Anxiety mounts among CNN Philippines’ staff amid shutdown rumors

Employees of CNN Philippines, operated by Nine Media Corporation, are concerned about the security of their jobs amid reports that the TV network will soon shut down.

According to a memo to all CNN Philippines personnel, staff of the media company were requested to attend a General Assembly on Monday, January 29, 2024.

There was no agenda indicated in the memo.

The memo was issued on the day the website Media Newser reported that Nine Media and CNN have agreed to discontinue their licensing deal —for the former to carry the CNN brand as the company bleeds financially.

The licensing agreement between the two companies is set to expire by the end of 2024.

Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said rumors spread in their newsroom that the TV network can no longer pay the licensing fee to continue carrying the media brand.

Employees, however, have yet to be formally addressed about the future of the network amid shutdown rumors.

Nine Media Corp. has yet to issue an official statement about the matter. GMA News Online will post their comment as soon as it is available.

Staff of CNN Philippines are anxious about losing their jobs, the sources said.

Sources also said rumors circulated that CNN Philippines will be airing its last on Monday, while some say that its operations will be until March this year.

They said there are talks among employees that the network may revert to RPN9 to continue operations or Nine Media Corp. will be partnering with another media outfit.

Anxiety mounted among the network’s staff as they felt there was no guarantee that they would all be absorbed by the media corporation, according to sources.

CNN Philippines —a predominantly English language free-to-air news channel and website— was launched in 2015 by Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific and Nine Media Corp. 

The licensing deal was supposed to end in 2019 but was renewed up to 2024. —NB, GMA Integrated News