‘The Buzz’ officially bade farewell last Sunday afternoon, after a run of nearly 16 years. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)
An unexpected announcement awaited the viewers of ABS-CBN’s ‘The Buzz’.
On Sunday, April 5, host Boy Abunda announced that ‘The Buzz’ would go off the air and take a long and indefinite hiatus, citing changes in showbiz reporting, production staff and the viewing public. The cancellation ends the show’s initial 15-year run.
First airing on June 13, 1999, ‘The Buzz’ became one of the network’s top-rated and long-running shows. The show’s lineup of hosts would change over the years, but ‘The Buzz’ will always be identified with the duo of Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda.
‘The Buzz’ lengthy run is only rivaled by ‘Startalk’, now entering its 20th year. The two shows briefly faced off early last year, with ‘The Buzz’ (then called ‘Buzz ng Bayan’) prevailing in the ratings.
As ‘The Buzz’ takes a break of sorts, expect ABS-CBN to counterprogram against GMA’s upcoming game show ‘Wowowin’ and its succeeding program ‘InstaDad’. It is possible that ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’ will take over ‘The Buzz”s slot from April 12 onwards, but no confirmation is made at the moment.
It should also throw the network into a state of uncertainty. Even though ‘The Buzz”s hiatus was intended to be a temporary one, there also remains a possibility of a new talk show taking the place of ‘The Buzz’ instead.
Another likely scenario will be the tweaking of schedules on ABS-CBN’s weekend afternoon lineup. Declining ratings of ‘The Buzz’ in recent months may play a big role in convincing the network to change their programming approach on weekends.
Any of these possibilities may come into play, but for now, sacrifices will have to be made on the Kapamilya camp.
For nearly 16 years, ‘The Buzz’ stood tall for its credibility, balance and truthful showbiz reporting, one that gave the show high ratings and numerous awards. But with the show now taking a much-needed break, viewers can only wonder when and what time will it return.
From the Tube 
All things come to an end (FOR NOW). Looking forward on The Buzz to return, kung palpak ang show ni Willie.
That said, we wait for the inevitable.
Boy Abunda expects that The Buzz you will see upon its return to the airwaves will be ‘very different’ because the show’s format is too old.
The source given for The Buzz’s temporary replacement by KB is none other than Kane Ochoa, ABS-CBN’s Corporate Communications head. If that scenario is realized, there will be 2-3 movie blocks every Sunday on ABS-CBN; it is possible that NBA games may be aired before ASAP 20 in anticipation for the Playoffs.
Well, The Buzz needs a reinvention of sorts, given the changing tastes of viewers. And Startalk should also do the same, considering their declining ratings and loss of airtime.
There is also a rumor about a talk show hosted by the Gonzaga sisters that may replace The Buzz, but they are just rumors, nothing’s confirmed as of now.
KB in the afternoons will most likely be movies from Star Cinema.
More like a carbon copy of the weekday morning version of it.
The Buzz became a launching pad for Boy Abunda to earn the title as The PH King Of Talk. Same with Kris Aquino. But for the very first time, mawawalan ng showbiz talk shows on a Sunday afternoon.
GMA was scared of The Buzz in recent years, hence they put a movie against it. Recent ratings suggest that the counterprogramming strategy is working and, coupled with the changing viewership tastes, it proved too much for The Buzz to overcome.
The Buzz’s departure will no doubt strengthen GMA especially once Wowowin premieres. InstaDad has a nice premise.
And let’s not forget, there’s the PBA games on TV5 that are also getting good ratings on Sunday afternoons.
It’s like a free-for all after SAS and ASAP.
I think that the departure of The Buzz is a sign that GMA will gain a slight edge in the ratings because of Willie Revillame’s new game show.
However, the last several months were not kind to The Buzz ratings-wise. Perhaps the viewers grew tired of The Buzz. As mentioned by Boy Abunda, viewers are changing, which is probably the reason why.
Another problem was that The Buzz became complacent when GMA did not air any more Sunday talk shows after Startalk moved to Saturdays. And besides, Kris, Boy and Toni are all overexposed because they have other shows on the Kapamilya Network.
Perhaps. Napagod na rin ang mga viewers, and The Buzz grew overconfident thinking na wala na silang kalaban.
If there will be Sunday NBA playoff games on ABS CBN, these games would be aired in the morning then ASAP can be moved to 1 or 2 pm since SAS is aired past lunch time. Just my opinion.
I’m expecting ABS to stick with the same morning schedule at least till the conference finals, honestly. Might as well give them time to think about a new strategy, because as it stands, they’re responding to what GMA’s doing in recent years.
Maybe the NBA conference finals can be aired on Sundays on Channel 2.
It depends on what will happen, since channel 2 gets one series and 23 gets another.
i suggested this before but I think Philippine TV should adapt season enders to all shows except news programs of course. in that way it can give each show a fresh start and more importantly stability and more jobs in the process. ABS tried it first with Jericho’s Panday but viewers weren’t ready yet pero ngaun mukhang ready na, the success of IWanTV is an indicator of that. Viewers are no longer that religious in watching their shows at a fixed timeslot. Im in favor as long as the networks will give stable and more jobs in the process
True that. But talk shows like The Buzz seldom have a season break. The only reason they took a hiatus is to change the way they present, period. After all, nagbabago na ang panlasa ng mga viewers so change is inevitable for the show.
And besides, The Buzz already became a vehicle for ABS-CBN stars to promote their new TV shows and movies.
Indeed.
Yes it seldom it but it can become a practice. It can be a good solutiosolution to re evaluate formats and to keep excitement afloat. It can be a minimum of one month to 6 months depende sa show. Lalo na kung araw araw ung show like KrisTV or Teleserye. Dpat lng tlga may break. Kung may break nde mafefeel ng audience na pinapahaba na lng ung story like what happened to BCWMH
This should be worth a try. If only the networks are willing to make sacrifices such as this.
Mas profitable kaya in the long run at maiiwasan ang mga network transfers kasi stable ung job. Makilala tlga ung mga artist for their roles.
Good point. If the networks finally buy into this seasonal stuff the better for them. Huwag lang matigas ang ulo.
Two talk shows on Sundays is too much. There is also Gandang Gabi Vice on Sunday nights which also serves as a promo vehicle for ABS-CBN shows.
Regarding the NBA on Channel 2, my suggestion is for the latter channel to air the NBA and then ASAP would come in slightly late since SAS starts at 2 pm pa.
But once Wowowin begins airing, SAS may move to 1:30 pm.
Regarding two talk shows on ABS every Sunday, there were no complaints about it in the past. Sharon Cuneta’s talk shows were examples of it. Nothing is wrong about this approach; US stations do that too.
Well, nagbabago pa naman ang pamamaraan para maihatid ang mga balita tungkol sa mga iniidolong artista kaya nararapat muna na pagpahingahin muna ang The Buzz to give way for their changes.
Meantime, may isang dating co-host ng The Buzz na nagsabi na takot daw na makabangga ng programa sa isang show ng nagbabalik na variety show host. Eh siya pa naman, marami pang nagsusulputang pekeng issues laban sa mga Kapamilya at Kapuso stars.
Sa totoo lang, it doesn’t make sense that The Buzz’s hiatus has something to do with Wowowin. They decided to take a leave out of necessity and out of a willingness to adapt to changes. They didn’t go on hiatus just because of low ratings or a threat of an upcoming game show.
Kapamilya Mega Blockbusters will be aired at 3 pm this Sunday after ASAP. Its initial feature will be My Illegal Wife starring Pokwang and Zanjoe Marudo.
Luv U will be aired at 4:45 pm and will compete with GMA’s Instadad.
Change of schedule means more appropriate opponents for GMA post-SAS, at least until Wowowin comes into play.
But for those who still crave for updates on Kapamilya talent, there’s UKG, TV Patrol, Bandila and even Aquino & Abunda Tonight to fill in the void.
Karen Bordador confirmed in her Facebook page that Luv U will indeed move to Sundays at 5 pm (or 4:45, depending on what time My Illegal Wife finishes) starting this Sunday. She plays guidance counselor Nikita Ponti in the show.
Perhaps ABS wanted a more worthier opponent, hence the timeslot change for Luv U.
And InstaDad will surely be a worthy opponent for Luv U. A friend of mine told me that she finds Luv U corny especially after Karen joined the show. Her character’s name already shows how corny the show is.
We’ll see.
No new show yet for ABS vs Wowowin. Still Star Cinema movies to compete vs Willie’s show. She’s Dating the Gangster airs this Sunday afternoon.
Obviously. No need to elaborate. Better go read the papers for further announcements or gossips.
There something really wrong about showbiz news reporting here in the country. Why? It’s because they are only focused on ‘themselves’. Majority of ABS-CBN’s showbiz news coverage (that includes The Buzz) is more focused on their talents. While GMA is focused on theirs as well. Let’s give credit first to TV5 for fair showbiz news reporting. Going back, perhaps the ‘network war’ may play a vital role on this. Why can’t some of our media outlets report showbiz news freely?
I have no clue on that. Exclusivity factor perhaps. That’s the reason why ABS cannot report on AlDub and GMA cannot report on KathNiel or JaDine for their own sake.
Anyway, there’s also Pep.ph for unbiased showbiz reporting. Though they appear to have an affiliation with GMA. Now if they can do their own TMZ.
I have no clue on that. Exclusivity factor perhaps. That’s the reason why ABS cannot report on AlDub and GMA cannot report on KathNiel or JaDine for their own sake.
Anyway, there’s also Pep.ph for unbiased showbiz reporting. Though they appear to have an affiliation with GMA. Now if they can do their own TMZ.
The presence of social media makes showbiz talk shows stale. Startalk is bowing out of the air this month.
Yeah. They prefer showbiz news online than on traditional showbiz talk shows like Startalk and The Buzz. Yung Startalk nga, naghihingalo na ngayon. No match kay Ted Failon.
Kay Ted Failon kasi tinatackle niya yun mga importanteng isyu na dapat tuunan natin ng pansin kaysa sa mga buhay ng mga buhay ng artista
Thru IG, Twitter and FB and thru showbiz news sites, no wonder, nasa bagong henerasyon na ng mga nakikibalita sa showbiz…
And besides, if JC wishes for an unbiased showbiz news program (without any exclusivity at all), so do we. There’s no need for these talk shows to exist. Although, GMA is concocting yet another showbiz talk show that would replace Startalk. More on that soon.
Still, even though GMA is coming up with a new showbiz talk show, it won’t be enough. More people are still hoping that ABS-CBN will have a new show to replace The Buzz. Kapamilya Mega Blockbusters is becoming stale because ABS is running out of new movies to air. Last Sunday, ABS aired Resident Evil in the afternoon after ASAP.
Maybe a good suggestion would be for ABS to air the second UAAP basketball game after ASAP to compete with the PBA on TV5.
Sumulat ka na lang sa Mo. Ignacia. Ewan ko sa ABS kung tatanggapin ang request mo, Mr. Sunday.
For me, your suggestion is a bad idea. Sapul diyan ang Luv U, TVP Weekend, Goin’ Bulilit, Wansapanataym, Rated K, YFSF 2, PBB 737 at Gandang Gabi Vice.
Kung ikaw si Charo Santos, Mr. Sunday, would you sacrifice your high-rated TV programs every Sunday for a UAAP game? Gagawin mo ba yan for the sake of your amusement of sports?
Kung oo, then f*** you. (Hindi ko talaga matiis si Mr. Sunday kaya napamura ako. Sorry, Raplh.)
We should leave UAAP Games to ABS-CBN Sports + Action.
Hanggang finals lang ang UAAP sa Dos. Other than that, it’s Sports+Action’s job to broadcast it.
And besides, mid-Sunday afternoon is a ‘dead’ timeslot. Marami kasi ang nasa public places at that hour. Which is why movies populate that timeslot nowadays.
That was the reason why The Buzz was canceled in the first place, in addition to other factors. Let’s just move on from this, ok? Like JC said, there’s Showbiz Konek na Konek now for an even fairer approach in showbiz reporting. We don’t want any biases when it comes to showbiz news.
That said, Mr. Sunday seems to be too obssesed with sports. But I also agree that UAAP Games must be exclusively on ABS-CBN S+A.
On the bright side, though, Mr. Sunday doesn’t post Sunday TV guides in the group “Memories of Old Manila” or “MOOM (have any of you, FTT members, tried becoming a member of that group?).” Though, how I wish he shouldn’t also have done that when he was still a member of the main PN group, since the themes of these 2 groups are obvious. (Though, I’m not siding with him.)
I think he should be better off focusing on sports news instead of posting his thoughts on TV programs and showbiz-related news. He has no right posting anything about Sunday shows and other entertainment-related stuff because he only goes to basketball games just to chase beautiful girls instead of attending press conferences for an upcoming TV program or movie. We’ve been trying to convince him to change his ways, but to no avail. Time to realize that he doesn’t deserve to add ‘showbiz writer’ to his resume.
And, besides, there’s already a daily TV guide on ClickTheCity.com, so, obviously, no need to repost them.
Speaking of TV guides on newspapers, it seems that the Manila Bulletin is currently the only newspaper having a TV guide. I observed recently that the Philippine STAR is no longer publishing their daily TV guide after many years.
Most of the TV guides are inaccurate. In short, don’t depend on them.
In relation to your response, I suddenly remembered the posts of Kuya Timow in his blogs about the inaccuracy of TV guides, and what’s wrong with Manila Bulletin’s TV guide. And I already read them.
Indeed they’re not dependable.
And perhaps like I’ve said, TV5’s Showbiz Konek na Konek is the only showbiz news show where they can deliver showbiz news unbiased and without exclusivity.
If you still remember, JC, TV5 used to have a Sunday talk show Paparazzi with Cristy Fermin, Ruffa Gutierrez and Mo Twister which tried to be unbiased but it was no match for The Buzz in the ratings back then.
You’re missing something Mr. Sunday. Remember Juicy and Showbiz Police? Either way TV5’s showbiz news program don’t side with anyone, which is good.
As for ABS and GMA let them be where they want to be. But as far as we’re concerned, showbiz talk shows are all but dead, unless GMA tries to perk it up with their Startalk replacement show.