‘Difficult news’: CNN Philippines signing off on Jan. 31

SAD DAY FOR THE MEDIA Veteran broadcast journalist and senior anchor Rico Hizon leaves the CNN Philippines headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Monday after the local franchise holder of the global media brand announced it will cease operations on Jan. 31 due to financial losses. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines  —Employees of award-winning broadcaster CNN Philippines gathered on Monday in a general assembly to hear the sad news that had been circulating the past few days.

CNN Philippines president Benjie Ramos announced that nine years after debuting in the local broadcasting industry,

CNN Philippines would cease operations on all media platforms on Wednesday (Jan. 31) as Nine Media Corp., the franchise holder of the global media brand, struggled to keep the company financially afloat.

“It is with heavy heart that we share the difficult news that Nine Media’s news production will stop its operations due to serious financial losses, made even worse by the pandemic,” said Ramos, who turned emotional as he delivered the news.

“Despite our best efforts … it has become increasingly clear that we are not able to sustain our operations,” he pointed out.

CNN Philippines had trouble paying its annual franchise fees of P55 to P60 million after its advertising revenues fell short of its costs as fewer people watched free TV.

In the nine years it went on air, CNN Philippines had accumulated financial losses exceeding P5 billion.

CNN Philippines first aired in 2015 after Nine Media secured a licensing deal with The Cable News Network (CNN), an international news channel based in Atlanta, Georgia, owned by Turner Broadcasting Corp.

It has been using RPN 9’s free TV frequency, which will revert to government control following the shutdown.

International recognition

In an advisory on Monday, CNN Philippines extended gratitude to all its staff, partners and viewers for their support.

“To our staff, we thank you for your commitment and dedication,” it said. “And to our viewers, our sincerest gratitude for your loyalty and trust over the past nine years.”

The media outlet is signing off with several accolades under its belt.

Just last month, CNN Philippines was named “Premier Business Best Broadcast Media Company in the Philippines” at the first Southeast Asian Premier Business and Achiever Awards.

Veteran journalist Rico Hizon was also recently awarded “best factual presenter” at the Asian Academy Creative Awards.

All CNN Philippines employees were retrenched and would be given separation pay as a result of the outlet’s closure, a source told the Inquirer.

The source said that although they are officially employed until Feb. 29, CNN Philippines would no longer be producing content.

READ: CNN Philippines shutting down as losses exceed P5B

Asked if the affected employees could be absorbed by other media outlets under the ALC Group of Companies, the source said the management did not mention anything about it.

The ALC Group owns other media entities such as Business Mirror, Philippine Graphic, Pilipino Mirror, Aliw Channel 23 and Cook Magazine.

MANILA  —CNN Philippines has formally announced that it would shut down operations, expressing gratitude to its staff, partners and viewers for their support over the past nine years.

In an advisory on Monday, the broadcaster said it would “discontinue operations on all media platforms effective Wednesday, Jan. 31.”

The network reportedly lost more than P5 billion as it tried to compete with media giants on free television

“To our staff, we thank you for your commitment and dedication,” CNN Philippines said. “To our partners, including CNN Worldwide/Turner Broadcasting Corp., we are grateful for your support.”

“To our loyal viewers, thank you for giving us purpose. We are honored to have served you,” the media corporation added.

The decision not to renew the CNN franchise and shut down the Philippine operations—which will affect about 300 employees—had been made last year and approved by Nine Media of the Cabangon family, but the latter decided to defer implementation until after the Christmas holiday season.

READ: Station 9TV rebrands as CNN Philippines

Transparency from employers

Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) issued a statement on Friday urging media workers to organize and demand transparency from their employers, especially in light of the shutdown of CNN Philippines.

“Each newsroom that goes dark is one less source of reliable information for the public and is a loss for our community and profession,” said Jonathan de Santos on X (formerly Twitter).

“It is cruel to have to find out about your company’s potential plans from news reports and from gossip instead of from leadership that expects media workers to be on call and updated on issues of the day but are silent on pressing workplace issues,” NUJP said.

“The apparent lack of communication between management and staff over the coming changes highlights the need for workplace organizing to, at minimum, ensure that employees are kept abreast of corporate developments that will affect them,” it added. INQ