ABS-CBN News Channel

The ABS-CBN News Channel (or simply ANC) is a global subscription television news network targeted to Filipino audience. It is notable for being the country's first all-news cable network, the country's first 24-hour news network, and the country's first English language news network.^[1] The majority of its programs are produced and developed by ABS-CBN News. It is available globally in direct-to-home satellite, cable, IPTV, online video streaming, video on demand and other over-the-top content platforms. Some of the programs of ANC is also broadcast terrestrially in Guam through KEQI-LP. ANC is being broadcast from the ANC studio in 8 Rockwell building, Rockwell Center and in Studio 6 and Newsroom in ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center.

History

The 2014 variant logo of ANC adapted from the 2011 logo used until October 25, 2015

The ABS-CBN News Channel was originally established in 1996 as the Sarimanok News Network or SNN. SNN was the brainchild of the late Eugenio Lopez, Jr. who envisioned a television network that would become the primary source of news and information for Filipinos. On May 1, 1996, SNN was first offered on Sky Cable. Back then the channel served the viewers through two major news programs, Dateline Philippines and Primetime News, while short news advisories aired throughout the day.

To enhance its resources and strengthen its position as the primary news channel for the Filipinos, SNN in 1998 merged with Sky News, another Lopez-owned cable news channel that specialized in business news. The merger of the two networks paved the way for the formation of the country's first 24-hour news channel offering the latest in local and foreign news, business information, sports, weather updates and lifestyle. On October 11, 1999, the network changed its name to ABS-CBN News Channel or ANC.

In the years that followed, ANC established its name and credibility through its coverage of key events in the Philippines including the impeachment trial of Joseph Estrada, the Sipadan hostage crisis, the Oakwood mutiny, and EDSA Dos and Tres. ANC was also the first to reveal the Joseph Estrada's "brown envelope" controversy, Corazon Aquino's death, the Maguindanao massacre, and Hubert Webb's acquittal.^[2]

On November 4, 2011, ANC together with ABS-CBNnews.com and YouTube brought the YouTube World View event to the Philippines with an exclusive and one-on-one interview with the Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in Malacañang Palace. The questions was submitted and voted by YouTube users from all over the world.^[3]

On July 18, 2013, ANC announced a partnership with Yahoo!, which saw the introduction of a Yahoo! portal featuring content from ANC (which will remain separate from the main ABS-CBN News website), and would also allow ANC content to be featured on Yahoo! News Philippines. The partnership marks Yahoo's first partnership with a television news outlet outside of the United States, where Yahoo! has recently established a similar content partnership with ABC News.^[4] This joint-venture website was discontinued after it was revealed that Yahoo Philippines was discontinued on June 2015 (and thus redirecting the website to the Singaporean edition of Yahoo including the Malaysian edition) as an initiative to streamline "internal workflows" and currently redirects users to the ABS-CBNnews.com website.^[5] Before that partnership with Yahoo, the channel had its own dedicated website, ANCnews.tv until 2013.

In the early part of 2015, ANC has began using English subtitles for the Tagalog soundbytes on newscasts and public affairs programs from ABS-CBN.^[6]

On October 26, 2015, ANC went into a major overhaul in its broadcast design, including the newly designed rhombus logo and the red-blue schemed new title cards for the channel's major newscasts. As part of the relaunch, ANC opened a new studio in 8 Rockwell in Rockwell Center in Makati City, aside from their studio and newsroom in Quezon City. The Rockwell studio is used by programs such as Mornings @ ANC, Headstart with Karen Davila and #NoFilter a political program hosted by Teodoro Locsin, Jr. and Professor Prospero de Vera of University of the Philippines. ANC also launched the new programming grid for weekdays which include the relaunch of Mornings @ ANC, the sports news program The Daily Serve hosted by Gretchen Ho and business program The Boss hosted by Cathy Yap-Yang.^[6]

On March 15, 2016, as part of ANC's 20th year anniversary, the news channel was launched in high-definition format through its affiliate cable and satellite television providers. On May 9, 2016, ANC began a 48-hour extensive coverage of the 2016 Philippine election leading to the poll results.^[7]

On May 25, 2016, British billionaire and philanthropist Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group headlined the first Asian Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, an ANC Leadership Series, the main event of the station's 20th anniversary.^[8]

Programming

The programming of ANC is focused primarily on news, business, and politics with weather updates, sports news, informative, religious and lifestyle programs as secondary contents. The network also shows documentaries and television specials, as well as select programs from ABS-CBN, CNBC Asia, and The Filipino Channel,

Notable on-screen personalities

Current personalities

Former personalities

† — deceased.

References

External links

• Official website