Cable operators offer the Filipino Channel in wake of disaster

U.S. cable television operators -- including Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications -- are allowing more customers access to the Filipino Channel in the wake of last week’s devastating Typhoon Haiyan.

The channel has been providing special coverage from the Philippines. News organizations are reporting that food and water is becoming scarce, and that rescue workers are scrambling to reach thousands of victims of the powerful storm.

“To help Filipinos better connect to news and information about recovery efforts, Time Warner Cable and the Filipino Channel have agreed to make their network available at no additional cost to digital customers through Nov. 15,” Time Warner Cable said Monday in a statement.

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International Media Distribution, which distributes the channel, said at least 12 pay TV operators would offer their digital customers access to the Filipino Channel through Nov. 15.

The list of providers also includes AT&T U-Verse, Bright House Networks, Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Frontier Communications, Hawaiian Telcom, Verizon FiOS TV and Wave Broadband.

The Filipino Channel (TFC) is available in the United States as a premium cable channel. Its U.S. operations are located in Northern California.

“We at TFC are most thankful to IMD and our partner operators for their timely collaborative efforts to reach as many viewers as possible, update them on Typhoon Haiyan via TFC’s ongoing special coverage, and even inform people how to help,” Jun Del Rosario, ABS-CBN’s global head of carriage, said in a statement.

ABS-CBN is the oldest commercial TV network in the Philippines. It is a unit of the media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corp. The company’s flagship television station is DWWX-TV in Manila. In the U.S., its programming is available on the Filipino Channel.

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