Starting with ‘Alisto’ last May 26, GMA’s Public Affairs programs began to air on the teleserye-dominated ‘Afternoon Prime’ block.
Nearly two years ago, ABS-CBN decided to place their news and current affairs programs (a.k.a. ‘Pinoy True Stories’) in the afternoon slot. Soon after, they placed ‘Banana Nite’ in an earlier timeslot following their late-night telecast ‘Bandila’. At the time, I derided their decision to place ‘Banana Nite’ following their news program, simply because ABS-CBN’s late night public affairs programs do not measure up to the standards set by GMA’s award-winning counterparts.
As time wore on, however, the Kapamilya network’s decision appears to have paid off. ‘Pinoy True Stories’, which today consists of ‘Bistado’, ‘Mutya ng Masa’, ‘My Puhunan’, ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ and ‘Red Alert’, enjoyed ratings of 10% or better, mainly due to higher viewership in the afternoon compared to the late night hours. In addition, the equally high ratings of ABS-CBN’s teleseryes are also helping the program’s cause.
The success of ‘Pinoy True Stories’ prompted GMA to make their own changes in the ‘Afternoon Prime’ block, something I first envisioned in an article back in December. The end result is a reformatted ‘Afternoon Prime’ that now includes five public affairs programs: ‘Alisto!’, ‘Tunay na Buhay’, ‘Power House’, ‘Reporter’s Notebook’, and ‘Love Hotline’. The newly-reassigned programs started airing last May 26, beginning with ‘Alisto!’.
On Mondays, ‘Alisto!’, hosted by Arnold Clavio, tackles various crimes, natural disasters, man-made accidents, and other life-threatening incidents. On Tuesdays, ‘Tunay na Buhay’, hosted by Rhea Santos, features famous individuals and their real life stories. Then on Wednesdays, ‘Power House’, hosted by Kara David, documents the lives of powerful people by showcasing their properties and their prized possessions while talking about their normal lives.
On Thursdays, ‘Reporter’s Notebook’, hosted by Jiggy Manicad and Maki Pulido, investigates a wide variety of stories that affect the Filipino society. And on Fridays, ‘Love Hotline’, hosted by Jean Garcia, spotlights individuals in the need of love advice.
GMA’s afternoon public affairs programs should give viewers a welcome break from the tear-jerking drama series of years past. But more importantly, it should help these programs gain some much-needed exposure from a bigger audience, considering the likes of ‘Reporter’s Notebook’ were regular winners in various international award-giving bodies.
It remains to be seen whether or not these programs will help GMA return to form in the afternoons. But for now, this is a good decision for GMA to bring them out of late nights and into the viewer-rich afternoon slot.
From the Tube 
I never thought that GMA would follow suit to ABS-CBN’s current affairs gamble move, which I included as one of the TV trends of 2012 (http://pinoyjourn.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/on-the-tube-philippine-tv-trend-of-2012/). But indeed, aside from ratings and wider viewership, it seems that the late night audience is really waning. Since most of the ‘tropang gising’ are youth, they are likely shifting to radio, online, or cable.
Another silver lining to the current affairs move to afternoons is the ability to preempt programming with special coverages. We saw ABS maximize it during the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. Since the slot is already reserved for news, the impact of preemption is less on entertainment shows. Very likely GMA will also take advantage of that.
Personally, the format of ABS-CBN’s CA shows are more fitting for the afternoon slot. Albeit they are lighter, but are not as heavy as they could be during late nights. Btw, Ralph, ABS’s CA block is no longer called “Pinoy True Stories”.
I see. But Wikipedia still refers to them as such despite the deemphasis. Anyway gotta follow this independent move by ABS.
Who would have thought that was a move that blazed a new trail? But of course, this is not the first time we had current affairs shows in the afternoon, as I mentioned in my “TV trends” post.
Yep, Hoy Gising and Balitang K, I remember. Even Extra Extra on GMA.
Wow! I also never thought someone working for ABS-CBN will be very proud to promote and speak good words about their CA programs. Please, don’t feed words into the audience’s mouths. You’ve got to admit that GMA News and Public Affairs programs are far better than ABS-CBN’s.
D’ Originals will premiere on Monday. Guess what, GMA Public Affairs will produce this drama.
Can’t wait to criticize their news division again once the Holy Week break ends.
This proves that GMA Public Affairs is now the scapegoat for their FAILING/STRUGGLING entertainment department.
Exactly. Rasonable is simply a poor leader.