If you’re in a first world country like in the United States or most countries in Europe, you do have your pick of whatever premium streaming service available. You’ve got your Disney+, MAX, Paramount+, Apple TV, Prime Video, Peacock, Netflix, Hulu, ESPN+ and probably a couple more I’m forgetting. Things are a little bit different when you’re in a third world country such as the Philippines.

Sure, things are better now as we do have streaming services like the aforementioned Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV and Prime Video. There are also weird analogues like HBO Go here. But the content, thanks to international licensing laws, different censorship rules and whatnot, not all of the content that would be available in those regions are available over here. So, no My Adventures with Superman for you fans in the Philippines!

There are also some streaming services, like Peacock, Hulu and ESPN+, that are just simply not available in the Philippines as of yet. So, if you wanna watch any of the shows on them, you’re kind of out of luck. Yes, there are those of you who are saying you can watch and stream whatever you want here in the Philippines. I’m talking about the legal way to watch them, however. Luckily, there are some local streaming services that are popping up here in the Philippines and I can name three of them right now for your viewing pleasure.

On a side note, this isn’t a paid post. Oh, how I wish I was getting paid to shill out on these sites but I’m not. This is me really trying to showing off what other streaming sites the Philippines has. Just wanted to mention that.

#1 Blast TV

If you’re reading this some part of the world and you’re hardcore into gaming, you might be reading this and be thinking “Hey, isn’t Blast TV mostly for competitive gaming?” Well, you’d be kinda correct but this is the Blast TV that’s exclusively only available in the Philippines. Honestly, Blast TV is an excellent local streaming service that’s actually free if you have a Globe or Converge high speed connection. There is also a subscription service for those who are using other broadband services but, if you’re using the ones that I’ve mentioned, congratulations! You’ve just got yourself a free streaming service you might not have known about!

Like I mentioned, Blast TV does have some stuff behind a paywall. There is a Rental section where you can find the more recent flicks for viewing. There are also live streaming channels for Dreamworks and MTV. However, they still do give you a whole lot of bang for your buck if you just have the Globe or Converge free account. A surprisingly huge amount, in all honesty.

Regarding live streaming, they’ve got separate channels for action movies, comedy films, horror flicks and even dramas. They’ve also got channels for reality shows as well as comedy and action programs. Heck, they even have two Nickelodeon channels out there for free! Oh, and since they started out as a sports channel, boy, do they have a lot of live sports programs, especially European foolball, MMA and, get this, WWE RAW, Smackdown and NXT! Heck, I didn’t even know the Philippines had a pro wrestling show called FPW and it’s supposedly been active since last year! But, thanks to Blast TV, now I do!

If you missed the live shows, they also have a lot of them recorded for you to watch at your time. Most of the sports programs, including the MMA and WWE shows are available on demand. A good chunk of the movies and TV shows are there as well. While it doesn’t have any unique programming, it does have a ton of stuff on hand so, if you do have a chance, try out Blast TV.

#2 Cignal Play

Let’s face it: traditional cable and satellite TV is dead. With the advent of streaming services, a lot of the companies that used to offer cable and satellite TV either died or had to transition to offering high speed internet. Cignal, a satellite TV operator in the Philippines, does still offer the more traditional manner of getting your broadcast television fix. But they also seem to have realized the changing of the times because they also offer Cignal Play, a streaming service where you can essentially watch the live programming you could see on cable and satellite but over your broadband connection.

Now, Cignal Play is a little harder for me to rave about because most of the programs are locked behind a subscription. The only free channels you get if you open up a free account are essentially the ones their parent company, TV5. You can also watch the free programs from, you guessed it, TV5! So, if you love local television programming, news and throw in some local basketball in for the fun of it, Cignal Play is going to be your jam.

However, if you do miss the experience of having to wait for your favorite scheduled television program or movie to be shown, well, the selection of channels Cignal Play has is pretty good because it’s basically streaming the exact same channels you would get when you did have a cable or satellite TV subscription! That means all of the HBO channels, HGTV, Food Network and whatnot. You also get the exclusive channels found in the Asia region like all of the Hits channels and AXN for starters.

This does sound like glorified cable TV via your Internet but, weirdly enough, a lot of the programs from some of the channels I’ve mentioned, like HGTV and Food Network, as simply not available in the Philippines anymore. It used to be when there was a Discovery+ service in the country. But that was discontinued a couple of years back. So, right now, if you’re really craving for those house flippers shows or those cooking competitions, your best bet might be Cignal Play.

I do have to question the pricing for their subscription plans, however. The top end of the subscription plans, which includes all of the channels I mentioned, is marked at Php 399 a month. That’s around $7 US a month.

It is much cheaper than a regular cable or satellite subscription but it is kind of hard to justify the monthly fee when you can’t watch the stuff you want at anytime you want. I said things have changed so, if it’s that high, at least make it so you can watch whenever you want! But that’s not really on Cignal TV as they’re just adapting their model to this service. I don’t think they can record and rebroadcast the programs on demand even if they wanted to. Still, the price is hard to swallow but I am including it here because it might be the right one for you.

#3 Tubi TV

What? Why is Tubi TV on this list? It’s available worldwide, right? You would be correct. However, I’m putting Tubi TV on this list as it’s a hilarious showcase on how much region blocking will mess up the quality of a streaming site’s content. If you look at Tubi TV’s line of movies and television shows in some place like, say, the United States, you’ll get a ton of pretty decent content, with some big past blockbusters here and there, some previously popular television shows and even some original programming with their Tubi Originals. Not bad for a free service and, if you can stomach the ads, it’s actually pretty decent.

In the Philippines? Tubi TV is bereft of all of this! If you log onto the streaming service here, all you’ll find are B-movies everywhere! You might find a hidden classic like Fist of Fury and The Stepford Wives. Or maybe the entire Farscape series if you’re into that.

But after that? It’s just a haven for B-movies! And honestly, I’m here for that. Sometimes, you just want to watch some garbage like the non-Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Thor: End of Days or trashy sci-fi flicks like Slave Girls from Beyond. Or maybe some cult classics like The Toxic Avenger and Samurai Cop? Or what if your itching for an Elvira or Mystery Science Theater 3000 marathon? Well, Tubi TV is the streaming site for you!

Tubi TV in the Philippines is not going to be for most people. I mean, people with good taste should stay far away as they most probably won’t get to watch anything they would want. But, for the discerning movie connoisseur who loves trashy flicks, their content can’t be beat!

BONUS: YouTube and DailyMotion

It probably goes without saying that YouTube is one of the most popular video streaming sites in the world. But I do have to mention the site on this list because you just might be surprised at some of the stuff that might be blocked in the United States because of region blocking. There are actually some channels that post exclusive content for the Asian region. Channels like Muse Asia that stream anime programs in the region for free.

I also have to mention DailyMotion, a competitor of YouTube because of, well, its more dubious content. While YouTube is more strict with posting other company’s intellectual properties or posting trademarked programs, DailyMotion is much more lax. If you’re really good, you can actually find a lot of people uploading things like WWE programming, sporting events and even Lifetime movies if that’s your jam. They’re usually in some really poor resolution, which is probably why the IP holders don’t even bother to ask DailyMotion to take down the videos. This makes it a weird way to watch premium programming, albeit in some poor quality. But it’s there!

Does your country have any exclusive streaming services? How does it stack up to the more mainstream ones? Let me know in the comments section below!