CNN PhilippinesNightly News or simply Nightly News was the flagship late night newscast of CNN Philippines that aired every weeknights 9:00-9:30 pm and replayed Tuesdays-Saturdays at midnight. Undergone several incarnations, it began its airing on July 16, 2012 and was axed on February 12, 2016 to give way to the expansion of CNN Philippines Newsroom.
Formerly anchored by ABS-CBN news presenter Nancy Irlanda, the newscast was first known as Solar Nightly News and was launched on July 16, 2012 on Talk TV, by then aired on SBN UHF Channel 21. The launch of the newscast was a result of the formation as Solar Television Network's news and current affairs division, which in turn was brought by the privatization of Radio Philippines Network by Solar Entertainment. It was carried over upon the channel's rebranding as Solar News Channel in October 30. Solar Nightly News was simulcasted on RPN from January 14 until November 29, 2013 after the network ceased production of its late-night newscast RPN NewsCap due to the retrenchment of the program's production team and other employees of the privatized network. The simulcast was also a replacement of Solar Network News to RPN's news content, as a result of Solar Entertainment's decision to scrap the cable-only limitation of American Idol season 12 and allow the broadcast to be available to RPN viewers. On December 1, 2013, Solar News Channel switched its affiliation to RPN, making it a program at its own right. Nancy Irlanda retired as the newscast's anchor on January 10, 2014; Mitzi Borromeo, anchor of Solar News programNews Café took over by the end of the month. Hilary Isaac joined Borromeo weeks later but left some months later to join Daybreak.
Solar Nightly News dropped the Solar branding on July 21, 2014 upon the impending acquisition of Solar Television Network to the ALC Group of Companies a month later, with a new titlecard and graphic introduced on August 25, 2014 following channel's rebrand to 9TV. Mitzi Borromeo was held over as anchor. During the newscast's tenure, it also kept its one-hour runtime.
CNN Philippines Era (2015-2016)
The final incarnation was launched on March 16, 2015 in lieu with the launch of CNN Philippines along with a CNN-themed graphics and a revamped news studio. However, the newscast was cut to a half-hour to make way for the network's current affairs block. It also debuted segments such as Nightly Focus and Heads Up, a peek on the following day's headlines. CNN Philippines Nightly News was axed on February 12, 2016 as a part of the network's program restructuring to be replaced by an Evening edition of Newsroom.
