ASEAN Summit Nothing – News5 No Longer Involved (Mostly) in ASEAN Summit

The possible final straw: News5’s lack of involvement in the 2017 ASEAN Summit was an indication that the organization is nearing its end, and the emphasis towards sports only made it worse. (Logo courtesy of ASEAN)

One seemingly moribund news organization is obviously non-committal when it comes to the ASEAN Summit.

Perhaps the biggest political event in the Philippines this year, the 2017 ASEAN Summit had it all. Whether it is the first visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to the country or the countless hours of talks between the ASEAN member states and top nations such as the U.S., China, Canada and Australia, the four-day event was for the most part memorable.

But not all of the Philippines’ top networks were around to cover those whirlwind four days. Just ask News5.

As expected, Luchi Cruz-Valdes and co. made little noise when it comes to coverage of the ASEAN Summit. And despite assigning some of their reporters (if there is any) to cover the said event, not to mention providing some live coverage on social media, the ASEAN Summit was buried in the pecking order in favor of sensational crime stories.

At least sister network Bloomberg Television Philippines did its share. As for the main network, nada.

Blame ESPN5 for all of this. After all, it was Chot Reyes who basically killed ‘Aksyon sa Umaga’, cut ‘Aksyon Tonite’ in half, and turned ‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’ into a ‘Hoy Gising’ wannabe.

They may still have ‘Aksyon Prime’ as their primary news program, but then again it has become a constant distraction to ESPN5’s sports coverage.

I have already written a eulogy that paid tribute to News5 and its ‘proud’ heritage. But as the ASEAN Summit neared, I thought to myself,

“Perhaps there is still a way to save News5 from the verge of collapse'”.

As it turned out, Chot Reyes was no longer committed to help News5 and instead made ESPN5 his ‘baby’. With sports now dominating TV5 and (for the most part) sister network AksyonTV, there is no room for said network to make the ASEAN Summit a must-see event the same way its rivals from Timog, Mother Ignacia, Shaw Boulevard and Visayas Avenue did.

It is safe to say that the time is now to pay our last respects to News5. Chot Reyes can dissolve this ‘pain in his butt’ anytime he wants, because as it stands, this division’s pain and suffering is unbearable and impossible to heal.

Hopefully the remnants of News5 will find a new home soon in the event that it will be dissolved. Good luck.

TV5 Moves to the New TV5 Media Center

The computer-generated model of the TV5 Media Center at the corner of Reliance and Sheridan in Mandaluyong City.

Today is the first working day for News5 employees in its new headquarters in Mandaluyong City. The TV5 Media Center, a brainchild of owner Manny V. Pangilinan, will serve as the corporate headquarters of the network, and will feature six TV studios, newsrooms for News5, post-production facilities, a radio booth for Radyo5 92.3 News FM, technical operating rooms, and production space for TV5’s other programs.

Construction of the TV5 Media Center began on January 2011, and took nearly three years to complete. The new edifice is built as part of TV5’s ongoing efforts to update existing technologies and facilities for a seamless transition to digital broadcasting. In addition, its close proximity to the center of Metro Manila and its highly elevated location should yield a much-improved broadcast signal.

With the move to the new Media Center, TV5 becomes the fourth major broadcast network to operate in Mandaluyong City. Quest Broadcasting’s Magic 89.9, 99.5 Play FM and Jam 88.3, and FBS Radio’s Mellow 947 currently operate at Paragon Plaza in the corner of EDSA and Reliance, while Solar Entertainment currently operate at the Worldwide Corporate Center in Shaw Boulevard.

The opening of the TV5 Media Center should give a huge boost for the Kapatid network, as it continues to find its niche as an alternative to common programming.