Solar News, along with the Solar News Channel, will officially become 9News and 9TV, respectively. The change will take effect on August 23. (Logo courtesy of 9News)
Channel 9 on Philippine free TV has a new name.
On August 23, Solar News Channel will officially rename themselves as 9TV, leaving behind its iconic ‘sun’ logo and blue and yellow scheme in favor of a more generic blue and red branding. In addition, the Solar News organization will change their name to 9News.
The announcement was first made on August 13 through a Twitter post of 9News senior anchor Jing Magsaysay. According to the said statement, the network’s rebrand ‘marks the beginning of the channel’s thrust to reach a wider audience and to strengthen its presence on free TV RPN-9.
Other than the brand change, the staff, objectives and values, and programming will be retained. However, the previously announced Kids Weekend, originally slated to premiere last August 16, will now be launched this Saturday, alongside other programs aimed towards a bigger audience.
The seeds of Channel 9’s rebrand were first sown in November 2013, when Ramon Ang acquired Solar News and a stake on RPN-9 from Solar Entertainment. Soon after, SNC and ETC traded channels, with SNC moving to RPN-9 and ETC to SBN-21.
Then in late July and early August, all news programs of SNC dropped the ‘Solar’ name, while the ‘sun’ logo and Solar News signage were taken off the network’s studios in Mandaluyong. And in a sign of things to come, all reporters of the said network are now required to use the 9News name after every report.
That said, the rebrand of the Solar News Channel to 9TV will officially mark the end of Solar Entertainment’s decade-long relationship with RPN. Solar was essential in privatizing RPN after two decades of government sequestration, but the loss of finances also led to their sale of Solar News and RPN to Ramon Ang, who promptly changed the direction of Channel 9.
This Saturday will mark a new era in Channel 9’s storied yet tumultuous history. And for 9TV, it is time to start fresh.
From the Tube 
To reach a wider audience share and to strengthen its presence on 9TV is to have a live sports event like airing NBA and PBA in future back to RPN 9, airing boxing events live especially Manny Pacquiao, airing some foreign movies as like as TV5 and GMA 7 whether dub in Filipino or not, airing some imported game shows and reality shows.
That will only happen once they decided to rebrand again as RPN. For now, tiis-tiis muna sa mga news in English with 9TV, not to mention those talk shows and kids’ programs.
And besides, madami nang entertainment networks sa free TV ngayon. Remember, in the later years of RPN-9 (prior to the full takeover of Solar), they couldn’t even compete against bigger entertainment channels like GMA, ABS and TV5. You can leave these channels alone for entertainment, basta kailangan ng konting diversity na pwedeng pagpilian ng niche viewers.
Like the song says: “And now we’re starting over again”
Finally binalik na ang RPN that I remembered when I was a child, (sorta)
Not quite. It’s still the same news and public affairs program, with a kids’ block thrown in, but only in a different name which is 9TV.
It’s alright. At least hindi na Solar ang may ari.
Balik nyo eat bulaga dyan sa chanel 9 lalakas ulit yan, naalala ko kasikatan ng broadcast city, with 9 and 13, wala pang abs nun gma vs braodcast city.
Unfortunately, with EB performing well on GMA, imposible ang proposal mo. Saka under contract pa rin ang EB at TAPE sa GMA.
And move on. 2014 na, hindi 1980s.
They are still under contract with GMA until 2017.
Yep. And EB is doing well with GMA so they won’t be leaving that station anytime soon.
Woohooo! Sana mag offer sila ng mas magagandang programa, para nman may competition sa market! I miss weekly series on a regular night, ngaun pang may IWanTv i can watch ABS anytime.
Unfortunately, 9TV is mostly news and information, catering to a niche audience. And besides, bago pa lang sila rito.
Also, let ABS, GMA and TV5 do the entertainment side. Sila ang may power sa masa. The other stations, like 9TV, can cater to a specific audience who want something else.
Antonio Cabangon-Chua is now the chairman of 9TV so expect him to bring some of his DWIZ people to the new channel led by Rey Langit and Alex Santos.
Alex used to be with ABS-CBN, remember?
Yep.
Who are the two men in the photo called “9News’ anchor lineup” posted by MNP’s FB page?
In order to bolster’s 9TV’s image, the channel may buy airing rights to some informative (not entertainment) shows that are never before seen on Philippine Free and Cable TV.
Gani Oro (Serbisyo All Access) and Jinno Rufino (Sportsdesk). Jinno though is still with Solar-owned Basketball TV, which is why his status on Sportsdesk now that Solar no longer owns the soon-to-be 9TV remains unknown.
And yes, some new informative programs may be the best option for 9TV. But we’ll have to stay tuned for more updates on their programs.
I think, Ralph, most likely, Cesca Litton may have to find a new partner in Sportsdesk.
Perhaps. But it’s also possible that Jinno can upgrade his status to freelancer. After all, his BTV partner Riki Flores is also with Magic, just like virtually every host with a sports background.
Puwedeng mangyari. I’m sure Wilson Tieng wouldn’t mind.
By the way, Ralph, according to 9News’ Janina Sanchez, Wilson Tieng resigned from RPN because of health reasons. He is diabetic.
Ok.
Sana may reality programs sila like History Channel or documentaries,tama na ang pelikula or shopping show
That’s even better.
and they signed on with a simple change of the logo at 12mn of the 23rd during the Nightly News replay.
Kudos. Welcome to the 9TV era, RPN.
Verify your info. Ramon Ang of SMC never acquire any share or property from RPN9.
That was first reported in November by Spin.PH. Other news outlets then followed. We’ll clarify this issue in a future article.
I watched small act,big stories last sunday d show is okay but its only 30 minutes why not make it 1 hour coz program is interesting plus d program is in tagalog language.they can also hire alex santos and rey langit combined together in news program but better their news program is tagalog.since kids weekend have a positive response to viewers why not they also put kids shows every weekdays.provide showbiz oriented show also like showbiz ka before.
Next time, can you please correct your English? It’s difficult to understand what you’re saying.
And besides, 9TV is just a week old so they have to get their feet wet first for the next few weeks. Also, kids shows are on weekends only since there is little news to report on those days.
And please, no showbiz programs since 9TV does not want any form of sensationalism in their network.
Small Acts, Big Stories is made for only 30 minutes because the title says it all: small acts for 30 minutes, but big stories to tell. Also 9TV does not plan to have a Tagalog newscast anytime soon. They are doing just fine with their mostly English newscasts.
Sana 9tv will air sports programs specially basketball,posible ba na si alex santos o rey langit will be back on television since the owner of dwiz is now d major shareholder of rpn?newswatch request by many to revive and back to television!
For now, they are focused on news and information. Yung sports, saka na yun, but hopefully they’ll get there.
As for Alex Santos and Rey Langit, yes they are DWIZ talents, pero in Rey’s case, may blocktime show pa siya sa PTV, while Alex chose to do radio first following his acrimonious exit from ABS-CBN. So out of the question muna sila.
Tapos, the possible revival of Newswatch is also out of the question, since kaka-rebrand lang ng 9TV.
And as far as I know, Alex Santos has to wait for a year before he can go back to TV following his departure from ABS.
bakit pa nila pinakawalan ang nba at pba sa solar tv 9 at bakit kailangan pa nila maging etc?
Kapos na sila sa pera, hence the reason why the NBA and PBA were dropped on Channel 9.
Rebranding as ETC was a huge risk, kasi by request ito ng mga teenagers na ilipat ito sa Channel 9. Turns out they lost money too.
Just asking only they r saying that 9tv is more on news,documentaries,infotainment but how about kids weekend,boys ride out,something to crew on?r these shows r news?.suggestion only if 9tv will considered.marami kasing american shows n magaganda n pinapalabas s etc why not some will move to 9tv and put it to primetime.
Kids Weekend, BRO and Something to Chew On are qualified as infotainment.
ETC, by the way, is still with Solar Entertainment, and 9TV is no longer under Solar’s management. So imposible yung suggestion mo. Better suggest something related to news and info just to make sense of the network’s purpose.
How about reviving the battle of the brains or they produce a show that similar to battle of d brains this program is educational and more on infotainment.are they can also produce a magazine show like kapuso mo,jessica soho?
A local magazine show will do. Pero not an educational quiz show since hindi na relevant yan. Pwede pa yung mala-NGC or Discovery na program.
9TV already has Stories which is a documentary show in itself,
Sana kunin ng 9tv ang rights to air pba wala p kasing tv network if san i a2ir this october.mukhang malabo kc s atc@ibc mapanood since all d shows of atc is cancelled to air to ibc.sana s n lang ang pba.
I think it’s the PBA D-League you’re referring. Saka nasa TV5 pa rin ang PBA.
Bkit di pagsamahin s isang tagalog news program sina gene oro at pia hontiveros pwede sila i tandem.suggestion din since karamihan s news program is presented in english why not maglagay sila s screen ng tagalog sub tittle translations even ang stories n very educational dapat lagyan ng tagalog sub tittle translations.9tv go for sports show specially basketball.
May Sports Desk na ang 9TV, so they don’t need another sports show.
As for a Tagalog newscast, imposible na yun since sobrang loaded na ang lineup nila. And 9TV caters more to the niche upper class and not the masses, so making a Tagalog newscast would clash with their viewing audiences’ preferences. Kahit nga subtitling or converting their news programs to Tagalog won’t do the trick.
9TV already has newscasts in Cebuano and Kapampangan. Airing a Tagalog newscast is already monotonous since that channel has pioneered newscasts in local dialects.
Yes. Sobrang madami ngayong mga Tagalog newscasts sa TV.
Apologies, but 9TV is now prioritizing newscasts in other Philippine languages and English; “Serbisyo All Access” is the only Tagalog-language program, and you should deal with it, because 9TV’s audience is quitr different.
That’s right. There’s just one too many Tagalog newscasts today.
Hello! Would you know if the Today Show and Today’s Talk will be aired again? Thanks!
Right now I don’t know about that. They’ve been preempted regularly due to live events such as Senate hearings and presidential speeches.
Not to mention special coverages of typhoons and floods like what happened in Metro Manila last Friday.
As a result, it’s practically impossible for them to air Today with all these live news coverages.
I really hope they bring them back. Thanks for your quick reply!
9TV is no longer a news channel, said 9TV Philippines Facebook Fanpage.
Still, majority of their content is news despite their claims.
Just sad to see Solar News get out. In good terms, in my viewpoint, it was a good alternative to ANC and other sources for news, no noise, to name a few, plus good journalists. But in bad terms, some of the good journalists left 2 years after (especially Nancy Irlanda who is currently an ANC talent) and replaced it with the EMAJs (Except Roanna Jamir).
It’s disappointing that the ‘alternative’ image of Solar News (now CNNPH) is ruined. Just like what I keep on asking Where can I find alternative news sources aside from ABS-CBN, GMA, TV5, and the minor networks?
Wala na. Sayang na ang mga pinaghirapan ng mga Tieng. Nalugi nga sila sa channel 9, kaya binenta na ang Solar Television Network sa ALC Group ni Ambassador Cabagon-Chua. Hanggang ngayon, nangangapa na ang CNN PH dahil sa pambabatikos sa naturang network mula noong pumasok na ang mga EMAJs, lalo na sa Media Newser PH. Anong nangyari kay Jing Magsaysay?
For those looking for alternatives, it looks like you have no choice but to rely on print media and online.
Jing is currently paired with Mai Rodriguez for the noontime newscast Newsroom.
Either way, better go online or subscribe to old-school newspapers just to get the news you want. So much for alternative options for news channels which don’t improve.