ABS-CBN and TV5 on Thursday said they have agreed to terminate their partnership deals after some lawmakers and the National Telecommunications Commission raised concerns over their joint venture.
The Lopez-owned company and Cignal Cable Corp., in disclosures to both the Philippine Stock Exchange and Securities and Exchange Commission, said they have "mutually agreed" to end their partnership over Cignal Cable's acquisition of 38.88% equity interest in Sky Cable.
In a separate disclosure by TV5 and ABS-CBN, they also said they have decided to terminate the investment agreement that covers ABS-CBN's acquisition of 34.99% equity interest in TV5.
The joint venture would have given ABS-CBN a free TV platform for its content, which had been largely limited to streaming since the House of Representatives denied its petition for a franchise renewal in 2020, at the height of the pandemic.
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It would have also given TV5 much-needed content after settling for years in third place, behind ABS-CBN and GMA Network.
ABS-CBN and TV5 previously said they would pause their partnership to allow them to address the concerns of lawmakers and the NTC.
At least three lawmakers have filed resolutions at the House of Representatives seeking an investigation into the proposed deal between ABS-CBN and TV5.
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