CNN Philippines on Friday said it is ending its operations in the country after nine years due to financial losses.
“That was planned last year due to losses. We will concentrate more on our own free TV—Aliw TV,” Edgard Cabangon, chairman of ALC Group of Companies and Nine Media Corp. that owns and operates CNN Philippines said.
Records at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that Nine Media posted a net loss of P239.72 million in 2022, higher than only P231.39 million in 2021.
Its capital deficiency amount to P455.2 million and P226.2 million as at those dates.
“In 2022, the anticipated business and economic recovery back to pre-COVID levels did not materialize. The national elections held in May 2022 and the campaign period leading to it, while contributing to some increase in the spending behavior of people, did not significantly impact on the traditional advertising revenues, with the campaign efforts focused on social media platforms with funds channeled to social media influencers, vloggers and content producers,” the company said.
“Post-election, ads sales also failed to materially pick up due to spending holdback from clients and agencies with the ensuing high-inflation regime pushing up consumer prices, curtailing purchasing power,” it added.
The brand licensing agreement of CNN Philippines will expire by end of 2024, but there are rumors that its airing would end soon.
Cabangon said they would issue an official statement from Nine Media president Benjamin Ramos after the general meeting on Monday.
A memo from Nine Media signed by its president, Benjamin V. Ramos, requested all personnel to attend the meeting at 10 a.m. in the news operations area.
CNN Philippines is the country’s only predominantly English-language channel on free-to-air television as well as on cable and pay television. It is owned by Nine Media, a subsidiary of the ALC Group of Companies, established by the late Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua.
The Cabangon-Chua family also owns other media companies such as RPN, Aliw Broadcasting Network, stations DWIZ and Home Radio 97.9, daily publication BusinessMirror, tabloid Pilipino Mirror and magazine Philippine Graphic Weekly. Their other businesses include Citystate Savings Bank, Fortune Life Insurance Co. Inc., Eternal Plans Inc., Citystate Properties and Management Corp. (CPMC), Isuzu GenCars Inc., as well as several hotels and resorts in Metro Manila and the provinces.Nine Media signed a deal with Turner Broadcasting System to launch CNN Philippines in March 2015.
