The reformat of Studio 23 to ABS-CBN Sports + Action also affected religious programs such as the long-running ‘Family Rosary Crusade’.
The reformatting of Studio 23 to ABS-CBN Sports + Center has had some consequences, and that includes religious programming such as ‘The Word Exposed’, ‘Sunday TV Healing Mass’, ‘Friends Again’ and ‘Family Rosary Crusade’. Of the four, ‘Family Rosary Crusade’ has been aired the longest, and as a result of the reformat, its extremely loyal service to ABS-CBN is put into doubt.
‘Family Rosary Crusade’ has been on ABS-CBN since the network’s early days, starting with the ‘Family Theater’ presentations hosted by its founder, Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC. When ABS-CBN returned from the incarceration of Martial Law in 1986, ‘Family Theater’ also made a comeback under the title ‘Ang Pamilya Ko’, but poor viewership caused it to be cancelled, and was replaced by a magazine show simply titled ‘Family Rosary Crusade’. Even after Fr. Peyton died in 1992, FRC continued to air on Channel 2, before it was moved to Studio 23 in 2003 in favor of weekend general interest magazine shows.
Which leads to the current status of the FRC on ABS-CBN. Although the said program crossed over to other networks such as PTV-4, RPN-9 and ABC-5, ‘Family Rosary Crusade’ remains closely identified with ABS-CBN thanks to its lengthy loyalty and trust. And it is that loyalty that keeps FRC on the air for a long time. However, thanks to the reformat of Studio 23 into a sports-based network, the status of the FRC on ABS-CBN becomes unclear, and if the network decides to distance themselves from the FRC, it will cause uproar within the Catholic majority.
In my opinion, ABS-CBN should continue airing ‘Family Rosary Crusade’. Moving it back to Channel 2 before or after the Sunday TV Mass should keep Catholic viewers happy. And if not for the ‘Family Rosary Crusade’, ABS-CBN would not have positioned themselves as the No. 1 television network, because as they say, ‘The family that prays together, stays together’. And that’s a fact.
From the Tube 
ABS-CBN has the Sunday TV mass every 6 am which kicks off its Sunday programming. Other than that, its loaded Sunday sked will not allow Family Rosary Crusade to be aired. I suggest that ABS get rid of its Tagalog-dubbed cartoon shows and air Family Rosary Crusade after the Mass. Then air Kabuhayang Swak na Swak and Salamat Dok thereafter.
Why not? Or kahit once-a-week na lang yung KSNS and Salamat Dok (the latter in a magazine show format similar to GMA’s Pinoy MD), then devote early Sunday mornings to religious programs like the mass and FRC. Yung cartoons on Sundays, they can’t easily get rid of that because walang pasok yung mga bata, and that’s the only time they can enjoy them.
Yeah, I have the same instincts. What about the Born Again Christian’s (BAC’s) “Friends Again”?
PTV 4 cannot fill the whole one hour (like of Studio 23) of FRC due to excessive religious programming lineup on Sundays, well except the 12:00-1:00 p.m. slot which was once aired a game show: “Show Up: Ang Bagong Game Show ng Bayan.” Neither on any day of the week though they aired FRC on high noon but are unable to fill one hour due to daily press briefings in Malacanang, as it is a government media lapdog.
If ABS-CBN can’t do it in anymore, it could have been moved to the sick broadcasting network of the Philippines, IBC 13, which is full of excessive dependence on PTV, reruns of senseless and no new documentaries, programs and whatnots.
Friends Again used to air on IBC. I remember Wednesday mornings yung airtime nito. Even the ‘Iglesia ni Cristo and the Bible’ in the afternoons, as well as the St. Peregrine Mass on Sundays headed by the late Fr. Frank Jimenez. Now what happened?
IBC replaced Fr. Jimenez’s mass with something else, then came Tagamend, Pastor Quiboloy’s ministry and Oras ng Katotohanan. After that, nothing. They mostly air crap, without the required MTRCB ratings. Unless they welcome rejects from other stations such as FRC (kung papayag lang yung laidback management ng IBC).
FRC, however, has been loyal to ABS-CBN from the beginning. If ABS-CBN decides to cut ties now, it will be an insult to the station that is devoted to purely Catholic programming.
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