MTRCB forecasts 40% cut in revenue due to ABS-CBN shutdown, pandemic
MANILA, Philippines — The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) said Friday that it expects to lose up to 40% of its revenue this year due to the shutdown of media giant ABS-CBN Corp. and the COVID-19 pandemic.
MTRCB chairperson Maria Rachel Arenas told senators during their agency’s budget hearing that the closure of the broadcast network and the pandemic has lessened TV and movie productions, which she said would impact their revenues.
“Mas kaunti po ang nagpa-review, even ‘yung mga movies and ‘yung mga networks, mas kaunti ang pinapa-review nila, so talagang baba po ‘yung income namin this year,” Arenas said.
(Fewer productions are being reviewed, even movies and networks, they have less content to be reviewed, so our income would really decrease this year.)
According to data presented by the MTRCB during the same hearing, ABS-CBN remitted to the agency P22.75 million in 2019, representing roughly 16% of its revenues that year. The network has so far remitted P7.4 million for 2020.
President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly attacked ABS-CBN for failing to air his campaign advertisement during the 2016 presidential elections. ABS-CBN explained that this was due to lack of airtime, and that Duterte was not the only candidate affected by this.
Departing from tradition that typically allowed a franchise holder to operate while a new license is being heard in Congress, the National Telecommunications Commission ordered the closure of ABS-CBN’s free TV and radio stations in May.
In July, the House panel on legislative franchises voted to deny ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise, even if government agencies have cleared the network of any wrongdoing.
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