Update on Free TV News and Current Affairs Channels in the Philippines

THE FREE-TV news landscape in the Philippines remains dynamic, constituting a mix of long-standing commercial networks, state broadcasters, religious-owned channels, and a growing number of blocktimed programs and digital entrants. The continuing shift to digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DTTB) has given more Filipinos access to a richer diversity of news and current affairs programming on free-to-air news channels.

Established Free TV Channels

GMA Network continues to dominate the free television space with 24 Oras as its flagship newscast, complemented by Saksi and the Sunday magazine show Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho. Its secondary channel, GTV, features Balitanghali and State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, maintaining a steady presence in television news and public affairs. GMA’s digital transmission has expanded its already extensive nationwide reach – making it the most accessible network in the country.

TV5 has strengthened its position as a major player, delivering several long-standing free TV news programs that have led in the field for decades: Frontline Pilipinas, The Big Story, and Ted Failon at DJ Chacha combine breaking news and commentary with human-interest narratives. TV5’s digital partner channels, One News and One PH, complement its free TV broadcasts with continuous news and current affairs programming available through digital terrestrial signals.

State-Owned Media

The People’s Television Network (PTV-4) remains the government’s flagship broadcast outlet, airing PTV News Tonight, Public Briefing #LagingHandaPH, and The Nation’s Business. Its concentration on government policies and programs and official events connects the general public to national affairs. Airing the regular press briefings of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), and partnering with state agencies in their public service campaigns, keep ordinary people informed about official activities. 

Meanwhile, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13), also under PCO, expanded its lineup of news and public affairs programs, including Bagong Pilipinas-PBBM: Lingkod ng Bayan, Ito ang Kongreso, and Cabinet@Work. In 2024, the network introduced Ang Senado ng Pilipinas, Handa Sakuna, and Dok True Ba?. 

Religious-Owned Broadcasters

Net 25, owned by Iglesia Ni Cristo’s Eagle Broadcasting Corporation, sustains its news lineup with Eagle News Live, Eagle News International, and Responde. Similarly, INCTV (Channel 49) airs INCTV News Live, combining institutional updates with broader news segments, while Light TV, operated by ZOE Broadcasting, airs NewsLight, offering faith-based interpretations of current events. 

The faith communities of the country turn to these media sources to ensure their sense of religious identity. 

Blocktimers and Content Partnerships

Blocktiming has always been a factor in the growth of Philippine television.  The failure of ABS-CBN to renew its franchise led to a surge of independent producers and networks to use blocktiming to air news programs through leased airtime. 

ABS-CBN, despite the non-renewal of its franchise in 2020, has sustained its flagship news operations through its partnership with ZOE Broadcasting Network. Its flagship newscast TV Patrol airs on the free-to-air channel A2Z, along with other current affairs programs. The arrangement, a creative survival strategy, has allowed ABS-CBN to retain a free-TV audience while focusing on digital and streaming expansion.

Relatively new to the game, BEAM TV (Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media) has evolved as a major platform for leased channels. Among its key blocktimers is the Bilyonaryo News Channel (BNC), launched in September 2024 by Prage Management Corporation, the same company behind the Bilyonaryo and Politiko that earlier opened as news websites. BNC offers a lineup of business and political programs, including Agenda with Cito Beltran, Follow the Money, The Scorecard, Politiko Nightly, and At the Forefront hosted by Pinky Webb. Featuring veteran journalists and established political personalities, BNC has gained audiences interested in finance, governance, and elite affairs. 

The current landscape has also drawn known brands, reviving their audience pull. NewsWatch Plus, operated by Broadreach Media (parent of Nine Media Corporation), revived the NewsWatch brand after CNN Philippines ceased operations in January 2024; NewsWatch Plus launched online in July 2024 and later moved to blocktime slots on RPTV and Aliw Channel 23 as NewsWatch Now and NewsWatch Live. 

From legacy to digital

The current scene reveals not just the resilience of the Philippine free TV news ecosystem but also its capacity for reinvention. 

Television remains a central medium for public information. Broadcasters, both old and new, have adapted to digital platforms, experimenting with partnerships, blocktimers, and cross-platform production to maintain visibility.

But the landscape also highlights uneven access and concentrated ownership. GMA and TV5 still dominate nationwide reach and advertising. State channels expand coverage but face questions about independence. Faith-based networks such as Net 25, Light TV, and INCTV connect with Christian communities with religious content, and only incidentally serve up news segments. 

New blocktimers like Bilyonaryo News Channel and NewsWatch Plus broaden content but risk blurring the lines that separate news from their sources, in these cases, from business as well as politics. 

Overall, free TV in the Philippines is more diverse but not necessarily more independent. 

The challenge for regulators, journalists, and audiences alike is to ensure that as technology evolves, the public interest, not political or corporate power, remains at the center of free television in the Philippines.