The simulcast, however, was given to Solar Nightly News (which is at the mid-evening timeslot) on January 14 onwards to allow the via satellite broadcast of the twelfth season of American Idol to free TV (over-the-air) viewers.

The original plan was to limit the AI "via satellite" broadcast to cable viewers while RPN would continue to air the newscast at 6:00 PM.

Prior to the third and final reformat, Solar News and subsequently 9News did not produce a weekend newscast except for severe weather coverage.

Roanna Jamir was the inaugural anchor while doubling her duty as Weekend Updates top of the hour presenter.

[2] On December 5, 2015, CNN Philippines senior correspondent Ina Andolong replaced Roanna Jamir as the interim Saturday anchor on Network News Weekend while Nicolette Henson-Hizon and Menchu Macapagal rotated as Sunday anchor.

Notable of these instances are during the President's State of the Nation Address on an annual basis, the press conference of the then-President-elect Rodrigo Duterte that became notorious for his attitude with Mariz Umali, and more recently, the night of the impending arrest of Senator Leila de Lima.