Thursday, January 9, 2020

Franchise non-renewal may impact news access

The issue on television network ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal may impact people’s right to access information, a survey said.

ABS-CBN’s 25-year operation is set to expire March 2020. Eight bills are pending at the House of Representatives, awaiting review under the Committee on Legislative Franchises.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said there was no guarantee that the network’s franchise would be renewed.

Congress vowed to have an objective and fair review of the franchise.

An independent non-commissioned survey conducted by political consultancy firm PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. (PAI) found that Congress’ decision on the renewal or non-renewal of the franchise would have a major impact on the people’s right to information on politics and current events.

“According to our research, television is the main source of information used by most Filipinos to stay informed about politics and current events. Among all TV networks, ABS-CBN is the most watched and the most trusted news source. This implies that the possible closure of ABS-CBN’s television news operations, in the event its franchise is not renewed by Congress before its expiration on March 30, would have a major impact on the people’s right to information on matters of public concern,” Aureli Sinsuat, PAI executive director and spokesman said.

The survey called Pahayag VisMin 2019 was conducted among 2,000 registered voters in the Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) from Nov. 15 to 19, 2019. The firm claimed a margin of error of +/- 2.19 percent.

Results of the survey showed that 85 percent of respondents said they obtain news about politics and current events from television. Other top sources of news were from word-of-mouth from relatives (40 percent), radio (37 percent) and friends (33 percent).

Social media and newspapers trailed behind as common sources of news for the respondents, with 8.2 percent and less than 5 percent, respectively.

ABS-CBN also emerged as the most frequently watched and most trusted television channel with 90 percent of respondents saying they frequently watched ABS-CBN and 71 percent saying they trusted ABS-CBN news programs.

GMA followed ABS-CBN as most frequently watched for 82 percent of the respondents. Other most trusted media networks were GMA (69 percent), CNN Philippines (17 percent), PTV-4 (11 percent), and IBC TV (10 percent).

“ABS-CBN going off the air would cause the majority of Filipinos to lose their preferred source of news about politics and government. This could lead to a significant gap in the media infrastructure responsible for educating and informing the people about issues of national and local political importance,” Sinsuat said.

Sinsuat said that ABS-CBN could continue its news programs via digital platforms if a legislative franchise was not granted. But he noted that the lack of last mile connectivity in the Philippines might hinder many Filipinos living in rural and geographically isolated areas from accessing ABS-CBN’s digital news products.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/01/09/news/regions/franchise-non-renewal-may-impact-news-access/672900/

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