It will be a very busy 2016 for media networks in the Philippines.
This year is an election year, and this one will decide the fate of the presidency of the Philippines. ABS-CBN, TV5 and GMA, along with several minor players, will be on hand to cover the five-month period of conviction and decision, leading to the national elections on May 9, and finally to the inauguration on June 30.
The question is, will CNN Philippines, GMA News TV and AksyonTV be busy enough for the grind of the elections? The three news networks have had a rough outing last year, with only ANC and DZMM TeleRadyo continuing to showcase their usual journalistic excellence, and unless they prove the critics wrong on election day, they will endure yet another showering of boos.
On the entertainment side, this is where GMA needs to make a statement (yet again). Even though ‘Eat Bulaga’ and AlDub grabbed the headlines during the second half of 2015, the rest of GMA’s programming, talents and staff still leave a lot to be desired, and if GMA were to be competitive and financially strong, they need more than just AlDub to survive.
Over at TV5, they are making a fresh start with a new ally. Viva Entertainment head Vic del Rosario is now leading the network’s entertainment unit, and he hopes to make an impact with new shows that could reenergize the Kapatid network’s stagnant and unpredictable programming.
As for ABS-CBN, there’s no need for a forecast. Barring any possibility of overconfidence and complacency, this should be another successful year for the Kapamilya network, with new shows featuring both established and rising stars on the menu.
Sports programming suffered a big blow when ABS-CBN-operated Balls signed off for good last year. That said, there will be big shoes to fill for the remaining sports networks in the country, particularly TV5’s Hyper and ABS-CBN Sports+Action, as they scramble for rights to some of the events that Balls covered.
FM’s 90.7 Love Radio remained dominant last year, as are DZMM and DZBB on the AM band. Closing in on the top radio stations will once again be a very tough act for the rest of the field this year, especially with the possibility of a rebrand and a change in personnel looming for those who couldn’t keep up.
And finally, as always, the endless questions of IBC-13’s planned privatization (or closure) will continue to surface this year. The question of when, who and how will once again permeate curious viewers, as the fate of the embattled station remains a mystery even with the change of administration.
This should be an interesting year ahead, and From the Tube will be there to cover every step of the way. Good luck.
From the Tube 
Ralph, for the first half of 2016, the posts of upcoming entertainment programs will be in your hands as my own Turf will carry the said period devoted towards educating the electorate and more.
This should be a fun first half, both in the elections and in the ratings. Can’t wait.
That’s means Timow will handle the election education series, while you and JRDV (and even MC, if is available) will focus on PH TV and Radio in 2016.
Possibly.
On FM radio, changes for Monster Radio RX 93.1. Rico Robles and Karen Bordador now are heard from 10 am to 1 pm followed by Schneider and Alven from 1-4 pm.
At Mellow 947, Chloe is gone and a male DJ took her place from 10 am to 1 pm. Afternoon Cruise, which features acoustic and live music, is from 1-4 pm with Ingrid Nieto as DJ.
Anyway, we’ll have to see if ‘Kailangan Pa Bang I-Memorize Yan, Bisyo na ‘To’ will finally lose its footing this year. The other competitors are really catching up, so this should be an interesting year in radio.
and the fact that some listeners are tuning in other stations. Truly, the era of more music, less talk is coming. Before that format is only for light and easy form of listening, now it is now invading pop stations.
BNO, Papa Jack and GTWM should watch out for this. The golden age of FM radio may return soon.
As for Magic, #HelloWeek has just begun.Some djs shift timeslots and changed the name of its programs. Well BNO will stay forever… for now.
As is Good Times, whether we like it or not. Essentially nothing changed on Magic except for the programs.
Mo Twister should also watch out as well.
I already mentioned GTWM.
Sorry. I was referring to Morning Rush especially with Delamar still on leave.
Personally, I think Chico is the heart of TMR. If he’s not here it’s boring.
No wonder why less talk, more music is now a growing trend, aside from news on FM. Technology changed the radio landscape and most listeners preferred to air more music and less chitchat. Baka sa susunod, magkakaroon na rin ng commercial-free weekends, playing 10,000 songs in a row commercial-free o ___ minutes of commercial-free music sa Philippine FM radio.
Just ask Easy Rock, the most popular (albeit sucky) ‘less talk, more music’ radio station in MM today.
Sucky because of the Love Radio and YES FM connection. Sad to say, drivers like listening toall the MBC stations.
There’s still some more decent ones like Wish 1075 though.
99.5 PLAY FM has also revamped their programming and their DJs. Aly Esplana, daughter of former PBA player Gerry, is a DJ on the 12 nn to 3 pm timeslot.
Ewan ko kung satisfied sila sa kanilang ratings success as of late with tons of changes.
Maybe apathetic lang ang government because they pay too much attention on PTV-4. IBC, at this point, is being pegged as PTV-4’s relay station, since they seem to get programming from that network, albeit at a lesser extent.