Viral misinformation

We were deeply saddened by the news that ABS-CBN Corp. had let go of around 100 employees, or about three percent of its workforce, due to declining ad revenues.

- MARY ANN LL. REYES

Last year, the media company's ad revenues rose by 16 percent to P6.7 billion, but this was still way below the P22.9 billion reached in 2019 when it still had its free TV franchise. Congress rejected its franchise renewal in 2020 and from July 2020 to 2021, ABS-CBN reportedly retrenched more than 15,000 employees.

The company's losses widened fivefold to P12.84 billion last year as production costs increased and advertising revenues dropped. The situation ABS-CBN is in, is not surprising. A lot of people no longer watch television for entertainment. Instead, they use other devices such as their laptops or mobile phones to catch the latest news, watch movies on streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and get entertained by news postings on YouTube or TikTok.

Businesses advertise and spend their marketing budgets on digital versus traditional channels, not only because traditional advertising spaces are more expensive as when one would try to land a commercial during a highly watched TV program or event or secure a billboard in a big city but also because the results of traditional marketing are harder to measure compared to digital marketing. Not to mention digital placements can easily have a wider reach, even worldwide.

New media encompasses internet-based forms of advertising such as banner ads, social media and apps, which have gained popularity in the last decade or so as more and more consumers use smartphones.

But advertisers will not set aside traditional media since it complements with new media. Unfortunately, these advertisers will focus their traditional media budget on maybe just the number one or even top two for each form - print, television, radio.