The Premier Volleyball League has found a new home.
Cignal TV has added the PVL to its roster as the two entities announced their three-year partnership, Thursday afternoon.
“In our continuing effort to provide all our viewers and subscribers with an unrivaled sports viewing experience, the addition of the PVL to our lineup ensures millions of Filipino volleyball fans access to their favorite teams and players across our platforms, along with other top-tier local and international sports content. We are proud to share the PVL’s vision of uplifting Philippine Volleyball and being competitive not only locally, but internationally as well,” said Robert P. Galang, President and CEO of Cignal TV and TV5.
One Sports will broadcast live PVL games free-to-air. On the other hand, One Sports+ on Cignal TV features matches in high-definition while streaming simultaneously on its OTT platform, Cignal Play.
“Our support for the PVL goes far beyond broadcast. With the help of the MVP Group, we hope to help grow the league’s fanbase through our group’s various platforms and resources,” Galang added.
“We, at the Sports Vision Management Group, are looking forward to working with Cignal given their years of experience in covering sports events,” Sports Vision president Ricky Palou said.
“The pledge of support and encouragement not only from Cignal TV but also from the MVP Group of Companies is both reassuring and inspiring. As such, we are confident that the coverage of the PVL will be excellent to the benefit of its viewers.”
The PVL was one of the league’s affected by the shutdown of ABS-CBN.
From 2016-19, the PVL was aired on ABS-CBN S+A. The partnership between ABS-CBN and the league resulted to the league taking the PVL name in 2017.
During its inaugural season, IBC 13 aired the games of the V-League before moving to ABC 5 from 2005-06. PTV4 then picked up the league from 2007-11.
Cable channel Hyper aired the league from 2012-13 before settling for GMA News TV from 2013-15.
Though no PVL games were held in 2020, it was still a breakthrough year for the country’s first volleyball league as it went professional.
The PVL looks to hold its first conference as a pro come the second quarter of this year.
The league currently has Creamline, Petro Gazz, Perlas, Choco Mucho, BaliPure, and Chef’s Classic as resident teams while it has also served as a home to armed forces squads. With the PVL going pro, the armed forces will be classified as guest teams.
With this, Cignal TV now has the top two team sports pro leagues in the country in the Philippine Basketball Association and the PVL. It also has the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, which entered the fold last year.
