On Tuesday, ABS-CBN Corporation ‘pulled the plug’ on the news channel.
In a statement made by ABS-CBN on Tuesday, May 23rd, it revealed the imminent closure of TeleRadyo, the Filipino news and public service channel of the company. According to them, the reason for the closure was the continuous negative cashflow of the news station since the 2020 shutdown of its free-to-air radio arm, DZMM. Hence, TeleRadyo has to “cease operations on June 30, 2023.”
Furthermore, ABS-CBN also revealed that Prime Media Holdings, owned by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, will enter the picture as the Kapamilya network and PMHI enter in a joint venture agreement, and will together produce news programs for third party platforms, like Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC). PCMC owns and operates TV and radio stations under the name FMR (Favorite Music Radio) nationwide.
ABS-CBN TeleRadyo channel to cease operations on June 30
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Ownership, meanwhile, will be a 51-49 split between the two entities. Prime Media takes the controlling stake of 51%. ABS-CBN takes the minor stake of 49%.
But the statement did not give any concrete description with regards to how the upcoming events will play out. Take note, the title itself did not flat out say the word “cessation,” but they opted to use “change” instead. [The complete heading was ‘ABS-CBN announces changes for TeleRadyo.’] Please also save this part for later.
Jumping ahead, with the future of TeleRadyo still shrouded in mystery, it surely brings in more intrigue and questions on what is or are about to come. But one of the issues yet to be made clear is how the event will impact the Filipino-language programming on other ABS-CBN channels like ANC and Kapamilya Channel?
For added context, ANC is the English-language news channel owned by the corporation, while Kapamilya Channel airs select TeleRadyo shows during the mornings.
First of, on ANC, it should be made known whether ABS-CBN News is willing to equal (after TeleRadyo) the amount of news content in the vernacular as it currently does in English in ANC and how would they be able to do so on the news channel? Currently, ANC’s only straight-up Filipino-language news program is the simulcast of TV Patrol every night. Once TeleRadyo ‘leaves’ the airwaves, only TVP is assured to continue airing — and might become the only vernacular-language newscast of the entire ABS-CBN News division for the entire week.
Thus, it is interesting to see whether ANC would change its approach and the delivery of news and become anywhere near an actual bilingual news channel. Although, it would not be actually bad idea either to keep ANC as it is right now, but there should always be space for news in the vernacular. If that isn’t going to become a possibility on ANC, then look no further.
Another option to make room still for Filipino-language news coverage on ABS-CBN platforms is by producing and showing them on Kapamilya Channel. With most of its programming catering to the same audience as then-ABS-CBN, but only on pay TV, it would be plausible to make new Filipino-language news content or just transfer TeleRadyo shows to the channel.
For example, once TeleRadyo ceases its operations, ‘Sakto’ could finally become an full-on Kapamilya morning show and perhaps, also air on ANC as a simulcast between the two channels. Then, they could absorb other affected anchors or even staff members.
News bulletin program ‘News Patrol’ can also be expanded to run hourly or almost-hourly throughout the day and broadcast the latest developments as they happen and become a de-facto replacement for TeleRadyo’s ‘Balita Ngayon’. For complete coverages of say speeches or hearings, then those can be covered in their entirety on ANC or digital platforms.
Another idea, while far-fetched, is the move of ‘Headline Pilipinas’ to the Kapamilya Channel. Should it be able to secure a spot there, the pre-Showtime slot of 11 or 11:30 am would be perfect and place HP as an alternative to late-morning/early lunchtime newscasts. Again, an ANC simulcast could be added to further expand the viewership base (and possibly, ad revenue) of the show.
Third, while not mentioned above, another possible door they could knock on is A2Z. With the channel not having an actual morning show, placing ‘Sakto’ could be a bright idea to liven up the timeslot, and bring in viewership that would serve as lead-in to shows like ‘Magandang Buhay’ during the mid-morning slots.
Finally, and perhaps, the ‘boomerang’ or ‘the full circle moment’ answer: DZMM. In this tweet by ABS-CBN anchor Karen Davila, she also gave clues on what will happen next. [Note, Davila used to do programs for TeleRadyo during its time as DZMM (TeleRadyo)].
17 years in DZMM and DZMM Teleradyo. From 2001 – 2018. @DZMMTeleRadyo has been part of my 30 year broadcast journey.
After June 30, Teleradyo will say goodbye but DZMM will return on AM radio reaching millions of Filipinos once more.
As we face a changing media landscape, may we have the courage to continue what we are called to do
Praying for the committed employees & workers of @DZMMTeleRadyo. My heart reaches out to my kapamilyas
Tweet by @iamkarendavila on Twitter (May 23, 2023)
If it is her tweet that will be the basis, then it is highly likely (despite no confirmation yet) that the return of DZMM on the 630 kHz AM frequency will soon happen. And that might be the reason for the ‘changes in TeleRadyo,’ as it was mentioned in the statement. Aside from that, the new DZMM might just become the outlet for most of ABS-CBN’s Filipino-language news reporting moving forward.
Although, if that is going to be indeed the case, then it will surely not going to be the same anymore. That is due to the upcoming set-up being a joint-venture, rather than the standalone service like how TeleRadyo is now — among other reasons that you might know already.
The delivery of news in Filipino is one of the most vital institutions in the local television industry. With ABS-CBN being regarded as one of the largest information disseminator, it should be a non-negotiable for them to have more than one news program in the language airing on a single day.
Especially now, where pieces of information seem to get lost in what seems an ocean containing millions of new data everyday, delivering the news in a mainstream platform in a language known by many is truly important.
With the impending exit of TeleRadyo from the airwaves on June 30, there will surely be a lot of voids that the channel’s demise will create. But what should be done now to diminish the impact, at least in this corner of the conversation, is to give assurance to the audience that they will still be able to access their known brand of news on television (and digital) after the said date.
ABS-CBN and Prime Media have yet to formally disclose their plans on the future of TeleRadyo. For now, TeleRadyo remains in its usual broadcast set-up until its last day on June 30, 2023.