The world of Philippine business shows just got more competitive despite shrinking advertising budgets for free and cable television and a limited market for such programs.
After leaving the corporate world last December as group head of corporate communications of telco giant PLDT Incorporated, veteran broadcast journalist Cathy Yang is returning to her roots of business journalism.
On Tuesday, February 4, Yang officially announced the launch next week of her new show, Money Talks with Cathy Yang (MTCY), one of three morning programs on her former PLDT boss Manny Pangilinan’s English news channel, One News, which is part of the tycoon’s MediaQuest media empire. The two others are Morning Matters with Gretchen Ho and News and Views with Angelo and Angela Castro.
Being a long-time journalist hosting shows such as Market Edge on the Lopez-led ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) and anchoring for various news organizations abroad, Yang was asked in a press conference what new outcomes can be expected from her show, which will air 9:30 am, Mondays to Fridays, on Cignal TV Channel 250 (for High Definition) and Channel 8 (for Standard Definition). It will also be available on Cignal TV’s Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, Cignal Play.
And her answer probably reflects her learnings from working for more than four years with PLDT, where there’s one overarching target that must be achieved: the bottomline.
“Sabi nga ni Gretchen [Ho] (As Gretchen Ho said), ‘Start the day strong,’ sa akin naman sa (in my case with) Money Talks with Cathy Yang, start the day profitable. So, hopefully, mas kumita kami…(we will earn more),” Yang said, noting that the launch almost coincides with the start of the campaign period for national elective posts in the Philippines’ 2025 midterm elections on February 11.
When she was working with PLDT, Yang had a show, Thought Leaders with Cathy Yang, but making it profitable was likely not her major concern then since some of the issues and guests were related to corporate interests.
But that has now changed since Yang, aside from hosting duties, is also the head of programs of Pangilinan’s cable business, Cignal TV, the Philippines’ leading direct-to-home satellite provider.
Profit in 2025 could make or break a number of shows in traditional media which is faced with much lower revenues as companies shift their advertising budgets to digital media and even social media influencers.
As Yang partly explained in a recent interview with public relations outfit Telum Media, “Social media is where the fiercest battles are fought. Radio and TV are complements to the online world. The journalist, program, or news team which gets to push news and information first from broadcast to the digital space is not what will define who commands the attention and respect of the discriminating audiences or netizens out there: it’s the one who gets the facts right first, and fast.”
Yang’s main competitor in the morning time slot includes Business Outlook on ANC, co-hosted by business journalist Salve Duplito and Ron Cruz, which is now twice a day, from 9 am to 10 am and 8 pm to 9 pm, Mondays to Fridays. Like Money Talks with Cathy Yang, the show also has both cable and online presence.
The ABS-CBN News Channel also recently revamped its lineup in a bid to get more revenues with ANC’S Market Edge, now hosted by Yang’s former mentee, Michelle Ong, moving to 3 pm, Mondays to Fridays.
Another business-oriented news platform, Bilyonaryo News Channel, was launched last year following the closure of CNN Philippines. – Rappler.com
