''The Final Word with Rico Hizon'' (or simply ''The Final Word'') is

CNN Philippines CNN Philippines (abbreviated as CNN PH) is a commercial broadcast, cable and satellite television network in the Philippines. It is owned and operated by Nine Media Corporation, together with Radio Philippines Network (RPN) as the main content ...

' flagship late-night news program. The show first aired on April 20, 2020, as a replacement to the network's 9pm edition of ''Newsroom''. The show is anchored by the network's Senior Anchor and Director for News Content Development, Rico Hizon, who has come home to the Philippines after a 25-year overseas news stint with

CNBC Asia CNBC Asia is a pay television business channel based in Singapore. A subsidiary of NBCUniversal, it is the Asian service of CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel). Its programmes originate from Singapore. It was officially opening ceremony at ...

and

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

Background

The hour-long newscast, which airs every Monday through Friday from 9:00-10:00 p.m., focuses on the most significant news stories of the day from the Philippines and around the world, as well as segments which also feature the lighter side of the news. Hizon earlier said that the show's formula gives "overall view of what’s happening in the Philippines, around the world, and at the end, give them a sense of hope, inspire them that there is still a light at the end of the tunnel." The show also features live reports from various

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

and

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

correspondents from across the globe, with prominent ones going live for the newscast such as

Nic Robertson Nic Robertson (born 1962) is the international diplomatic editor of CNN. Career Robertson joined CNN in 1990 and is currently the network's international diplomatic editor, based in London. His reporting has focused on global terrorism and arme ...

Richard Quest Richard Austin Quest (born 9 March 1962) is a British journalist and non-practising barrister working as a news anchor for CNN International. He is also an editor-at-large of CNN Business. He anchors ''Quest Means Business'', the five-times-we ...

Matthew Chance Matthew Gerald Chance (born March 14, 1970) is a British journalist working for CNN as one of the network's Senior International Correspondents. Career He is based in Moscow. Chance was one of the journalists held by forces of Colonel Gadd ...

, Will Ripley, David Culver, Joe Johns, and Nadia Romero, to name a few.

Special editions

When warranted, ''The Final Word'' would air special editions of the newscast. Its first (and only, so far) special edition was during the July 27, 2020, State of the Nation Address of President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

, where the newscast aired a special hour-long edition. Correspondents delivered live and packaged reports about the SONA, while BDO's chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas provided business analysis. Senator Richard Gordon was also interviewed live on the show. The edition was on the heels of Hizon anchoring the network's SONA coverage for the first time, and his first SONA coverage in the Philippines since 1995. Hizon anchored a cumulative 7 hours that day – starting with the network's 2pm coverage where he joined Chief Correspondent and Anchor

Pia Hontiveros Ana Patricia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan (born Ana Patricia Navarro Hontiveros; March 10, 1967), better known as Pia Hontiveros, is a Filipina broadcast journalist. She is the sister of Ginggay and Risa Hontiveros. She is also the cousin of the 80' ...

and Senior Anchor and Correspondent

Pinky Webb Joanna Marie "Pinky" Pagaspas Webb (born June 11, 1970) is a Filipina broadcast journalist currently working for CNN Philippines. She is the daughter of Freddie Webb and a sister of Jason and Hubert Webb. Education She attended high school at ...

until the President's speech ended and for a post-SONA analysis with ADR Stratbase analyst Dindo Manhit and former Presidential Spokesperson

Edwin Lacierda Edwin Lacierda () is a Filipino lawyer and technology entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of the online payments company, PayMongo. He was a member of the Philippine Cabinet and Presidential Spokesperson of President Benigno S. Aquino III. Prior t ...

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

On July 7, 2020, production of The Final Word, alongside many other shows, was temporarily halted due to a coronavirus infection in the network's headquarters in Mandaluyong. Hizon took to social media to continue the newscast. The show was brought back on the air by July 13 after thorough disinfection in the network's premises, allowing the show to be broadcast on television once again.

Anchor

Main Anchor

Rico Hizon Rico Hizon (; born March 24, 1966) is a Filipino people, Filipino broadcast journalist. He is currently a senior anchor and director for news content development at CNN Philippines. During his time with BBC World News, he anchored ''Newsday (pro ...

(2020–present)

Segment Presenter

* Andrei Felix (since 2020, Sports Desk)

Substitute Anchors

* David Santos (CNN Philippines Senior Correspondent) * Ruth Cabal (CNN Philippines Anchor and Senior Correspondent) * Mai Rodriguez * Menchu Antigua-Macapagal

Segments

*Buy. Sell. Hold. (Business) *Sports Desk (Sports) *Hollywood Minute (Entertainment)

Awards

* Asian Academy Creative Awards – National Winner (Philippines) – Best News Programme (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Final Word with Rico Hizon, The Philippine television news shows CNN Philippines original programming CNN Philippines CNN Philippines News and Current Affairs English-language television shows 2020s Philippine television series 2020 Philippine television series debuts Flagship evening news shows