Blocktime agreement and subsequent purchase by Solar
On January 1, 2008, Solar Entertainment Corporation began to lease airtime on SBN, choosing to broadcast programming from its entertainment channel ETC.[4] Months prior to the deal, SkyCable stated that they would offer less "redundant" programming and feature more series that had never been aired in the country before, but reports surfaced that channels operated by Solar were pulled due to a dispute; SkyCable's owner, ABS-CBN Corporation, believed that Solar's lower fees for advertising on its channels were causing ABS-CBN to lose revenue. The new blocktime deal between SBN, Radio Philippines Network, Rajah Broadcasting Network, and Solar is said to be a part of the latter's retaliation to Sky.
In mid-2010, GemCom divested all of its 97% equity share in SBN to Solar Entertainment for Php 368.8 million. Since then, SBN became a fully owned subsidiary of Solar.
When Solar TV ventured as a Solar's broadcast television arm, after Solar acquired a 34% majority stake of Radio Philippines Network from the Philippine government as a part of RPN/IBC privatization in 2011, ETC was transferred from SBN to RPN. Meanwhile, SBN and Solar created news and talk channel Talk TV, with both parties enjoying a 50% share of the channel. The newly created channel conducted its test broadcast until March 31, 2011, with full operation commencing on April 1, 2011. By January 16, 2012, Talk TV became the first home of Solar's newly created division, Solar News. The first local news event covered was the Renato Corona impeachment trial. On October 30, Talk TV was relaunched as the Solar News Channel. Though it was claimed as "the first 24-hour English news channel on free-to-air TV", SBN (who holds free-to-air broadcast rights of SNC) never materialized SNC's slogan.
On December 1, 2013, Solar News Channel moved to RPN to allow SNC's wider coverage, while ETC returned to SBN a day before.[5][6][7][8] (SNC and RPN, however, were sold to ALC Group of Companies chair, the late Amb. Antonio Cabangon Chua, in August the following year, due to the Tieng's loss of revenue after investing on RPN.)
On July 26, 2019, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11354 which renewed SBN's legislative franchise for another 25 years. The law granted SBN a franchise to construct, install, operate, and maintain, for commercial purposes, radio broadcasting stations and television stations, including digital television system, with the corresponding facilities such as relay stations, throughout the Philippines.[9]
