Sonshine Media Network International
Sonshine Media Network International, also known by its legal name Swara Sug Media Corporation, is a Philippine broadcast media arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ 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, 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 maintained 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, began on the radio with the program "Pagsusi sa Kamatuoran" 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 the Visayas and Mindanao, followed by "Powerline" in 1995.On 1 July 2000, The Kingdom of Jesus Christ officially launched its 24-hour cable network, "The Q Channel", 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 became the "ACQ–Kingdom Broadcasting Network", 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". In conjunction with this, the network launched its first free TV station, Sonshine TV-43 Davao, and introduced new religious programs such as Give Us This Day, Sounds of Worship, Batang Kaharian , Way Ahead, Highest Praise, Quiet Moments, and many more.
In 2004, ACQ-KBN signed an 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. at the same day, ACQ-KBN and SSMC acquired all the NBC Angel Radyo AM stations from Nation Broadcasting Corporation, which in turn, operated 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 " 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" and "Informs, Delivers, Transforms", 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 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 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.
Programming
Domestic stations
TV stations
- Offline as of December 2023 due to NTC's shutdown order
Final analog TV nationwide
Final digital broadcast stations
| Terrestrial | Callsign | Ch. # | Frequency | Power | Area of Coverage |
| Digital | DWAQ-DTV | 39 | 623.143 MHz | 10 kW | Metro Manila |
| Digital | DWAQ-DTV | 43 | 647.143 MHz | 10 kW | Metro Manila |
| Digital | DWAQ-DTV | 44 | 653.143 MHz | 5.5 kW | Metro Manila |
| Digital | DXAQ-TV | 19 | 503.143 MHz | 5 kW | Davao |
SMNI on Pay television
Former Radio stations
| Branding | Callsign | Frequency | Power | Location |
| Sonshine Radio Davao | DXRD | 711 kHz | 10 kW | Davao |
| Sonshine Radio Manila | DZAR | 1026 kHz | 50 kW | Metro Manila |
| Sonshine Radio Dagupan | DZRD | 981 kHz | 10 kW | Dagupan |
| Sonshine Radio Tuguegarao | DZYT | 765 kHz | 5 kW | Tuguegarao |
| Sonshine Radio Santiago | DWSI | 864 kHz | 5 kW | Santiago |
| Sonshine Radio Cabanatuan | DWAY | 1332 kHz | 5 kW | Cabanatuan |
| Sonshine Radio Cebu | DYAR | 765 kHz | 10 kW | Cebu |
| Sonshine Radio Cagayan de Oro | DXCL | 1098 kHz | 10 kW | Cagayan de Oro |
Former stations
Partnership talks with CGTN
Controversies
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. On 19 March 2025, Meta took down three Facebook pages affiliated with SMNI, including from DZAR 1026 citing "expressing hatred or contempt for a group of people and using harmful racial stereotypes" that violated Meta's community standards. As of now, several Facebook pages of SMNI News programs remain active.