‘The Half-Sisters’ now finds itself facing a more formidable rival.
The long-running GMA afternoon teleserye, now over a year on the air, will face ‘Doble Kara’ starting today. The upcoming episode of ‘Doble Kara’ will mark the series debut of Julia Montes, after the teleserye’s first week saw young actress Avery Balasbas play the younger versions of Julia’s twin characters Sarah and Kara.
Despite not featuring Julia in its opening week, ‘Doble Kara’ managed to beat the competition from the moment it debuted on ABS-CBN. Last Monday’s premiere episode scored a 16.9% rating (based on Kantar’s figures), besting rival show ‘Buena Familia’s 13.1%, and continued its momentum throughout the week.
It became clear, however, that ‘Doble Kara’ needed worthier competition. This is where ‘The Half-Sisters’ come to the picture.
For most of this year, ‘The Half-Sisters’ has been afternoon’s top teleserye, winning in both Kantar and AGB Nielsen on a consistent basis. While the series is being led by underrated GMA talents in Barbie Forteza and Thea Tolentino, a strong supporting cast and an unpredictable storyline has kept viewers glued to this series regularly.
‘The Half-Sisters’ proved too much for ‘Flordeliza’ to overcome, even though the latter managed to gain some momentum in its final few weeks. Still, ABS-CBN was not satisfied with how the series fared, despite the fact that it was hyped as the comeback series of returning Kapamilyas Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin.
‘Flordeliza’ was supposed to be replaced by ‘Doble Kara’, but the latter’s premiere date was moved a week earlier than expected. The declining ratings of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737 Gold’ forced ABS-CBN to cancel the show in order to make way for ‘Doble Kara’, which first premiered opposite ‘Buena Familia’.
Following the conclusion of ‘Flordeliza’, ABS-CBN initially advertised ‘All of Me’ as the former’s replacement. But instead, the itch to beat ‘The Half-Sisters’ can no longer be tolerated, and they finally decided to move ‘Doble Kara’ to the leadoff spot in the network’s Kapamilya Gold block.
It does make sense for ABS-CBN to pit ‘Doble Kara’ against ‘The Half-Sisters’. After all, they have a proven performer in Julia Montes, who has been successful in the Primetime Bida block through starring roles in ‘Mara Clara’, ‘Walang Hanggan’, ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’, and more recently ‘Ikaw Lamang’.
Now the sole lead star and playing two characters at once, it’s up to Julia to continue her momentum. But whether or not her presence will lift ‘Doble Kara’ past an afternoon power in ‘The Half-Sisters’ remains to be seen.
Still, it’s a good test for Julia and her expanding range of skills. Good luck.
‘Doble Kara’ airs weekdays after ‘It’s Showtime’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.
From the Tube 
Good luck na lang kay Julia Montes on her new daytime drama on ABS. IDK kung magbabago ang landscape ng daytime TV since medyo successful ang GMA every afternoon, thanks to the lead-in program Eat Bulaga.
GMA’s daytime success is different than its weaknesses in primetime, weekends, regional TV, and even internal problems.
Recent trends, however, suggest na pababa na rin ang ratings ng GMA sa hapon after EB. The Half-Sisters may still win consistently, but with Doble Kara and a proven talent in Julia Montes, baka mahirapan na silang manalo. Both All of Me and NKNKK should pose a threat to Buena Familia and Healing Hearts, two teleseryes that have grown considerably weaker ratings-wise of late.
I think of this move of ABS as a genius one. Alam nila na talong talo ang Showtime laban sa eb as of late. So it’s based on my observation, it’s okey for them to lose the noontime slot now but gain the afternoon slot.
Indeed.
kahit na mataas ang EB as of now, when it comes to its afternoon line up eh nagdedecline na din. Netizens became irritated sa nagiging takbo ng story ng THS, paikot ikot na nga lang daw. With its counterpart naman na Doble Kara, nagiging maganda yung reception nya, naging tactic din siguro ng ABS na bago matapos ang Flordeliza eh i.premier agad ito para makuha yung viewers ng THS, kaya right after a week eh tsaka nila itinapat. Idagdag na din natin na nasa momentum ngayon ang KGold, and yung paglipat sa NKNKK sa thirdslot, malamang another game plan para magdecide na panuorin at Kagatin ang All of Me (trending sya third spot kanina) since NKNKK ang ngayo’y nagtagal sa KGold na nakatanggap ng 2nd extension.
War in the Afternoon Block strenghtened as KGold also offer 3 teleseryes to counter Afternoon Prime.
ABS-CBN strategy is simply like this, okey lang na manood kayo ng eat bulaga basta pag patak ng alas dos y media balik din kayo samin.
Exactly. ABS may not dominate noontime anymore, but once EB is done, they can take advantage, lalo na sa mga nabo-bore sa The Half-Sisters.
At least ABS have some smart moves on its own. Kahit talo ang Showtime, ABS can lure viewers who watched EB, particularly Kalyeserye, to watch Kapamilya Gold once EB ends at 2:30pm.
Again the recent trends favor ABS post-noontime, so it won’t be a problem for them. As far as I know, putting Doble Kara against The Half-Sisters is already a wise decision for the network.
Reports said that THS will be having their last episode in October. Good luck to the competition.
We’ll have to wait for the confirmation.
LATEST KANTAR RATINGS FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 31: Doble Kara beats THS by one percent.
So far, the decision is paying off. But that’s just one episode. There’s still a long way to go.
I have to be honest here but, every time I watch a single ABS-CBN show especially the primetime ones, I feel the phenomenon and innovation that it has. No offense. Hope that GMA could recover soon in terms of these.
Charo’s vision is paying off in these dramas. GMA sure needs to do something about it.
Their marketing strategies are working wonders right now. So i felt abs would now take over the afternoon with these soaps which truly pang primetime ang dating.
Indeed. And by the way, Dreamscape co-produced Doble Kara, which is a bonus.
I sense that now with Kapamilya Gold starting to give afternoon prime a taste of it’s own medicine. I felt that Eat Bulaga is not helping GMA’s cause with their shows starting to lose grip of the ratings.
One example has to be The Half-Sisters. It is over a year old now, and viewers were starting to get bored and desperate. ABS made a wise decision with Doble Kara, and the ratings so far have helped the latter over the former. And this also goes to the teleseryes that followed.
There is also a possibility of bandwagoners who only watch the kalyeserye for pleasure, only to switch to ABS once it’s done. That’s even worse.
The fact of the matter is that other fans of Aldub are also Kathniel, JaDine, etc fans.
Makes more sense. They only go for the popular love teams with no regard for network loyalty.