By Glaiza Salanio

On Monday, January 27, CNN Philippines, operated by Nine Media Corporation, announced that it would shut down operations on Wednesday, January 31, after nine years of service due to financial losses.

The company expressed profound appreciation to their staff in a social media post and vowed to provide “severance packages” to all 300 of them in the team.

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

The broadcasting company showed gratitude to their audience as well.

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

Financial Woes

The social media post was followed by the official statement of the channel announcing that the decision follows after significant financial losses sustained over the past years.

“It is with deep regret that the management of Nine Media Corporation (NMC) announces the discontinuation of its news and production operations on all media platforms, branded as CNN Philippines (CNNPH), effective 31 January 2024. The decision follows significant financial losses sustained over the past years, despite rigorous efforts to adapt and innovate in a rapidly evolving and challenging media landscape,” the company said in the official statement.

According to a report, the network lost more than five billion pesos, trying to compete on free television with major media companies. 

Nine Media’s license fees to Turner Broadcasting System climbed by 29%, from PHP 108 million in 2021 to PHP 139.3 million, based on financial documents reviewed by Rappler.

A deficiency in the media’s capital reached PHP 226.2 million in 2021 and PHP 465.2 million in 2022.

Although Nine Media’s generated income from its operations rose to PHP 407.3 million in 2022, 4.6% from the previous year’s PHP 389.3 million, the revenues still failed to surpass the rising costs.

The company failed to revert back to its pre-pandemic conditions as forecasted in 2022, since it “did not materialize” on account of the financial statement of CNN Philippines.

In the same year, the company generated a less than optimal amount of income as expected from their advertising services during national campaigns.

This is due to politicians opting to utilize digitized platforms with the help of social media influencers to appeal to the public at large.

Photo from Rappler