The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has officially scheduled the shutdown of analog television broadcasts in Mega Manila on November 22, 2026, marking a significant step in the country’s full transition to digital terrestrial television.
NTC Deputy Commissioner Alvin Blanco said the agency remains on schedule for the implementation of the analog switch-off.
“The NTC has issued a memorandum circular for the analog switch-off in Mega Manila. The target date for the ASO is 22 November 2026.”
The transition is mandated under Memorandum Circular No. 005-11-2025, requiring television broadcasters in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Pampanga, and Bataan to migrate to the Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard. Broadcasters seeking an extension must submit their requests to the NTC at least 60 days before the scheduled deadline.
The commission selected Mega Manila as the first area for the analog shutdown after data from December 2024 showed that around 80 percent of television households in the region had already adopted digital television reception.
The migration is expected to provide viewers with clearer video and audio quality, access to more television channels, and expanded educational and public service programming. The ISDB-T system also includes an Emergency Warning Broadcast System, allowing compatible television sets to automatically receive emergency alerts during disasters.
For more than eight years, major television networks—including GMA-7, TV5, ABS-CBN through ALLTV2, A2Z, PTV-4, RPTV, and IBC-13—have operated both analog and digital broadcasts simultaneously.
According to the NTC, maintaining both systems has become costly for broadcasters. Ending analog transmissions will allow networks to use frequencies more efficiently, improve channel capacity, and reduce operating expenses. The commission also plans to permanently recover all frequencies currently allocated for analog broadcasting once the migration is completed.
Meanwhile, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, together with the NTC and the Presidential Communications Office, is preparing guidelines aimed at ensuring that households continue to have uninterrupted access to television services after the analog switch-off.