ABS-CBN iWant Jumpstarts New Year With 11.3M Subscribers, New and Edgy Originals

ABS-CBN’s streaming service iWant is kicking off 2019 with 11.3 million Filipinos streaming its original shows and movies and its archive of Kapamilya programs, films, and live shows – the largest library of Filipino content on any streaming service in the country.

The new iWant recorded 60 million video views in December 2018 and has already gotten two million app downloads on both iOS and Android since it was launched in November last year.

This month, iWant releases more new original content, including the sexy romcom film “Allergy in Love,” which is written and directed by Joross Gamboa. It features the story of Johnson (Pocholo Barretto), who gets an extreme and potentially fatal allergic reaction whenever he is exposed to physical intimacy, but finds himself falling in love with Ayama (Chienna Filomeno), who aims to help him cure his odd medical condition.

 

iWant also goes edgy with its erotic-drama anthology series “Hush,” which features stories of different people going through their individual journeys to self-discovery, intimacy, and fulfillment of sexual fantasies.

Early this month, iWant released the action-suspense series “High,” about Miguel (Markus Paterson) who goes through an underground game in order to save his sister (Ria Atayde), who was kidnapped by a dark web syndicate.

iWant also brought back the team-up of Andrea Brillantes and Grae Fernandez in “S.P.A.R.K.,” which tackles the blossoming love between two young teens. 

Sharlene San Pedro and Nash Aguas also star in “The Gift,” which chronicles the story of a young man with Asperger’s syndrome who falls for a sheltered woman. The movie has been receiving positive feedback online for its lead stars’ performances and relatable story, and for promoting awareness on the developmental disorder.

Helmed by some of the country’s best and up-and-coming directors such as Gino Santos, JP Habac, Richard Somes, Noel Teehankee (“Hush”), Joross Gamboa (“Allergy in Love”), Dondon Santos (“High”), Carlo Artillaga (“The Spark”), and Onat Diaz (“The Gift”), the original series and films showcase relatable characters and stories that cater to Filipino sensibilities via iWant, which provides access to the most comprehensive Filipino content and multimedia entertainment experiences.

Meanwhile, more subscribers can get their iWant craving in the comfort of their own homes as they can already connect the streaming service to their TVs via Chromecast and Apple Airplay. This year, iWant will also be made available on TV streaming devices such as Roku, Android TV boxes, and SKY set-top boxes. New features will also be introduced to subscribers such as offline viewing and commenting on and chatting about their favorite content within the streaming service.

Mobile subscribers can also enjoy their favorite movies and shows on iWant whenever and wherever they are by subscribing to the telco providers’ respective promos.

Smart, TNT, and Sun subscribers can now stream iWant videos via Smart Gigasurf 99 with Video Every Day for only P99, which comes with 2 GB data for surfing and all apps and an additional 1 GB per day to watch up to one hour of videos every day, valid for seven days.

Globe mobile customers can enjoy video streaming of their favorite Kapamilya movies and TV shows on iWant for as low as P29 with GoWATCH. To register, just text GOWATCH29 to 8080 and get 2 GB or up to five hours of streaming for iWant and other video apps & sites valid for one day. 

iWant, which can also be accessed via web on iwant.ph, boasts a diverse library of free original movies and shows that have earned praises from Filipino users and continue to rack up views, including the much hyped film “Glorious,” teen-fantasy series “Spirits Reawaken,” the star-studded and feel-good anthology series “Alamat ng Ano,” gore-horror film “Ma,” lifestyle show “Laureen on a Budget,” and entertainment talk show “I Know Right?! (IKR).”

It also offers currently airing and old ABS-CBN shows, documentaries, and specials, 1,407 films and restored movie classics, fastcut versions of currently airing Kapamilya teleseryes, Asianovelas, thousands of songs, One Music’s live digital concerts, and the livestreaming of “Camp Star Hunt,” “iWant ASAP,” DZMM TeleRadyo, ABS-CBN Channel 2, and ABS-CBN S+A. Filipinos, meanwhile, watched Catriona Gray’s quest for the Philippine’s fourth Miss Universe title on iWant, which provided free livestreaming on the ABS-CBN Live channel that recorded hundreds of thousands of views.