Kapatid TV5 named exclusive media partner of New York’s Philippine Independence Day Parade and Festival

NEW YORK, New York–TV5 International officially kicked off the celebrations of the much-awaited 116th Philippine Independence Day Festival recently held in New York City, USA, with over 100,000 Filipinos from all over the North American region joining the annual event that is widely regarded as the largest Philippine Independence Day festival both in the US and, more notably, outside of the Philippines.

(L-R) Philippine Consul General Mario de Leon, Jr., TV5’s Ogie Alcasid, and PIDCI President Fe Martinez

“This is the second time TV5 International was invited to be part of this historic event, but what makes this year even more special is the fact that we were the only Philippine broadcasting network that was named by the Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. (PIDCI)—the organization hosting the said festival—as the event’s official Media Partner. For us, this milestone further validated TV5 International’s continuous growth in North America,” said TV5 International president and CEO Claro Carmelo Ramirez.

Main star of TV5’s primetime tawaserye, Confessions of a Torpe, Ogie Alcasid leads the TV5 float during the grand parade

Leading the TV5 International contingent in the festival was none other than the main star of the Kapatid Network’s daily tawaserye, “Confessions of a Torpe”, Ogie Alcasid. The singer-songwriter surely did not disappoint the 100,000-strong Filipino crowd as he initially made his way through the parade in TV5’s grand mardi gras-themed float and ended up on stage, treating the crowd as he belted out his signature hits that they gamely sang along to.

In addition to this, the crowd also had a full day of fun and entertainment in the street fair along the famed Madison Avenue, as a giant LED aired some of TV5’s most watched programs, which included the action-packed PBA games and “Ganito Na Kami Ngayon”, which is TV5 International’s first-ever originally-produced program.

The Augmented Reality booth — a certified crowd drawer where fans got to interact with their favorite Kapatid stars

A remarkable highlight of the street fair was TV5 International’s “Augmented Reality” booth, which proved to be a certified crowd-drawer, where fans got to ‘interact’ with their favorite Kapatid stars through a computer-generated sensory input.

“We really wanted to pull out all the stops to ensure that the attendees had a one-of-a-kind experience with our Kapatid stars — and our ‘Augmented Reality’ booth did just that! We are proud to be the first to introduce this to our Kapatids in New York,” said TV5 International FVP and head of marketing Pie Basiao.

Also notably gracing the celebration were Philippine Consul General Mario de Leon Jr., president of the Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. (PIDCI) Fe Martinez, and Miss World 2013 Megan Young, who was last seen in TV5’s daily primetime series “Misibis Bay” prior to bagging the Miss World crown.

In closing, Ramirez shared, “TV5 International has had a terrific start to this year, what with the company milestone of being named as the second strongest Pinoy network in the Middle East and North Africa in just a matter of three years.”

“And now, we are celebrating yet another milestone, this time in North America, as we headline this year’s largest Philippine Independence Day celebration outside the country. With the momentum of our success in full-swing, our loyal Pinoy viewers and subscribers from the other parts of the world can definitely expect that TV5 International will soon make its way there, with a lot more surprises up our sleeves,” he said.

Kapatid TV5 and Aksyon TV International are currently being viewed by Filipinos all over the world through DISH Network and DishWorld in the United States; Shaw Cable, Rogers Cable, Bell, Next TV, Juan TV and AEBC in Canada; OSN in the Middle East and North Africa; DU in UAE; ZAIN in Kuwait; MCV NTT Docomo in Guam; FetchTV in Australia; Hitron in Papua New Guinea and CSL mobile in Hong Kong.