ANC, iWant and Star Cinema are among the ABS-CBN Corp. subsidiaries that will continue to operate despite their parent company being ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to cease broadcast operations on Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, the network went off air to comply with the directive of the agency to stop operating its free-to-air television and radio stations nationwide after its 25-year congressional franchise expired on May 4.
It was also given 10 days to respond “as to why frequencies assigned to it should not be recalled,” NTC said.
ABS-CBN reported on Tuesday that it will continue to deliver news and information as well as other content via its other platforms.
ANC will continue broadcasting as the NTC order did not cover cable news channels.
“ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) is not covered by the order and will continue to deliver crucial and timely information on air,” ANC said on its Twitter account.
ABS-CBN content will also be delivered via its video streaming service and app, iWant.
ABS-CBN teleseryes, talk and variety shows will be available on demand on iWant.
iWant said more than 1,000 films are also offered for free.
News, on the other hand, will be streaming via ANC Live Channel.
ABS-CBN’s movie-making arm Star Cinema is not covered by NTC’s cease and desist order, as well as such online sites news.abs-cbn.com, push.abs-cbn.com and sports.abs-cbn.com.
ABS-CBN also maintains its YouTube channels and Facebook accounts. The ABS-CBN Entertainment channel and ABS-CBN News channel on YouTube have more than 27 million and nine million subscribers, respectively, said the network.
ABS-CBN has over 23 million followers, while ABS-CBN News has over 19 million followers on Facebook.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement issued Tuesday, the network’s international flagship channel The Filipino Channel assured subscribers that it will “remain and continue to deliver relevant news and information, TV shows and movies across our different channels and platforms via cable and satellite, IPTV and TFC Online.”
Reiterating an earlier statement issued by ABS-CBN, TFC further said, “We trust that the Philippine government will decide on our franchise with the best interest of the Filipino people in mind, recognizing ABS-CBN’s role and efforts in providing the latest news and information, especially during these challenging times.”
