TV5 INCURS NET LOSS OF P6.8 BILLION IN 18 MONTHS!

MANILA, Philippines - PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan is not pulling the plug on spending for the conglomerate's media units, although they may be losing money.

Pangilinan said he is giving his newly appointed TV5 chief executive officer Noel Lorenzana enough room to turn around the bleeding network, which lost another P2.8 billion in the first half last year, after losing P4 billion in 2011.

"There's always an effort to turn around TV5," Pangilinan said. "But nothing specific."

The Pangilinan group has allocated P6 billion for capital expenditures this year, roughly the same as last year, when it built TV5's new office in Mandaluyong.

This year's budget won't go to signing bonuses and premiums, with Pangilinan saying the network might end the pirating of more expensive television stars.

Talks are also ongoing for the group's infusion of more capital into BusinessWorld, the country's oldest business daily, raising its stake from 30 percent.

Outgoing TV5 chief Ray Espinosa says BusinessWorld will make a perfect complement to TV5, which is launching its all-English news channel on pay TV by the end of the year or early 2014.

It's called CEO TV, with business news and targeted on BusinessWorld's kind of readers.

"They expressed willingness to allow additional investors. The only question for us is the form and shape of that investment. Whether it will involve new shares or combination of new and old shares," Espinosa said.

"It will be part of the news reporting group. We'd like to closely work with them in business news reporting side," Pangilinan said.

BusinessWorld representatives reserved comment for now, as the talks remain preliminary.

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