MANILA – The coronavirus pandemic has forced the film subsidiary of ABS-CBN to think out of the box on how to reach its audience nationwide and worldwide.

In line with this, ABS-CBN Films has partnered with streaming platform iWantTFC and digital site KTX.ph to reach Filipino communities globally, and Philippine cable companies SkyCable and Cignal for those within the country to make available to film buffs newly produced local movies.

“With the theaters still closed, we thought of ways to reach our audience in different ways,” said ABS-CBN Films managing director Olivia Lamasan.

“Viewers now have strong and powerful choices on where to consume content,” she added, citing that for only P150 per film, audiences will get 48-hour access to new movies in their chosen platform.

While ABS-CBN Films remains hopeful for the reopening of cinemas soon, Lamasan noted that this is their way to connect and still be of service to the audience given the circumstances.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN Films business development, creative and new media head Enrico Santos pointed out what makes this venture a leap forward.

“All these platforms have been here before but the breakthrough of this is that we can time all these platforms to release the very same movie simultaneously -- an original, first-run, never-before-seen Filipino movie at that,” he said.

“SKYcable pay-per-view and Cignal pay-per-view are tried and tested venues. iWantTFC now offers international same-day viewing. The newest platform, KTX.ph, provides viewing with chat and added events,” he expounded.

ABS-CBN Films, which includes Star Cinema, Cinema One Originals, and Black Sheep under its umbrella, is also producing more movies that are skipping theatrical release.

The project’s maiden offering is the horror flick “U-Turn” starring Kim Chiu, slated for release on Friday, October 30. The film will also have its celebrity digital premiere on KTX.ph on Thursday.

Aside from “U-Turn,” upcoming films “My Lockdown Romance,” “Boyette (Not A Girl, Yet),” “Four Sisters Before the Wedding,” “Princess Dayareese,” and “Hello Stranger The Movie” are slated to be released simultaneously in multi-platforms.

ABS-CBN Films has also pioneered its first digi movie series “The House Arrest Of Us” this month. Starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, the 13-episode program is available exclusively on KTX and iWantTFC for Php 499.

The film subsidiary of ABS-CBN also recently introduced the phenomenal “Hello Stranger,” a boys love (BL) digital series that garnered a steady following here and in other parts of the world, such as the United States, Puerto Rico, Belarus, and Thailand. The series ended with close to 14 million views and will soon have its movie spin-off.

Apart from producing digital series available on various platforms, ABS-CBN also delivered a complete musical experience on KTX with Daniel Padilla’s successful digital concert “Apollo” held last October 11.