broadcast of the historic moment was not shown on free TV.

Basas, though, assured that the Filipino athletes would be the priority in what she tagged as the most comprehensive Philippine Olympic broadcast ever.

On the other hand, Cignal first vice president Sienna Olaso said that a documentary would be produced following the Filipino Olympians' quest for glory.

This is part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Philippines' participation in the Olympics.

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