TV5’s New Shows to Watch This Second Half of 2015

‘Happy Truck ng Bayan’ is one of several new shows that are on TV5’s pipeline this second half of 2015. (Photo credit: TV5/Happy Truck ng Bayan Official Facebook)

TV5’s push for happiness continues.

The Kapatid network recently unveiled a set of new shows in the ‘Hi-Way to Happy’ trade launch at the Metrowalk Tent last June 12. The new shows were a part of TV5’s ongoing pursuit of spreading love and joy to its viewers, not to mention providing something different for people to watch.

Currently ongoing are two programs that premiered within days of the trade launch. They are:

Happy Truck ng Bayan

This variety show is held in various barangays, using a truck that is transformed into a stage. Hosted by Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs, Derek Ramsey, Gelli de Belen, Mariel Rodriguez, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Empoy Marquez, Tuesday Vargas, Mark Neumann, Shaira Mae dela Cruz, Akihiro Blanco, Chanel Morales, Sophie Albert, Vin Abrenica, Kim Idol and Tom Taus, it premiered last June 14 and airs every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

Hi-5 Philippines

The local franchise of ‘Hi-5’ from Australia features virtually the same basic elements as the original, with a Filipino spin of course. Hosted by Rissey Reyes, Gerard Pagunsan, Alex Reyes, Fred Lo, and Aira Binas, the show airs twice every weekday, at 8:30 a.m. and at 3:45 p.m.

A few other shows are expected to premiere this July. They are:

KISPinoy

This talent search show features aspiring singers who aim to become the next K-Pop stars. Hosted by Richard Gutierrez and Jinri Park, and features judges Rico Blanco, Gelli de Belen and various K-Pop experts, ‘KISPinoy’ premieres on July 11 at 9:00 p.m..

LolaBasyang.com

Starring Boots Anson-Roa, the series will feature the retelling of Lola Basyang’s tales with the use of modern gadgets. ‘LolaBasyang.com’ premieres on July 11.

#ParangNormal Activity

The horror/comedy sitcom will star Ella Cruz as the pretty ghost, starring alongside a trio of nerds played by Shaun Salvador, Ryle Paolo Santiago and Andrei Garcia. ‘#ParangNormal Activity’ premieres on July 11.

No Harm, No Foul

The new sports-themed sitcom will feature Ogie Alcasid, Randy Santiago, Tuesday Vargas, Long Mejia, Eula Caballero, Valeen Montenegro and Sophie Albert, alongside basketball stars Willie Miller, Gary David, Beau Belga, Kiefer Ravena, and Yoyong Martirez. ‘No Harm, No Foul’ premieres on July 5 at 8:00 p.m.

TV5’s new offerings should once again serve up a smile in the viewers’ faces. With that, best of luck to them.

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GMA Has Virtually Every Dragon Ball Movie Except One; Race for DB Super is On

The ‘Dragon Ball’ franchise has long been associated with GMA since the mid-1990s.

From the first ‘Dragon Ball’ anime to ‘Dragon Ball Z’ and then ‘Dragon Ball GT’, GMA has aired them all. Even the remastered version of ‘Z’ called ‘Dragon Ball Z Kai’ has also been aired on the Kapuso network.

Just recently, movies of the ‘Dragon Ball’ franchise were being aired on GMA every weekend mornings. Titled ‘Dragon Ball Fight Presents’, it features a 45-minute DB film that is aired in two parts (23 minutes each), with the exception of the 70-minute ‘Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan’ (aka ‘The Burning Battle’ in the teasers) which aired for four parts.

While GMA has the rights to most of the older DB movies, it was ABS-CBN who ended up with the most recent one (not including ‘Resurrection: F’, which is yet to be released). Earlier this year, ABS-CBN managed to acquire the rights to the ‘Battle of Gods’ film, and aired it on Channel 2 and Hero during the month of January.

Yesterday morning, ABS-CBN re-aired ‘Battle of Gods’ (teaser video above), hours after GMA aired the second part of ‘Bio-Broly’ (known as ‘Attack the Super Warrior’ in the teasers). Talk about doing a favor.

By all means necessary, the rights to ‘Dragon Ball’ are now being disputed by the two network giants. And as the franchise entered its third decade, a new series in on the horizon.

Starting July 5 in Japan, a new ‘Dragon Ball’ anime will be released, entitled ‘Dragon Ball Super’. The new anime is expected to arrive soon in the Philippines, but it remains uncertain as to who will air the new series.

Of course, it will go down to the two heated rivals in the television industry. GMA may have long been associated with the DB franchise, but ABS-CBN is also looking to give a new spin to the popular anime series.

That said, the fans of Goku and the gang will have to wait. This is definitely an exciting time for the Filipino anime community, as one of the most iconic animes in the world will have a new adaptation coming soon.

TAG Wins Regularization Case vs. GMA

Members of Talents Association of GMA-7 (TAG) congregate in front of the GMA headquarters in Quezon City to protest the network’s unfair labor practices. A regularization case filed last year by TAG to the NLRC was later ruled in their favor. (Photo credit: Interaksyon.com)

The disgruntled employees of GMA Network can finally call themselves regular full-time talents.

A decision was reached yesterday by the National Labor Relations Commission. In the statement signed by labor arbiter Julio Gayaman, the NLRC declared that the recently dismissed employees of GMA are indeed regular employees, and should be entitled to security of tenure and all rights and privileges appurtenant thereto.

The regularization case was filed last year by the Talents Association of GMA-7 (TAG), which composed mainly of the network’s embattled employees. Most of these employees come from the critically-acclaimed GMA News and Public Affairs division.

That said, GMA has no choice but to promote the members of TAG to full-time status, and give them a desired salary and additional benefits. After all, they have been working their butts out in producing the network’s critically acclaimed news and public affairs programs, and they definitely deserve some sort of job security for their hard work.

It was a hard-fought victory for the Kapuso network’s labor force. But for GMA management, their problems are not yet over.

Billboard Hot 100 – July 4, 2015

Here are the Top 10 songs from the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of July 4, 2015.

1. Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth – See You Again. No. 1 last week.

2. Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood. No. 2 last week.

3. Fetty Wap – Trap Queen. No. 3 last week.

4. OMI – Cheerleader. No. 7 last week.

5. Walk the Moon – Shut Up and Dance. No. 4 last week.

6. Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk. No. 6 last week.

7. Jason Derulo – Want to Want Me. No. 5 last week.

8. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack – Hey Mama. No. 9 last week.

9. Andy Grammer – Honey, I’m Good. No. 10 last week.

10. The Weeknd – Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey). No. 8 last week.

All videos of the Top 10 songs can be viewed above. Our thanks to Billboard for this week’s Hot 100 Top 10.

Collapse of GMA-Ang Deal Further Baffles GMA’s Business Operations

A deal between Ramon S. Ang and GMA has been terminated for unspecified reasons, furthering the already troubled business operations of the Kapuso network. (Photo credit: San Miguel Corporation)

The resuscitation of GMA Network has once again hit a roadblock.

It was announced Tuesday that talks between the said network and businessman Ramon S. Ang for the latter’s acquisition of a 30% share have been terminated. Responding to this sudden turn of events, Ang called the move surprising and unexpected, and promised to wait for any explanation by GMA regarding the situation at hand.

This was not the first time that talks between GMA and a potential investor have ended without any conclusive results. PLDT and TV5 chairman Manny V. Pangilinan have also entered talks to acquire a portion of GMA’s shares in 2001, 2004, 2012 and 2014, only to collapse in the end.

The latest development involving Ang and GMA marked the latest chapter in the decline and mismanagement of the network. Just recently, the Kapuso network have been involved in a pair of un-Kapuso-like decisions in relation to its business operations.

Late last year, 52 GMA employees were laid off while fighting for the regularization of their services, leading to a protest by the group known as ‘Talents Association of GMA’ (TAG). Claiming there were ‘unfair labor practices’, the group recently held a protest in front of the GMA headquarters in Timog Avenue.

Then in late April, GMA closed down four regional offices, canceled a pair of regional morning programs, and laid off at least 100 employees. The network claimed that they were merely streamlining its operations in order to increase ratings and revenue.

Coupled with still-declining ratings and programming quality, it is now clear why GMA is going nowhere. The lack of urgency to improve and expand the business is taking its toll on the network.

And it only made worse with its latest debacle involving Ramon S. Ang.

This is now a hopeless situation for Felipe Gozon, Gilberto Duavit and the rest of GMA management. Without any support from other investors, GMA is destined to become an afterthought in the media industry, something they cannot afford to happen.

They desperately need a new investor at this point. Perhaps a sit-down discussion with SM’s Henry Sy and family may help.

Overview: NCAA Season 91 on ABS-CBN Sports

The NCAA Season 91 begins this Saturday, with San Beda trying to win an unprecedented sixth seniors’ title in a row. (Photo credit: Philstar.com)

NCAA Season 91 is five days away.

The latest season of the Philippines’ oldest collegiate league will emanate from the Mall of Asia Arena, where the opening ceremonies and a seniors basketball doubleheader will kick things off. The doubleheader will pit defending champion San Beda versus season host Mapua, and Season 90 runner-up Arellano against perennial contender JRU.

It will also be a homecoming of sorts, as ABS-CBN Sports will once again handle the television broadcasts for the NCAA games. The said network recently inked a ten-year contract that would lead up to the league’s centennial season.

A new format for weekly games is also in order. Like last season, seven seniors games will be held per week, but the new scheme will now feature doubleheaders on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a tripleheader on Fridays.

Other than the opening doubleheaders, which are scheduled at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, all games in the first round will be held at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. The second round schedule, to be released once the first round is finished, will feature most games in San Juan and may feature some marquee games at the MOA.

All of the aforementioned games will be aired live on ABS-CBN Sports+Action, and will be simulcast in high definition on Balls HD. Online livestreaming of the games will also be available on sports.abs-cbn.com, while same-day replays will be aired in the evening on Balls.

ABS-CBN Sports will utilize the following on-air talents for the NCAA games (tentative as of June 23, 2015):

Play-by-play

• Anton Roxas
• Andrei Felix

Analysts

• Martin Antonio
• Migs Bustos
• Mikee Reyes
• Allan Gregorio
• Olsen Racela

Courtside reporter

• Myrtle Sarrosa

By all accounts, it seems that ABS-CBN Sports will be using TV5’s approach in handling games, at least for this season. But don’t expect Moneyball or some other gimmick to show up during ABS-CBN’s coverage.

The selection of Sarrosa as the sole courtside reporter was also an interesting decision by network management, since ABS-CBN Sports popularized the use of students as courtside reporters for their schools. But with the network short of time to prepare for the NCAA games, they decided to tap the ‘Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition 4’ winner instead.

In addition to seniors basketball, ABS-CBN Sports will also air highlights to the other NCAA disciplines. Finals of juniors basketball and the final four of women’s volleyball will likewise be aired.

The return of the NCAA to ABS-CBN Sports should help reestablish order and prominence within the league. It remains to be seen if the latter can improve the shortcomings that Sports5 endured, but from their previous experience covering the NCAA, they should do just fine.

NCAA Season 91 unwraps this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. on ABS-CBN Sports+Action, Balls HD and sports.abs-cbn.com.