Another loss for CNN.
CNN Philippines, one of Asia's homegrown franchises, is set to cease operations about nine years after its start, GMA News reported.
CNN Philippines is a free television network in the Philippines that provides news and information. It is the only channel that broadcasts mostly in English on free-to-air TV in the Philippines. It's also available on cable TV and pay TV.
CNN Philippines was launched in 2015 by Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific and Nine Media Corp. It is owned and operated by Nine Media Corporation and licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery.
The network, which has been operating at a financial deficit, resulting in losses exceeding nearly $90 million, will make an official announcement next Monday, according to an official from CNN Philippines.
The closure will affect about 300 employees in the network. It is understood that the decision to abandon the CNN franchise was reached last year, with the approval of Nine Media Corp, but implementation was delayed until after Christmas to minimize the impact on staff during the holiday season.
While the licensing agreement for the CNN brand in the Philippines is set to expire at the end of 2024, speculation has emerged about an early termination of broadcasting.
The airwaves are expected to fall silent shortly after the long-awaited official statement from Nine Media Chairman Benjamin Ramos, which will be released after the general meeting on January 29. Details of the meeting's agenda have not been announced, but it is expected that this will be a major discussion point.
Meanwhile, according to Forbes, CNN's profits in 2022 were estimated at $750 million. A June 2023 report from Forbes notes that part of this loss can be attributed to the decision made in April 2022 to drop CNN+, a direct-to-consumer service, one month after its launch. The report also notes that this decision resulted in a one-time loss of $200 million.
Forbes reported:
Moreover, the decline in advertising revenues is accelerating year-on-year. In April 2023, CNN's advertising revenue was $80 million, compared to $153 million in April 2022, a decrease of 48%. Overall, average monthly advertising revenue in the first four months of 2023 was $78 million, in contrast to $128 million in January-April 2022. Licht took over CNN on May 2, 2022.
The analysis also found that, so far this year, there has been a significant decline in the number of advertisers on CNN. In the first four months of 2023, MediaRadar reported that CNN had a total of about 2,100 advertisers. In contrast, from January to April 2022, there were about 2,700 advertisers on CNN, a decline of 23%. Furthermore, many advertisers have reduced their advertising commitment to CNN. As of April 2023, 17 companies had invested more than $2 million on CNN's advertising platforms, representing a 75% decline from 68 companies the previous year.
Multiple sources reported that CNN generated $1 billion in revenue annually from 2016 to 2020. In 2021, CNN's total profits were estimated to be $1.25 billion. Last year, CNN's profits fell to an estimated $750 million. Part of the loss in revenue can be attributed to WBD's decision, in April 2022, to drop its direct-to-consumer CNN+ service, one month after its launch. This resulted in a one-time loss of $200 million.
Last year, CNN correspondent Kate Bolduan made a surprise announcement, revealing that CNN would be closing its headquarters in Atlanta. The decision comes in the wake of declining viewership and increasing financial pressures.
“Before we go today, today we celebrate an important moment in CNN history. Today’s show will be the final broadcast from CNN Center in Atlanta,” Bolduan said.
While the broadcaster has already moved its weekday anchors to New York or Washington, D.C., CNN's Atlanta hub still houses important operations, including digital operations and CNN International.
“We broadcast the show out of New York, but the control rooms for that show and a lot of our editorial staff have always been in Atlanta in that famous building at CNN Center, also known as CNN's global news headquarters,” Bolduan said.
