MANILA – Ambassador Antonio Cabangon Chua will take control of Radio Philippines Network Inc. (RPN9) in September with his acquisition of the biggest stake in the former government channel.
Cabangon Chua made the acquisition through Solar Television Network, Inc. (STVN), which has a 34-percent stake in RPN9. STVN bought the 34-percent interest of Solar Entertainment Corporation owned by the Tieng family in RPN.
The significant minority interest will allow Cabangon Chua to expand his media interest, which includes national business newspaper Business Mirror, tabloid Pilipino Mirror and Aliw Broadcasting Corp., which operates DWIZ 882 AM and 97.9 Natural FM.
“We are looking forward to working closely with the other shareholders of the network which includes the Benedicto family and the Philippine Government,” Cabangon Chua said in a statement.
20 percent of RPN is owned by the government, 14 percent by private individuals, and the remaining 32 percent by Far Eastern Managers and Investors Inc., which is held by RPN9 founder the Benedicto family.
Cabangon Chua was elected Chairman of STVN in July. Cabangon Chua and Benjamin Ramos, President of Business Mirror and STVN, were also elected into the Board of Directors of RPN 9.
The agreement between Cabangon Chua and the Solar group calls for the ceding of the Solar brand and logo. STVN will also forego the Solar name and the change in its corporate name will take place before the end of 2014.
Starting on August 23, Solar News Channel will officially change its name to 9TV, while the Solar News organization will be known as 9News.
Earlier this year, Aliw Broadcasting and RPN 9 entered into an agreement where some of DWIZ’s radio programs aired over the 14 RPN AM stations nationwide. The agreement enabled RPN9 to obtain credible programming at no additional cost and provide opportunities for selling commercial spots for the DWIZ programs. Meanwhile, Aliw was able to expand its audience reach by gaining access to RPN’s provincial stations, making DWIZ’s program more attractive to Manila-based national advertisers.
Cabangon Chua said, “I’m really excited about how we can leverage our existing media infrastructure and organization with that of STVN, which is the main content provider of RPN9.”
