The rumors have been confirmed to be true.
In a message to news publication Manila Standard, Nine Media Corporation (NMC) owner Edgar A. Cabangon confirmed the news regarding the impending shutdown of CNN Philippines.
According to Cabangon, who serves as the Chairman of NMC’s parent ALC Group of Companies, the closure of the local CNN station has been planned since last year “due to losses.”
He adds that the company, moving forward, will concentrate on their other free-to-air news station, Aliw on digital TV channel 23.
Although, Cabangon did not issue any official stance on behalf of the company, as a formal statement will be published by CNN Philippines’ President Benjamin Ramos after the previously publicized general assembly on Monday, January 29.
The confirmation comes a day after major news organizations reported that CNN Philippines might be ceasing operations soon.
According to the reports, the news station could face the axe after nine years on the air as its parent firm Nine Media Corporation could not keep up with rising operational costs, including the fee to use the CNN brand.
Senior news anchors like Pia Hontiveros, Rico Hizon, and Pinky Webb have also been reportedly spoken to by the network’s management and are now said to be free to look for new “potential employers,” another news blog Medianewser reported.
A management-level meeting is also said to have happened yesterday, January 25.
CNN Philippines debuted as the only predominantly-English language news channel on free television on March 16, 2015.
Launch day happened months after the initial agreement licensing agreement with then-Turner Media was inked in October 2014.
It is understood that the agreement — which is now between Warner Bros. Discovery (the new entity owning the global CNN brand) and Nine Media — was renewed back in 2019 and is set to expire on December 31, 2024.
Meanwhile, financial reports of Nine Media Corporation (NMC), as obtained by Rappler from the Securities and Exchanges Commission, indicate that the network had been hemorrhaging cash in the past few years.
As a matter of fact, Nine Media’s 2022 financial report state that the company had a net loss amounting to Php 239.7 million that year, despite generating revenue of about Php 407.3 million.
This happened as its operational costs ballooned to about Php 514.9 million in 2022.
Those include the license fee to use the CNN brand and payment for RPN-9’s airtime, and the salaries of its about 300-person team.
Nine Media has been owned by JRLT-JHI Corporation since 2014, which in turn is under the ALC Group of Companies of the late Amb. Antonio Cabangon-Chua.
ALC also owns another media company in Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, which operates DWIZ 882 on AM radio, Home Radio 97.9 on FM, and ALIW Channel 23 on digital terrestrial television.
NMC also has a 34% majority stake in Radio Philippines Network, which operates the VHF channel 9 and DTT channel 19 frequencies in Metro Manila, on top of other TV and radio stations under the Radyo Ronda branding across the country.
With the nearing end of CNN Philippines, the future of channel 9 also remains in limbo, albeit, rumors are rife that a return to the legacy RPN-9 branding could happen.
Aside from news programming, channel 9 is also currently broadcasting the Saturday edition of TV5 noontime show ‘Eat Bulaga’ and weekend matches of the Philippine Basketball Association, which are both reportedly sticking with the channel despite the axing of CNNPH.
As of today, CNN Philippines still airs its regular programming as usual.