ALREADY hounded by slow growth due to cable overbuilding by multiple operators, the pay-TV market in the Philippines is set to face tougher competition once major player SkyCable rolls out its own direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV service, an industry group said.

In a filing with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Philippine Multi-Media System Inc. (PMSI) said the local pay-TV market has an estimated 1.5 million cable TV subscribers and 100,000 DTH subscribers, citing a May 2010 study of the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) entitled “The Philippines in View.”