Following the agreement signed between TV5MONDE and the Philippines Cable Television Association (PCTA) at the CASBAA Convention in October 2008, the French-speaking channel signed a series of 42 deals at this year’s PCTA Convention (March 11-13), with another 65 pending. The deal will see PCTA assist TV5MONDE in recruiting affiliates among the association’s members, promoting the channel to PCTA members and the general public, record keeping and monthly reporting. “Our main objective was to rationalize our distribution in the Philippines with the establishment of a sole go-between on that market, and our partnership has gone beyond our expectations so far. We are grateful for PCTA’s valuable support in renewing and reinforcing our collaboration with its members all over the territory,” said Alexandre Muller, managing director, Asia. According to PCTA figures, TV5MONDE’s current legal distribution in the Philippines includes the largest three cable platforms (SkyCable, Global Destiny and Cablelink) and accounts for an estimated 1.2 million subscribers, an 80 percent penetration of the pay-TV market.