As a publicly traded corporation, ABS-CBN Corp. reported its first-ever loss. It was since the government shut down its primary television sector beginning in May this year.
That was before lawmakers last July 10 killed their bid for a new franchise. Then, it was crippling the media giant and triggering mass layoffs.
ABS-CBN said in its first-semester financial report that losses from January to June amounted to P3.93 billion, reversing a net income of P1.47 billion during the same period last year.
ABS-CBN, which was President Duterte’s target for shutdown attacks, had earlier created most of its revenue from free-to-air advertisements. It has been profitable since it went public in 1992, amid unpredictable earnings fluctuations during and after election seasons.
The impact of the shutdown was in total revenues.
In addition, it was down from 36 percent to P13.31 billion, mainly as advertising sales were cut by more than half to P5.2 billion from P11.29 billion.
Last May 5, ABS-CBN took the decision to end free radio and TV broadcasts. The National Telecommunications Commission had already told it.
This was a day after its franchise expired and despite bills filed in Congress for its renewal.
In line with this, ABS-CBN announced this year before 2021 the launch of 16 popular entertainment titles like The Heiress and The General’s Daughter to foreign territories like Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
It said that as of this year 14 programs will be seen in Africa. Earlier, the company launched Kapamilya Channel on pay television and Kapamilya Online Live on YouTube and Facebook for ABS-CBN Entertainment. And also, it was following the loss of its franchise.
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