“MYSTERIES of Laura”
Viewers may soon see Anderson Cooper on free TV beside the likes of Pia Hontiveros. Channel 9TV is set to take a new form in 2015, as CNN Philippines.
After months of negotiations, Nine Media president Reggie Galura announced during a recent press gathering at Solaire Resort and Casino that 9TV is assuming the look of the world news network.
Under the new partnership with Turner Broadcasting System International (TBS), Galura added, local news will be “tweaked to the standards of CNN International.”
Said Greg Beitchman, CNN International SVP for content sales and partnerships: “CNN Philippines will be designed to bring audiences the best quality news from around the country.”
Jing Magsaysay, Nine Media Corp. senior vice president for news and current affairs, said the the channel may begin operations in January or within the first quarter of 2015.
“The news should be about the story, not the messenger,” he said. “We’ve been trying to achieve that in the past three years on 9TV and Solar News.” Solar News was renamed 9TV earlier this year.
The partnership deal which, Magsaysay said, is the fastest that CNN International ever struck, will amp up coverage through new technology and higher standards for newsworthiness. It will cover an initial period of five years.
The Philippine branch may also provide content for CNN International and vice versa, he said. CNN International, the Royal Television Society’s “News Channel of the Year” for 2013 and 2014, will maintain its pay TV presence.
The new channel will replace 9TV on the RPN network nationwide. It will be available on free TV on RPN-TV9 in Manila, Cebu and Davao; RPN-TV5 in Zamboanga; RPN-TV12 in
“REIGN”
Baguio; and RPN-TV8 in Bacolod. It will also be on cable TV through Sky Cable Channel 14 in Metro Manila; Sky Cable Channel 6 in Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo and Baguio; and Destiny Cable Channel 14, Cablelink Channel 1r and Cignal Channel 10.
‘Mysteries of Laura’
Debra Messing stars in the police procedural-comedy series “The Mysteries of Laura,” airing Wednesdays, 8 p.m. on 2nd Avenue.
‘Reign’
The second season of “Reign,” about Mary, Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) airs Saturdays, 10:05 p.m. on ETC.