Naghain ng letter of complaint ngayong araw, March 15, ang TV5 sa National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) kaugnay ng patuloy na pagtanggi diumano ng Pilipino Cable Corporation na isama ang UHF Channel 41 sa SkyCable channel lineup nito.

Ang Channel 41 ay kilala rin bilang Aksyon TV, ang 24-hour news and sports channel ng TV5 na nagsimulang mag-ere noong February 21. (CLICK HERE to read related story.)

Ayon sa press statement na in-email ng TV5 sa PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) ngayon ding araw, nagpadala ang Kapatid network, sa pamamagitan ng Legal Department head nitong si Atty. Christina Ona, ng isang liham sa Pilipino Cable Corporation noong February 18, 2011, upang ipaalam ang pagsisimula ng broadcast ng Aksyon TV sa February 21, 2011.

Dagdag pa rito, "By means of the same letter, TV5 thus requested Pilipino Cable Corporation for the channel assignment of the said free-to-air channel on SkyCable...

"However, despite TV5's aforesaid letter-request for SkyCable's compliance with the NTC's 'must carry' rule on the broadcast of free TV channels by all cable operators, Pilipino Cable Corporation has, to date, not acceded to TV5's request for inclusion of its AksyonTV UHF Channel 41 in SkyCable's channel lineup."

Sa letter-complaint na inihain ng TV5 sa NTC, binanggit dito ang "clear act of unfair trade competition" diumano ng Pilipino Cable Corporation.

Hinihiling din ng TV5 sa NTC na patawan ng kaukulang kaparusahan ang Pilipino Cable Corporation dahil diumano sa "highly illegal acts" nito na "prejudicial to the rights of [TV5]."

"In addition, TV5 calls on the NTC to 'investigate the matter' and 'impose appropriate penalties' against Pilipino Cable Corporation for the cable operator's alleged unfair trade practice," saad pa sa statement ng TV5.

Ang Pilipino Cable Corporation ay "owned and controlled by ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation" na kakumpitensiya ng TV5 at AksyonTV.

ABS-CBN STATEMENT. Samantala, nakakuha naman ng PEP ang pahayag sa ABS-CBN kaugnay ng inihaing reklamo ng TV5.

Ayon sa ipinadalang text message ng Head of Corporate Communications ng ABS-CBN na si Mr. Bong Osorio sa PEP ngayong gabi, puno na raw ang capacity ng SkyCable kaya hindi nila magawang mag-comply sa accommodation ng Aksyon TV.

Pinag-aaralan na raw ng SkyCable kung paano dagdagan ang "channel capacity" nito na maaaring magtagal "due to dependencies on the technical end."

Narito ang kabuuang statement ng ABS-CBN:

"SkyCable's capacity at the moment is full, hence we are not able to comply with the Aksyon TV accommodation. SkyCable is studying how to increase its channel capacity which may take some time due to dependencies on the technical end. SkyCable is looking at the concerns of Aksyon TV."