ABS-CBN Says it is Definitely Not Applying for a New Franchise

Don’t expect ABS-CBN to return to the airwaves as a full-fledged, free-to-air broadcast network anytime soon. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday (February 27), the Lopez-owned network belied rumors that it was planning to retake its broadcast frequency through a new congressional franchise. It also denied reports that it was planning to recover the assets it had sold after it ceased broadcasting operations. 

“ABS-CBN Corporation disposed of assets that the company no longer needed to various broadcasting networks after we ceased operations as a broadcasting company,” the company said. “It is not true that ABS-CBN is applying for a new franchise nor does it intend to buy back any of the assets it sold.”

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The company was reacting to a news report in a broadsheet that insinuated that it was planning to make a “comeback” by reclaiming  its assets and that the “Lopezes are confident of retaking their erstwhile jewel, possible with a new franchise.”

“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there is no reason to deny the broadcast firm a fresh franchise ‘if the issues raised during the hearings conducted by the House of Representatives are resolved,’” the report on Daily Tribune further said. 

The statement was the strongest and most definitive yet from the once mighty media empire, signaling that it has chosen to carry on even without its precious broadcasting license. After Congress denied ABS-CBN an extension of its broadcast franchise in 2020, the company was forced to pivot to its other businesses, mainly content creation and distribution on various other platforms, including online and through partnerships with other broadcast networks such as TV5, A2Z, and erstwhile rival GMA Network. The Lopez-owned network has repeatedly attempted to strike up a deal with PLDT to purchase its cable business SKyCable, but the deal fell through. In 2023, it also ceased operations of Teleradyo, its online broadcast news platform, although it also signed a content partnership agreement with Prime Media Holdings.

ABS-CBN has reported heavy losses following the discontinuation of its free-to-air TV services in 2020. In the first nine months of 2023, the network posted a net loss of P3.3 billion, up from P1.87 billion net loss in the same period in 2022.