ABS-CBN News takes storytelling where the audience is
MANILA, Philippines — If there’s one thing ABS-CBN News has learned from its growing digital push, it’s that what works on television doesn’t automatically work online. And sometimes, it doesn’t even have to look as polished.
“The mindset muna,” ABS-CBN News head Francis Toral told The Philippine STAR in an exclusive interview when asked about the biggest adjustment in strengthening the network’s digital presence.
“I think the hardest (challenge) at first was changing the mindset of TV people producing for digital. Kasi ’di ba sanay tayo sa television, kailangan polished, kailangan maraming tao behind the scenes working on something. Ito ang gusto pala ng digital, yung kahit hindi kasing polished, kahit simpleng set lang at magkwentuhan lang tayo.”
It was through that process, she said, that the newsroom began learning how storytelling had to rework for digital, wherein hooking the attention immediately is crucial.
“Paano ang storytelling sa Pilipinas (between digital and traditional), there are differences, there are similarities, but the point is manggulat ka rin kasi the first three seconds, if you don’t have them, you’ve lost them.”
The learning curve appears to be paying off. Toral described 2026 as a “banner year” for ABS-CBN News on digital, with a string of shows launched, revived and repackaged for online audiences.
It has ventured into programs on mysteries, unusual jobs, supernatural stories and other non-hard-news subjects, while giving legacy current-affairs brands such as “SOCO” a more digital treatment.
Currently, the growing slate includes “Philippines’ Most Shocking Stories,” “Possessed: Real Stories from Filipino Exorcists,” “Philippines’ Strangest Mysteries,” “Philippines’ Oddest Jobs,” “SOCO,” “Ibang Level ’To” with Melai Cantiveros-Francisco and MJ Felipe, and Ganiel Krishnan’s celebrity interview show “Oh My Gan!”
One of its biggest successes has been “Philippines’ Most Shocking Stories,” now on its fourth season. Drawing a combined total views of 24 million, the past seasons revisited such crime stories as the Chiong Sisters murder case in Cebu, the Gonzales family murders, the Rose Barrameda murder case, among others.
“We knew there was an audience for it when it was reaching millions of views already. We didn’t expect that,” she said.
The appeal, according to Toral, partly comes from nostalgia and the public’s continuing fascination with old cases and news stories.
Some of these digital offerings have since found their way to television. Aside from “Philippines’ Most Shocking Stories,” “Philippines’ Strangest Mysteries,” “Philippines’ Oddest Jobs” and “Oh My Gan!” have expanded to free TV, while “Ibang Level ’To” also airs on television and streams on ABS-CBN News’ YouTube channel and iWant.
There’s more coming. Toral said they are already conceptualizing new offerings for 2027, but arriving sooner this October are the titles “Kababalaghan,” ABS-CBN News’ long-running Halloween special hosted by Noli de Castro (Oct. 31) and “Philippines’ Most Haunted,” which explores locations such as resorts, hospitals, schools and theaters associated with paranormal stories, come mid-October.
More than building a digital slate, the bigger goal is to reach an audience that may no longer be tuning in to a traditional newscast.
“Again, we’re doing these non-hard-news programs for digital and what’s rewarding is that almost half of the viewers are young, as young as 18 to 30 years old. We’re reaching an audience that we really want to reach kasi medyo captured mo naman na ’yung older generation. We really wanna capture the younger ones and maybe make them consume news in the end,” Toral said.
This doesn’t mean hard news is being left behind. Toral said ABS-CBN News has also seen strong digital consumption for major developing stories, including political developments and especially, the flood-control controversy.
“We’re doing so many current affairs programs on digital and then ’yung hard news naman natin, continuous pa rin ’yun sa dami ng balita ngayon. We’re happy to say that on digital, maganda ang consumption ng impeachment trial, flood control (coverage). ’Yung live natin ’yan, maganda ’yung consumption… there’s interest.”
ABS-CBN News has also opened the door to collaboration with their news personalities who have built their own YouTube channels, including Karen Davila, Karmina Constantino, Bernadette Sembrano and Dyan Castillejo.
“We share content. So kunwari they get a really good interview, we can tap that and put it on our network. ’Yun ang usapan with them,” Toral said.
Facebook, meanwhile, has taught them another set of newsroom lessons.
Through “Reels Talk,” ABS-CBN News has been experimenting with short, easily consumed videos where experts themselves discuss subjects people commonly search for online.
“On Facebook, we’re also making strides kasi we launched ‘Reels Talk’ with experts kasi napansin namin sa audience, hindi masyadong naniniwala na sa announcer or sa host sa Facebook. Diretso na. So, if there’s an expert, siya na ’yung mismo nagsasalita,” she said.
The subjects can be as practical and as personal as sexual health, dating, kidney disease, workplace concerns or legal questions.
The videos are short, often subtitled and designed for people endlessly scrolling through their feeds, sometimes without having to turn the sound on. This offering, Toral said, is part of understanding not only what audiences want, but how they consume it.
Perhaps, one of the most telling realizations for someone who has spent decades in traditional news is that viewers more and more identify where they encountered a story by the platform, rather than by the news organization that produced it.
“Meaning, when they say — kasi ngayon pabilisan sa walang pasok. ’Yun ang most engaging ‘pag ‘walang pasok’ ang art card. Ang mga tao, sinasabi, ‘Saan mo nakita ’yung balita?’ Sa Facebook or sa X, sa Instagram, sa YouTube, sa TikTok. Hindi sa ABS-CBN (but) sa Facebook. Hindi sa GMA. Ang source nila ng news, ’yung platform. So that’s why nagma-matter ’yung maraming followers,” Toral said.
For traditional news organizations, she said, that makes the ability to adjust to fast-shifting audience behavior even more important. They have to relentlessly keep up with how people consume or engage with their news online.
Even “TV Patrol,” arguably ABS-CBN News’ biggest legacy brand, is not exempt from that thinking.
The flagship newscast marks its 40th anniversary in 2027, and Toral said the milestone deserves to be celebrated, but the newsroom also has to think about what comes after those first four decades, as well as how it can continue to serve and find its audience.
Nevertheless, for all the talk about platforms, algorithms, short-form videos and the all-important first three seconds, Toral said their digital experience has also reaffirmed the enduring power of human stories.
She cited the response to some of ABS-CBN News’ documentaries airing on free TV, YouTube and iWant, such as “Si Bobet at Ako: The Rene Baterbonia documentary” that drew more than 3.5 million views on YouTube alone, as an example of how stories centered on people connect regardless of platform.
“Again, a learning from that really is any human story resonates across all platforms and audiences,” she said.
That journalistic belief in a good human story also shapes how ABS-CBN News looks at an already crowded digital space. But even as so much content is now competing for attention, Toral strongly believes there’s still room for more.
Referring to the celebrity interview show “Oh My Gan!,” she explained, “Actually, sabi nga, ang dami ng gumagawa (ng ganito). But you know, even if maraming gumagawa, there’s always something new you can offer.”
“I think also that the audience is not picky that way na ‘pag napanood na nila ’yung isang artista sa isang interview, hindi na nila panonoorin in another interview. There’s so many people online and we want to meet them where they are.”
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