By Marchel Espina

“For decades, there used to be a very solid wall between journalists in the newsroom and the side that runs the business. The journalists are the storytellers and sales the storysellers. But now, with the sustainability of news under threat and traditional advertising revenues going down, journalists themselves now need to juggle between telling the story and selling the story,” Toral said at Digital Media Asia in Manila.

She said ABS-CBN held the Philippines’ first marathon election coverage in 1967 and brought live images of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon in 1969. “In the old golden days of the newsroom, TV ratings were so high, advertising money was overflowing, and the audience was in our hands. Journalists told the audience what was important, what they should know, even what they should be interested in. Then, 2020 happened,” she said.

“The world was hit by the COVID pandemic, and ABS-CBN, once the nation’s largest media organisation, was denied a congressional franchise and had to be shut down,” Toral said.

This led to a massive change in audience consumption habits towards digital, which gave birth to a fragmented audience and the emergence of content creators and tech platforms as news sources, she said.

“If you ask a young student now, where they saw that there was a typhoon and that there were no classes, in the days of old, they will say, ‘we saw it in the Inquirer,’ ‘we saw it in ABS-CBN.’ But now they will say, ‘we saw it on Facebook;’ ‘we saw it on TikTok;’ ‘we saw it on X.’ It’s not the brands anymore of news that they cite as sources,” Toral said.

As a traditional broadcast giant, ABS-CBN found itself with its back against the wall and having no choice but to intentionally pivot to digital, she said.

“Building on what we already had, we tirelessly grew our digital presence,” Toral added.

ABS-CBN News Digital has built a substantial online audience, with 29 million followers on Facebook, 9.1 million on X, 19 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.1 million followers on Instagram, and 2.8 million followers on TikTok. “It was a case of meeting the audience where they are. They are no longer confined to the TV sets that we were used to having when we were still broadcasting, and we had to change our products and formats to keep up with the changing times,” Toral said.

”TV Patrol, our flagship newscast, still airs on primetime at 6:30 in the evening. But whenever we see college students or even high school students visiting ABS-CBN, and we ask them, ‘who watches the news at 6:30?’ Not one hand is raised. They would say, ‘we watch it when our grandmother watches it. We watch it because our dad wants to watch it.’ But intentionally, they will not sit down anymore at 6:30 to see what happens throughout the day. So, we are on YouTube, live. We offer it as video on demand,” she said.

Toral said they have to create a 15-minute short of TV Patrol, which they call TV Patrol Express, for audiences on the go and have only about 15 minutes to spare. 

“We also launched TV Patrol Regional, our answer to hyperlocal needs of certain communities. We also went all out on YouTube, doing the Philippines’ most shocking stories, Possessed, which are stories of exorcism, and SOCO, Scene of the Crime Operatives. Believe me, these products are not on TV, they’re just on YouTube, but they’ve more than paid for themselves in terms of production costs. And most importantly, when we look at the data, millennials and Gen Zs are watching these shows. The very audience we want to reach and grow old with us. On social media, we also have explainers of some on current events, others on lifestyle issues,” she said.

In the December 2025 survey of the Philippine firm Pulse Asia, it shows that 85 percent, or nearly nine out of 10 Filipinos, have access to the internet. And of those 85%, 92% of them use Facebook for news, 56% go to YouTube, 27% use TikTok, 9% watch blogs for news, 7% read from websites, 2% use Instagram, and 1% consume it on X, Toral said.

“In the hallways of CNN Atlanta, there are posters all around the building, ‘Think like a consumer.’ In ABS-CBN, our mission has always been consistent to be in the service of the Filipino. But in these times, who really is this audience that we serve? And the answer is, it is not a monolith. It depends on which platform they are. And it is not a one-size-fits-all,” she said.

“So, who are these viewers who are trying to understand each and every day? We have first the YouTube viewer, seeking depth, context, lead-back experiences. We have the Facebook engager… we also have the TikTok and the real scroller that needs information delivered with impact and speed. First three seconds, you don’t have them, you’ve lost them. We have the website reader, the intentional news consumer looking for text, data, comprehensive reports,” Toral explained.

Journalists now need to make content tailor-fit for each of these kinds of viewers, Toral said. “So based on our data and interaction, Filipino audience needs have evolved. First, they still need news for verification and trust. In an era of disinformation, they need a credible source to debunk fake news. They also need us for clarification and context. They don’t just want to know what happened, but why it matters to their lives,” she added.

“So how do we make the business run? Does knowing the audience really translate to revenue growth? Our working principle, as soon as we know the audience, and we’re able to deliver the content they need and want to consume, comes the revenue. Where the audience is, the money follows. And what we’ve learned so far is monetisation is the outcome, never the starting point. A highly engaged, loyal audience built on trust is the most valuable asset we can all offer to the public, our partners, tech platforms, and advertisers,” Toral said.

There is also a need to diversify revenue streams as it is a must, she said. “For ABS-CBN, we still have free TV and or broadcast revenues and cable subscription. But as we all know, cable is a sunsetting industry. We have our digital platforms. And of all of them, only YouTube and Facebook so far have a good monetisation system,” she said.

She said there had been closures and massive layoffs, but the news still has a role to play in society. As a business, however, news organisations need to reinvent themselves and diversify their revenue streams. “And it is constant change. What worked last year may not necessarily work this year. And we have to go back to the drawing board. That is the tricky part of social media platforms and other tech platforms. But what’s important for us journalists is the constancy of mission,” Toral said.

“Key takeaways in all of this. Forced evolution is a powerful innovator. We had no choice. We were shut down. So our biggest challenge became our greatest opportunity. Second, know your audience on their terms. We cannot dictate anymore. Meet them where they are in the format they prefer. Third, trust is our most monetisable asset. In a world of noise, false information, misinformation, disinformation, bad AI, clarity, and credibility are premium products. And lastly, our mission is our business model. It is, after all, a business. And our business is excellent journalism and public service,” she said.

About the author: Marchel Espina is a freelance journalist from the Philippines and a consultant for WAN-IFRA Women in News.