NTC further reassigned former frequencies used by ABS-CBN.
Today, it was confirmed that channel 23 — formerly Studio 23 and ABS-CBN Sports + Action — was assigned to Aliw Broadcasting Corporation. Aliw also owns radio station DWIZ 882 AM.
Aliw’s parent company ALC also has a majority stake in RPN, which is currently branded on-air as CNN Philippines.
Meanwhile, channel 43, which was formerly used by ABS for DTT trials and eventually reassigned to Amcara Broadcasting by the NTC, had been awarded to SMNI.
SMNI, owned by Kingdom of Jesus Christ of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, is also airing on channels 39 and 40 (DTT). It is still unknown what would the company do with this new frequency handed over to them.
Amcara, on the other hand, failed to secure a new 25-year-franchise after theirs expired in November 2020. Amcara also used to operate channel 23, until ABS-CBN bought it in 2010. In turn, ABS-CBN also once had a 49% stake in Amcara that it had divested from in 2019.
After the May 5, 2020 shutdown of ABS-CBN, the Kapamilya network signed a blocktime deal with Amcara to carry select programs on Amcara’s channel 43. However, that arrangement ended after the NTC ordered an alias CDO vs. channel 43 in June 30, 2020.