FTT Year 2013 in Review: ABS-CBN

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2014, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article will focus on ABS-CBN, who dominated television ratings all year.

The Positives

Everything went right for ABS-CBN. And it showed in its weekday offerings. Primetime Bida teleseryes dominated the Kantar ratings, led by the year’s top-rated series ‘Juan dela Cruz’. ‘TV Patrol’ remains the most preferred evening newscast, while ‘Showtime’ introduced the most talked-about ‘That’s My Tomboy’ and ‘Kalokalike’ segments that propelled them atop the noontime pyramid. And thanks to the highly-anticipated November wedding between Maya (Jodi Sta. Maria) and Richard ‘Ser Chief’ (Richard Yap), ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ continued to lord over the late morning slot.

The Kapamilya network continued to rack up ratings victories on weekends, aided by its reality competition shows ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ‘Masterchef Pinoy Edition’, and ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’. Also helping their cause were the long-running anthology ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and game shows such as ‘Bet on Your Baby’ and ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal‘. ‘Gandang Gabi Vice‘ and ‘ASAP’ remain the most talked-about shows on social media.

Even its sports offerings beat the competition. The Miami-San Antonio NBA Finals and the La Salle-UST UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals scored big in the ratings and in the hearts of netizens. The network also continued to showcase top-notch boxing matches such as the ‘Pinoy Pride’ series and fights featuring Nonito Donaire.

The Negatives

While they were able to enjoy high ratings on primetime, there were still some shows that ended up lasting less than half a year. Examples include ‘Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin‘, ‘Apoy sa Dagat‘ and ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’, whose storylines required only at least four months of airing. Also getting the ax were the sitcom ‘Toda Max’, after lead star Robin Padilla reportedly left, and ‘The Buzz’, which was reformatted as ‘Buzz ng Bayan’. ABS-CBN’s programs were likewise not spared from MTRCB’s iron hands, as ‘ASAP’ was reprimanded in February for Anne Curtis’ sensual outfit and performance.

ABS-CBN personalities were also involved in various controversies. ‘Kris TV‘ was nearly cancelled when its host Kris Aquino announced her resignation after getting embroiled in a custody case with then-husband James Yap for their son Bimby. However, a month later, Aquino announced that she would only take a ‘leave of absence’ in June. As of now, ‘Kris TV’ continues to air in the morning slot.

And last November, Korina Sanchez criticized CNN’s Anderson Cooper regarding the latter’s report about the slow delivery of goods to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). As a result of the negative reaction she received from netizens, Sanchez took a ‘leave of absence’ before returning to duty a month later.

Outlook

ABS-CBN capped off the year by showcasing the love team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla on ‘Got to Believe’, young child star Raikko Mateo on ‘Honesto’, and budding star Jessy Mendiola on ‘Maria Mercedes’. For 2014, they are expected to introduce another potential star in Julia Barretto on ‘Mirabella’. Going forward, ABS-CBN is poised for another banner year, and as long as their products continue to entice audiences, ABS-CBN will remain the country’s top network.

Koreanovelas Give Way to Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin

ABS-CBN’s newest teleserye ‘Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin’ is scheduled on a timeslot normally reserved for Koreanoveals, due to its graphic and violent themes.

For the first time in several months, ABS-CBN will have no Koreanovela series aired on its ‘Primetime Bida’ block. The network’s newest teleserye ‘Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin‘ made its debut last night, and the theme of the teleserye revolves around crime, lies, deceit and justice.

The teleserye marks the return of Gerald Anderson in the primetime slot for the first time since 2011’s ‘Budoy’. Anderson will be joined by another returning Kapamilya star in Cristine Reyes, and veterans Dawn Zulueta, Gabby Concepcion, Dina Bonnevie and Tonton Gutierrez. Supporting roles will also be played by Diana Zubiri and Rayver Cruz. Maricel Soriano was supposed to make her return with this teleserye, but pulled out after an alleged confrontation with Anderson and was replaced by Zulueta.

Creating a teleserye with grisly themes is nothing new for ABS-CBN, having produced the popular and critically-acclaimed ‘Nasaan Ka, Elisa’ three years earlier. However, the success of GMA’s ‘My Husband’s Lover’, which is becoming more dramatic and tense of late, prompted the network to launch ‘Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin’ in another attempt to counter the popularity of ‘My Husband’s Lover’, though it had to place it in the 10:00 p.m. or later slot to make it more convenient to older viewers and less appropriate to children. As with all teleseryes tackling mature and serious themes, ‘Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin’ will be rated ‘Strong Parental Guidance’ (SPG) on most scenes containing violence, strong language and sexual acts.

The program’s likely opponents in its timeslot will be ‘The Innocent Man’ on most days, and ‘Bubble Gang’ on Fridays. Despite that, with every ABS-CBN teleserye gaining a wide audience week after week, there is no question that this teleserye will also be a ratings winner despite its late start time.