In 100 Words: Celebrity Playtime Is ABS-CBN’s Answer to Celebrity Bluff

Jose Manalo, Boobay, Isko Salvador and Eugene Domingo will now has some company, albeit at an earlier timeslot.

ABS-CBN has announced that ‘Celebrity Playtime’, the upcoming comedy/game show hosted by Billy Crawford, will air starting this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The program will feature teams of celebrity guests competing in various party games, all in the spirit of laughter and fun.

In essence, this was ABS-CBN’s true answer to the popular GMA comedy/game show ‘Celebrity Bluff’. The three-year old program has enjoyed a loyal following amid stiff and superior opposition from various Kapamilya reality and talent shows; currently it airs opposite another show hosted by Billy Crawford, ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’.

‘Celebrity Playtime’ will take over the timeslot of ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’, which had been on the air for over a year.

Jack TV, FOX Philippines Battle for Heroes Reborn

A bidding war between Jack TV and FOX Philippines over ‘Heroes Reborn’ has left viewers of both networks perplexed, even though the former will air the series much earlier. (Photo credit: Solar Entertainment/Jack TV Official Facebook)

Two cable channels are now fighting for the right to air ‘Heroes Reborn’.

Jack TV and FOX Philippines have announced that they will both broadcast ‘Heroes Reborn’ via satellite starting tomorrow. The premiere broadcast of ‘Heroes Reborn’ on both channels will be as follows:

• Jack TV – 11:00 a.m.
• FOX Philippines – 11:35 a.m.

‘Heroes Reborn’ is a 13-episode miniseries that picks up from where the original series ‘Heroes’ left off. In the U.S., the mini-series will air on NBC, the same home network as the original.

The original ‘Heroes’ first saw the light of day in the Philippines when it was aired on RPN-9 via its Prime Shift and C/S 9 branding. The series ran from 2006 to 2010 and spanned four seasons.

Just recently, all episodes of the original ‘Heroes’ were re-aired on FOX Philippines, who also intend to air ‘Heroes Reborn’. However, Jack TV, a former sister station of RPN-9, also made their own case on the upcoming miniseries, and as a result, a bidding war began between the two networks.

The program rights battle between Solar Entertainment and FOX International Channels is no longer new. There have been instances of one program being aired on each of the company’s channels; for example, Jack TV and FOX Philippines have the rights to ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy’, among other programs, with the difference being that the former airs the current season and the latter the previous seasons.

That said, it’s hard to fathom the fact that two cable networks will premiere the same program at almost the same time. It is also confusing, because the viewers will find it hard to choose which channel to watch.

Perhaps the time has come for Solar’s Wilson Tieng and FOX International’s Jude Turcuato to settle this issue once and for all. The similarities between the two outfits should not go a little too far by airing the same program almost simultaneously, so they have to figure out a way to differentiate themselves according to content.

Let’s just hope that they work out a deal in the near future. After all, this is for the best interests of the viewer.