No Monday NBA Games on Studio 23 for December

Last season ABS-CBN deferred from airing NBA games on Monday during December and early January, for no apparent reason. And basketball fans were obviously unhappy with the network’s belated move. Fast forward to this season, and ABS-CBN was again up to the same old tricks.

The game between the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers, which was finished hours earlier, was advertised to air at 10:30 a.m on Studio 23. However, basketball fans were surprised to see the Asianovela ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal‘ instead, followed by a re-run of ‘Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata‘ and then the movie block ‘Lunch Box Office’. Enraged by the non-airing, basketball fans flooded the Studio 23 and ABS-CBN Sports pages on Facebook in hopes of an explanation, but ABS-CBN has yet to release a statement at this hour.

In my opinion, ABS-CBN’s old trick was simply ridiculous. By pulling the advertised game off the air, and not informing the viewers in advance, it angered many loyal basketball fans. Had ABS-CBN been able to inform the viewers as early as Friday, they would have been busy catching up to today’s other business. But instead they were busy awaiting for Studio 23’s 10:30 a.m. program, and what they got was a ‘Jewel in the Palace‘-like series, an old sitcom and an old comedy movie. And that is how ridiculous their decision is.

ABS-CBN has a lot of explaining to do. And while the NBA on Studio 23 won’t be airing on Mondays for this month, basketball fans can still catch up to their favorite team’s games in any of these platforms: Basketball TV, NBA Premium TV, Fox Sports Asia, or NBA League Pass. The NBA will still air on the ABS-CBN free TV networks, but for this month, they will only air on weekends, and possibly on the day after Christmas and New Year.

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The Return of Mo Twister

The five-month suspension of ‘Good Times‘ on Magic 89.9 ended this morning with Mo Twister‘s on-air return. But instead of Mo running the show, he was joined by ‘First Thing in the Morning’ hosts Sam Oh and Gibb, essentially renaming the program as ‘Good Times First Thing in the Morning’.

For many, Mo’s return to radio signaled a return to normalcy. But others (myself included) remain skeptical. How will Mo fit in with his new partners? And how will he be able to maintain a more toned-down style in a minors-friendly morning spot?

In a morning show landscape, stability is a must. However that is not the case for Mo’s program. Having suffered through numerous co-hosts (e.g. Mojo Jojo, Andi Manzano, Grace Lee), I wonder why Mo continues to survive amidst these changes? Simple, because Mo has many loyal listeners to keep his show afloat. The listeners don’t care about his revolving door of co-hosts, they just wanted to hear Mo. And that was the reason why ‘Good Times’ has been on the air longer than any current morning radio show except ‘The Morning Rush‘ on RX 93.1.

And with regards to a more subdued style of addressing his listeners, I doubt that. Some of Mo’s recent suspensions were attributed to inappropriately adult topics that are not applicable to hear in the mornings. If Mo wants to keep his job he should talk about more ‘teenage-friendly’ topics that are worth listening in the morning. In addition, Mo should take a cue from the ‘Boys Night Out’ hosts, whose five-month suspension in 2010 helped them change their style without sacrificing their entertainment value.

Over the next few days Mo Twister will be adjusting to new co-hosts and an existing radio show. Not to mention some added employment baggage. It is up to Mo to deliver to these expectations.