Sonshine Media Network International

Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), also known by its name Swara Sug Media Corporation (SSMC), is a Filipino broadcast media arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) led by the Filipino televangelist Apollo Quiboloy. Based in Davao City and Makati, it operates a network of radio and television broadcasting stations.

It currently owns and operates a sister channel (SMNI News Channel), the broadcasting network is available over terrestrial broadcast in the Philippines, and on cable, satellite, and online streaming worldwide. The network now owns and operates two television networks, where the main flagship station, based in Davao City, maintains an uninterrupted 24-hour service through regular repetition of a dozen self-produced Kingdom Programs in English, Filipino, and dozens of foreign languages along with news, public affairs, public service, infotainment, sports and entertainment programs. On the other hand, the network's sister channel SMNI News Channel, based in Makati, primarily provides rolling news coverage and public affairs programs, which broadcasts exclusively in Digital TV format in Metro Manila, Metro Davao, Benguet and Cagayan de Oro. It also maintains a network of radio stations under the "Sonshine Radio" brand of the Swara Sug Media Corporation. SMNI also has print publications such as Guide Magazine, Pinas Newspaper and Sikat Newspaper.

The broadcasting network was licensed in late 2003 by the Philippine government to operate seven analog free-to-air television channels in key cities across the country. It also has two digital terrestrial channels in Metro Manila and Metro Davao.

SMNI has been the object of various criticisms, particularly centering on right-wing populist bias and handling its own coverage through forms of disinformation.

History
The Kingdom of Jesus Christ's Media Ministry, known today as SMNI, traced its roots on the radio, with the program "Pagsusi sa Kamatuoran" (Searching for Truth/Paghahanap ng Katotohanan) on radio stations DXDC and DXUM. The television ministry began in 1991, when they launched their first television program, "The Hour of Truth" aired nationally on IBC and ABS-CBN stations in Visayas and Mindanao, followed by "Powerline" in 1995.

In July 2000, The Kingdom of Jesus Christ officially launched its 24-hour cable network, "The Q Channel" (then also known as "ACQ–TV, Q Channel", not to be confused with defunct Philippine TV network QTV), bringing the Gospel of the Kingdom from Davao City to key cities around the Philippines, which was carried by Sky Cable in Davao City, General Santos, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Tagum and Baguio.

On 25 April 2003, The Q Channel successfully metamorphosed as the "ACQ–Kingdom Broadcasting Network (ACQ-KBN)", with an expanded reach across the Asia-Pacific region and the United States via satellite, using its own Satellite Uplink Broadcast Station located at Davao Central, also carrying the new slogan "Delivering the Good news 24 hours a day, 7 days a week". During also in the same year, ACQ-KBN launched its first TV station Sonshine TV-43 Davao, and introduced new religious programs such as Give Us This Day, Sounds of Worship, Batang Kaharian (lit. Kingdom Child), Way Ahead, Highest Praise, Quiet Moments and many more.

In 2004, ACQ-KBN signed a historic agreement with GlobeCast World TV, which aims to expand its broadcast footprint around the world. In the same year also that KJC through ACQ-KBN launched its own radio station in Davao City as "DXAQ Kingdom Radio 1404 AM".

In March 2005, KJC and ACQ-KBN acquired the congressional franchise, ownership and management of the Swara Sug Media Corporation (SSMC). at the same day, ACQ-KBN and SSMC acquired all the NBC Angel Radyo AM stations from Nation Broadcasting Corporation, which in turn, gave birth as the "Sonshine Radio" network.

On 6 November 2005, DWAQ-TV Channel 39 signed on the air and began its test broadcast as "ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV-39 Metro Manila". On 8 January 2006, ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV 39 was launched during the first Global Thanksgiving and Worship presentation of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which held at the PhilSports Arena, the network ventured from Cable TV broadcasting to Free-to-Air TV broadcasting, and broadcasts with the transmitter power of 60 kilowatts.

On 5 June 2006, ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV launched "Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI)" as News and Public Affairs block which became a tie-up of ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV-39 in Metro Manila and ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV-43 in Davao, with the original slogan "Service First, Right Here, Right Now, Worldwide".

On 30 July 2006, ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV is now on Nationwide with more than 500 cable TV operators across the Philippines.

On 4 January 2009, ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV-37 in Santiago, Isabela officially signed on as the network's third TV station during the first Global Thanksgiving and Worship presentation at the Buenavista Barangay Hall in Santiago, Isabela. A few months later on 10 May 2009, The ACQ-KBN Sonshine TV-39 Butuan was also launched after the first global thanksgiving and Worship presentation at the Luciana Convention Center in Butuan.

In August 2010, a merger took place between ACQ-KBN and Sonshine TV, as the two programming blocks had been consolidated. As a result, the ACQ-KBN branding ceased to exist, and officially relaunched under the newly rebranded "SMNI". Coinciding with this, the network unveiled its new slogan "Alternative media, Alternative power, it Sustains Life" (first slogan) and "Informs, Delivers, Transforms" (second slogan), along with its new station ID.

In January 2011, SMNI adopted another new slogan, "Where Everything is Possible", also with its new station ID.

On 24 May 2016, SMNI launched its own News and Public affairs channel as SMNI News Channel and it is exclusively aired over Digital Terrestrial Television on UHF Channel 40 in Metro Manila until 31 December 2022 (move to UHF Channel 43 starting 1 January 2023) and its internet Live streaming.

On 31 August 2019, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11422 which renewed Swara Sug Media Corporation license for another 25 years. The law grants SSMC 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.

On 26 January 2022, the National Telecommunications Commission assigned the network's television frequency on channel 43 which was formerly used by Mareco Broadcasting Network as a TV carry-over station of 105.1 Crossover from 1994 to 2000 and AMCARA Broadcasting Network for ABS-CBN's DTT broadcast on ABS-CBN TV Plus from 2013 to 2020. On 1 January 2023, SMNI began to transmit its digital test broadcast on UHF Channel 43 (647.143 MHz) as its permanent frequency assigned by NTC.

On 19 February 2023, SMNI DTT Channel 43 officially signed on during the first Global Thanksgiving and Worship presentation at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal. The network covered in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. Channel 43 will be used as the main channel of SMNI on DTT, while retaining the use of Channel 39 as a secondary channel after transitioning from analog to digital signal.

TV stations

 * Offline as of December 2023 due to NTC's shutdown order

SMNI TV on pay television
*And 500 Cable TV Operators in the Philippines.

Alleged bias and far-right content
SMNI has been a subject of many criticisms and allegations from independent media watchdogs, particularly on misinformation, false accusation, and right-wing bias while maintaining its editorial control. Media institutions and sectoral rights groups have accused SMNI of spreading misinformation and fake news while at the same time attacking critics of the Duterte administration and several media outlets in the form of "red-tagging".

Termination of YouTube channel and Facebook page
On 7 July 2023, YouTube terminated the channels of SMNI and one of its programs, Laban Kasama ang Bayan, along with KJC, following a previous ban on Quiboloy's YouTube channel which was terminated on 21 June. Google later stated that their actions were in compliance with existing sanctions by the United States against Quiboloy pursuant to the US Global Magnitsky Act and harmful misinformation regarding red-tagging; Quiboloy was previously indicted by the United States Department of Justice on charges of human trafficking and child sexual abuse.

Quiboloy and SMNI later created accounts on the alt-tech video service Rumble as well as an alternate account for SMNI on YouTube in defiance of sanctions. The alternate account was suspended by YouTube a few days later. On 15 September 2023, the SMNI News Facebook page was deleted, in accordance to Meta's Dangerous Organizations and Individuals Policy. Despite these, SMNI continues to evade from ban by creating and launching multiple pages under different names.

House franchise probe
On 28 November 2023, the Philippine House Committee on Legislative Franchises launched an investigation on SMNI, following a report claimed by Laban Kasama ang Bayan co-host Jeffrey Celiz about travel expenses allocated to House Speaker Martin Romualdez where he spent ₱1.8 billion. Quezon 2nd District Representative David Suarez called the report "fake news". The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) also flagged SMNI, Celiz and co-host Lorraine Badoy for violating its Code of Ethics even when they were unaccredited broadcasters.

SMNI faced legal scrutiny following the investigation, including the revocation of its congressional franchise. PBA Partylist Representative Margarita Nograles filed a resolution urging the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to suspend the broadcast operations of SMNI for allegedly violating its franchise's terms and conditions.

Suspension of operations
On 21 December 2023, the NTC, in response to the House resolution, announced that it had issued two days earlier a 30-day suspension order on the broadcast operations of SMNI for alleged violations of its franchise, as well as a show cause order against the media network, giving them 15 days from receipt of the order to provide explanation on why it should not be administratively sanctioned.

SMNI later filed motions, urging three NTC officials to inhibit from its administrative case due to perceived bias, and asking the NTC to specify and detail their violations; the latter request was denied. On 22 January 2024, the suspension was made indefinite by the NTC citing the network's failure to comply with an earlier order.

At the time of issuance of the first order, the network had 13 radio stations (10 in AM, three in FM), 14 television stations, and 22 digital terrestrial television stations.

Franchise revocation attempt
On 12 March 2024, the Philippine House Committee on Legislative Franchises, headed by the committee chair Gustavo Tambunting, approved House Bill No. 9710 (filed by 1-Rider Partylist Representative Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez) without amendments. The bill seeks to revoke the franchise given to Sonshine Media Network International for several violations found by lawmakers. Eight days later, the Committee approved the bill on third and final reading; the bill is waiting for Senate approval. If signed into law by President Bongbong Marcos, it will repeal Republic Act No. 11422, which extended the franchise granted to Swara Sug under RA 8122.

Relationship with other media outlets
On November 2019, one of his daily comedic discussions following a performance by Gian Magdangal on Tawag ng Tanghalan: Celebrity Champions, Vice Ganda made a joke after the founder of Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Apollo Quiboloy, among other claims of being responsible for stopping calamities, claimed that he was responsible for stopping the 2019 Cotabato earthquakes. Vice Ganda jokingly challenged Quiboloy to stop the airing of It's Showtime, which is one of the longest-running ABS-CBN television programs alongside FPJ's Ang Probinsyano, and the constant traffic on EDSA, a major road network in Metro Manila. Members of Quiboloy's church took offense and expressed their dismay for Vice Ganda. Radio broadcaster and SMNI anchor, Mike Abe, a friend of Quiboloy, defended the founder and criticized Vice heavily in his program. Two days after the joke, Quiboloy instead threatened that he will not only stop FPJ's Ang Probinsyano, but also to shutdown ABS-CBN as a whole within four months. The network went off-air in 2020 in a controversial refusal to renew the network's franchise by the legislature, an act that was seen by Quiboloy and his followers as the fulfillment of his previous remarks against the comedian.

During the airing of SMNI's Laban Kasama ang Bayan, its hosts Jeffrey "Ka Eric" Celiz and Lorraine Badoy have accused journalists, including Atom Araullo and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, and media outlets, such as Bulatlat, of being part of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

Libel lawsuit
On 14 May 2024, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed defamation and cyberlibel complaint affidavits with the Quezon City Prosecutors's Office against host Guillermina Barrido and several other SMNI hosts and executives following an interview where Barrido spoke of alleged false accusations that Trillanes persuaded and paid her to be a fake witness against then-President Rodrigo Duterte.