ABS-CBN lets go of S+A team

ABS-CBN made the tough decision to let go of its entire sports division team following the non-renewal of the station’s franchise last week. 

Thursday afternoon, the entire division met online with head of Integrated Sports Dino Laurena, who personally expressed his gratitude to each and every member of the team for telling the story of the Filipino athlete.

“And so ends this journey.

“I made the painful announcement to our beloved sports team today. I’ve been on this road before and I can assure you, it is not something I will swear even on people that I don’t like. It is heart-wrenchingly painful,” read Laurena’s Facebook post.

Over 70 regular employees from S+A were let go, including its TV production and digital team.

Besides them, independent workers like cameramen and crew, and talents like commentators and show hosts also lost their livelihoods.

Regular employees like the company’s editors, writers, and social media team will continue to chronicle the lives of the country’s athletes until August 31.

“In each of their eyes, I saw the eyes of their loved ones. I tried to hold back my tears as I hoped to be strong and give them comfort. I pray that God gives us the grace to weather the challenge that we will all face in the coming days,” continued Laurena.

With this, collegiate leagues like the UAAP, NCAA, and PVL will have to find new homes. Those leagues will now need a new station to house their events.

For now, and until this storm has cleared, Laurena is asking for prayers for each and every member of ABS-CBN Sports who are about to lose the place they called home.

“Please include our beloved ABS-CBN Sports team in your prayers. They have served our audience well as advocates of the best values in sports.”

https://tiebreakertimes.com.ph/tbt/abs-cbn-lets-go-sa-team/186798

ABS-CBN is shutting down its sports department

Dino Laurena, head of ABS CBN Integrated Sports, confirmed the move to shut down its Sports + Action arm in an unofficial Facebook message.

“I made the painful announcement to our beloved Sports team today. I've been on this road before and I can assure you, it on people I don't like. It is heart-wrenchingly painful,” wrote Laurena in an unofficial statement on his wall.

With the fate of S+A, the production team behind the television coverage of numerous sports events are expected to be affected.

And this will include, the coming 83rd season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, Season 96 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and the Premier Volleyball League, among others.

“In each of their eyes, I saw the eyes of their loved ones... I tried to hold back my tears as I hoped to be strong and give them comfort. I pray that God give us the grace to weather the challenges that we will all face in the coming days,” added Laurena.

Over 70 regular employees from S+A will be affected.

More layoffs from within the network are expected to take place following the non-renewal of the ABS CBN franchise by congress last week.

The network is now implementing a retrenchment program that will take effect by Aug. 31.

“We are doing all we can to mitigate the pain that will be felt by those affected,” said network officials in an unofficial disclosure.

https://manilastandard.net/sports/sports-plus/328830/abs-cbn-is-shutting-down-its-sports-department-.html

ABS-CBN Sports shuts down amid massive staff retrenchment

Major sports leagues like the UAAP and NCAA now need to find other broadcast partners

More media practitioners stand to lose their livelihood as embattled media giant ABS-CBN officially shut down its Sports division on Thursday, July 16.

Integrated Sports head Dino Laurena broke the tragic news to his staff online as other departments like Current Affairs, Lifestyle, Research and MOR FM Radio prepare to shut down as well.

“And so ends this journey,” Laurena wrote in a Facebook post after a virtual meeting with his Sports staff.

“I made the painful announcement to our beloved Sports team today. I’ve been on this road before and I can assure you, it is not something I will swear even on people I don’t like.”

“It is heart-wrenchingly painful.”

With this, major sports leagues like the UAAP, NCAA and PVL will now have to find other broadcast partners.

Over the years, ABS-CBN Sports has been at the forefront of Philippine sports broadcasting and online media thanks to their hardworking team of journalists, producers and other content creators.

As the weight of Congress’ decision to deny ABS-CBN a franchise renewal continues to ravage through families’ livelihoods, Laurena is asking for prayers while they endure yet another dark chapter in their lives.

“Please include our beloved ABS-CBN Sports team in your prayers,” he wrote. “They have served our audience well as advocates of the best values in sports.”

“We are ABS-CBN Sports, in the service of the Filipino sports fans. Kapamilya Forever!” he concluded. – Rappler.com

https://rappler.com/sports/abs-cbn-sports-shutdown-staff-retrenchment

Final buzzer sounds for ABS-CBN Sports

The sports arm of ABS-CBN is among the departments affected by the corporation's on-going retrenchment.

ABS-CBN Corp. announced on Wednesday that it will cease the operations of some of its businesses and lay off workers effective August 31, 2020, following the non-renewal of its franchise.

Its sports unit is among those that will cease operations, with Dino Laurena, the head of Integrated Sports, confirming the development on his personal Facebook page.

"The final buzzer," he said. "So ends this journey… I made the painful announcement to our beloved Sports team today."

"I've been on this road before, and I can assure you, it is not something I will swear even on people I don't like. It is heart-wrenchingly painful," he added.

Laurena hailed his team, saying they "have served our audience well as advocates of the best values in sports."

Some of ABS-CBN Sports+Action's on-air talents have expressed their sadness over the retrenchment, including former volleyball star Gretchen Ho and former University of the Philippines basketball player Mikee Reyes.

It remains to be seen how this development will affect leagues that air on ABS-CBN Sports+Action, including the UAAP, NCAA, and the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), among others.

The NCAA and the PVL still have live contracts with ABS-CBN, while the UAAP's contract ended last May 31. 

The UAAP has called ABS-CBN Sports its home since 2000, and league officials said in June that they are in negotiations with the network regarding the broadcast partnership.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/16/20/final-buzzer-sounds-for-abs-cbn-sports

ABS-CBN shuts down sports department

ABS-CBN Sports will cease to exist effective Aug. 31 as a result of the non-renewal of the network’s franchise by the House of Representatives last week.

The network’s head of Integrated Sports Dino Laurena confirmed the sad news in a post on his personal Facebook page on Thursday, describing it as “The Final Buzzer” for their sports division.

“And so ends this journey… I made the painful announcement to our beloved Sports team today. I’ve been on this road before and I can assure, it is not something I will swear even on people I don’t like. It’s heart-wrenchingly painful,” read Mr. Laurena’s post.

On Wednesday, ABS-CBN released a statement that it will be implementing a retrenchment program covering its subsidiaries as well effective Aug. 31, 2020, following Congress’ non-renewal of its franchise.  

ABS-CBN said that while it hurts to implement the retrenchment program, it was something it had to do to keep the company going.

Over 70 regular employees from the sports division are expected to be let go, including members of its TV production and online team. Also affected by the retrenchment are independent personnel (cameramen and crew) and talents like game commentators and show hosts.

ABS-CBN’s S+A channel has been home to a number sports leagues in the country, namely the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Premier Volleyball League (PVL) and Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.

Also shown on the channel are events of international mixed martial arts group ONE Championship.

Aforementioned leagues said they were weighing their options in the aftermath of Congress’ thumb-down of ABS-CBN’s application for renewal.

The NCAA and the PVL still have live contracts with ABS-CBN, while the UAAP’s contract ended last May 31. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

https://www.bworldonline.com/abs-cbn-shuts-down-sports-department/