(UPDATE) Nine Media Corp., the franchise owner of CNN Philippines, on Monday formally announced the closure of its news operations by Jan. 31 after nine years due to massive financial losses.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we share the difficult news that Nine Media Corp.’s news production will stop its operations due to serious financial losses, made even worse by the pandemic,” Benjamin Ramos, president of Nine Media, told employees during its general meeting on Monday.
“It has been increasingly clear that we are unable to support operations,” he added.
Records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that Nine Media posted a net loss of P239.72 million in 2022, higher than the P231.39 million it posted in 2021.
The company’s capital deficiency amounted to P455.2 million and P226.2 million as of those dates, the record showed.
Ramos said that Nine Media management is committed to give compensation to all its employees.
“Everyone will be given separation — one month separation pay for every year of service plus the conversion of your leaves and salary for the month of January and February,” Ramos said.
“For our talents, you will receive and additional one month talent fee,” he added.
In closing, Ramos expressed his appreciation to about 300 CNN Philippines employees for nine years.
“Heartfelt appreciation and we are grateful to your commitment to the corporation and to your contribution. Maraming salamat,” he added.
D. Edgard Cabangon, chairman of ALC Group of Companies and Nine Media Corp. who confirmed the closure to the Manila Standard, earlier said the company will focus on its own free TV channel.
“We will concentrate more on our own free TV — Aliw TV,” he added.
CNN Philippines describes itself as the Philippines’ only predominantly English-language channel on free-to-air television as well as on cable and pay television.
Nine Media signed a deal with Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting System to launch CNN Philippines in March 2015.
Broadcasting on free TV Channel 9, CNN Philippines was the fifth local franchise of US brand CNN (Cable News Network) in Asia, after CNN Indonesia, CNN Türk, CNN Arabic and CNN-IBN (now CNN-News18 in India).
Nine Media is 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, radio stations DWIZ and Home Radio 97.9, the broadsheet 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., and several hotels and resorts in Metro Manila and the provinces.