Medios Nacionales de Cochrane

Logo since 2017

**Medios Nacionales de Cochrane**, branded as **MNC**, is the Cochranean public broadcasting organization based in [Quezon] City, Capital Region. It is a Member-based institution that serves as the national public broadcaster for both radio and television.

Established in 1948 as a national corporation, it became a state-controlled media company in 1972 during Juan Ignacio Giraldi's military dictatorship, tasked to publish propaganda meant to project a positive image for the regime and conceal its countless abuses, before reverting back into it's previous form again in 1986 after Giraldi was overthrown upon the EDSA coup the same year.

It was converted into a Member-based institution in 1990 upon the country's pending conversion into federalism, dispersing scheduling responsibilities to eight (now nine) member networks representing a region, partially tasked to give a voice to an ethnic group in a diverse Cochranean society.

MNC has their budget differing from other public broadcasters, as they employ commercial advertising to supplement other funding methods such as federal government subsidy, fund raising from lottery draws by the [Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office] and fees from privately-owned affiliates and cable & satellite providers.

MNC operates radio networks RNC Nacional (main network), RNC Regional (provincial affairs) and RNC Cultura (classical music). and television services TNC Nacional (main network), TNC Regional (provincial affairs), Telediario 24 (news channel), Kusi-Kusi (kids channel) and TNC Deportes (sports channel).

## History

### Early years, under Nuslon and Neipan control

* 1924: Radio Cochrane Punta del Oro was founded in 1923 by the Government of Cochrane, and began broadcasting in the following year, making it one of Pacifia's very first radio broadcasts.
* 1935: When the First Republic of Cochrane was occupied by the Nuslon Federation and became the latter's territory, radio was then taken over by the NSF, Radio Cochrane PDO was given the call-letters **EZFM-AM**, named after Radio Cochrane's high executive, **F**enway **M**arzack (which continued to become the head of the MNC until the start of Giraldi's military dictatorship in 1972).
* 1942: Cochrane was then occupied by the Neipanese Empire during World War II, and all public radio operations in the country were taken off-air.
* 1945-1946: the Nuslon Federation would then successfully liberate Cochrane in 1945, and would grant the country full independence in the following year, opting the NSF to hand back EZFM-AM to the Cochranean Government, EZFM-AM would rename to **PZFM-AM** in the same year.

### A new republic, creation of the MNC

In the first two years under formal independence, PZFM-AM continued to be owned directly by the Government of Cochrane. It was until 1948 when the foundation of a corporate-controlled organization was crafted into law, named as Medios Nacionales de Cochrane. The creation of the MNC was to ensure that any public broadcasting asset is autonomous from the State and would become editorially independent from it. PZFM-AM was renamed again to **PGC-AM**, meaning **G**overnmental **C**apital.

In the following year, RNC Radio would later begin it's nationwide operations with it's inauguration on February 1, 1949. Being the MNC's first networked service, it started with 6 owned-and-operated stations and 24 privately-owned affiliates reaching 70% of the country, the stations were linked via either land-line, microwave or delayed shipments.

Years hence, the MNC later ventured into Television in 1961, through PGCT-TV (channel 10), which from it's early start, was dreaded with signal interference with Teleislas flagship PZTV in channel 11 and SCT flagship PZAQ-TV in channel 9. It was later alleviated when the latter surrendered PZXL-TV in channel 5 to the authorities as a settlement, letting PGCT to relocate in the newly-given allocation.

With the public broadcaster's sign on into the new medium, comes with the launch of the TNC Nacional network in the same year, with five owned-and-operated stations, it then had another five private affiliates reaching 40% of the country. Experimenting microwave usage in televised activities, TNC Nacional was a part of the government's hopes on having the entire country to access television in an early time.

### Military Dictatorship, EDSA coup and reorganization

On September 28, 1972, after the Military Dictatorship took over the government, it ordered to seize operations of the MNC, both radio and television. It became the official state-run media organization of the new military dictatorship with informative management and strong control in the programming, meant to project a positive image for the dictatorship and conceal its abuses. In 1980, it began DOMSAT broadcasts, and continued to be the only full-time national television broadcaster in Cochrane, the network was also the only permitted for such until 1988, when CTV (Cochrane) began to be permitted to use the same technology.

During the onset of the 1986 EDSA Revolution after Military dictator Juan Ignacio Giraldi was accused of rigging the plebiscite, RNC Nacional participated peacefully on the coup, while TNC Nacional was raided and taken over by the Martinez-led rebels to announce the liberation of the country from a decade of military dictatorship.

After the coup and the subsequent assumption of Corazon Martinez into the presidential seat, the public broadcaster was depoliticized, returning back into a corporate-controlled organization and resumed normal and mainstream programming as what it was before the Military Dictatorship.

Coinciding with the eventual reform of the country's constitution into the federal-parliamentary system, talks between the state and the public media began with the decentralization of the MNC into the member-based provincial corporations model, labeled by legislation as the *sistema radiodifusión integral de cochrane* ("cochranean inclusive broadcasting system"), while retaining it's backlog of private affiliates in suburban to rural areas.

Legislation approved in 1990 to decentralize the public broadcaster into the new model and disperse it's assets into it's newly-instituted members, subsequently the MNC was converted into the governing body of the new member stations. It happened at the same time when the Parliaments of Boerne, Mataros and Bangsa Moro were recognized.

The transition of the MNC from a national corporation into the new member-based provincial corporations model began in that year and was declared complete in 1996, which by that point Cochrane already became a federation. During the transition, province-catering media services RNC Regional and TNC Regional were created, with their stations mostly being former private affiliates in rimshot areas, that were acquired by several state organizations and many of the local government, converting them into regional public independent television stations, complementing with their main national TNC sister stations.

MNC later expanded into the autonomous territory of Teifaros in 1998, with the establishment of new member station Sistema Teifarosiano de Radio y Televisión (STRT). It also held a distinction as being the ninth and youngest member in the MNC, as it's fellow member stations were instituted simultaneously in 1990 under legislative decision.

### Digital television

On 2010, TNC Nacional began experimental DTV broadcasts, with five out of the nine members participating in the then-new transmission format.

Formal DTV operations began the in 2012 with all nine of TNC's member stations including 12 TNC Regional stations.

Analog broadcasts were then permanently shut off in 2017, as a part of the country's mandated switchover to DTV in that year.

### MNC now

Currently, the MNC has nine member stations, owning a total of 44 broadcast media stations in key urban areas of the country, with a total of both 22 radio and television stations.

MNC also maintains network affiliation contracts with 72 suburban to rural private broadcast media stations in the rest of the country, with a total of 22 television affiliates and 50 radio affiliates.

## List of broadcasters

### Member based

MNC's day-to-day activities are co-operated by it's regional/state-wide member networks:

Radio Cochrane Internacional (RCI), Cochrane's international radio service, and Sistema Público de Radiodifusión Cochrane (SPRC), Cochrane's other public broadcaster, are members of the MNC as well, only receiving news, sports and limited advertising provided by the organization.

 Radio Cochrane Internacional | 1965

### Task based

Alongside the member networks that provide programming to the MNC, there are also additional organizations that have statutory functions:

* MNC Noticias: It provides news programming to the MNC's radio & television networks and other state-owned broadcasting holdings.
* MNC Deportes: It provides central sports broadcasts throughout the entire MNC's radio and television networks; created to hold sporting rights without the requirement to be held by an MNC member network.
* MNC Comercial: It provides airtime for advertising to the MNC's commercial radio & television networks; created to regulate commercial influence on the MNC's programming.