NCAA March Madness Belatedly Returns to Solar Sports, BTV

There will be US NCAA March Madness in the Philippines after all.

This weekend, Solar Sports and Basketball TV will join forces to cover Sunday’s Final Four and Tuesday’s National Championship of the US NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. Sunday’s games are as follows:

• Villanova vs. Oklahoma (6:00 a.m. live on Solar Sports and Basketball TV)
• Syracuse vs. North Carolina (8:45 a.m. live on Solar Sports and 10:30 a.m. delayed broadcast on Basketball TV)

The winners of the above games will face off in Tuesday’s National Championship. It will take place at 8:00 a.m. live on Solar Sports and Basketball TV.

This marks the return of the NCAA tournament to the Solar networks for the first time since 2013. Unfortunately, the return of March Madness to Solar was somewhat belated, due to a lack of interest from various networks.

Sports5, the rightsholder of the last two US NCAA March Madness tournaments, decided to back out owing to cost-cutting measures and the yearly observance of Holy Week. Fox Sports Philippines, who covers conference college tournaments, also did not express interest, and neither did ABS-CBN Sports due to its focus on the UAAP.

With no other options, Solar Sports decided to step in, but their involvement came way too late. As a result, they missed out covering the preliminaries, from the First Four to the Elite Eight.

Still, as far as Solar is concerned, it’s better late than never. After all, March Madness is considered a must-watch event, even if a few Filipinos religiously follow the tournament.

It remains to be seen whether or not Solar will be willing to cover another year or two of March Madness. But hopefully, once they express interest again, the coverage won’t be just the Final Four and the National Championship, but also the First Four, the rounds of 64 and 32, the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight, for the full March Madness experience.

Good luck.

Advertisement

No Replacement for Kris TV, For Now

Looks like ‘Kris TV’ is here to stay anew.

Even though Kris Aquino made it clear that last Wednesday’s episode of ‘Kris TV’ was to be their last (see video above), on Monday, March 28, ABS-CBN decided to continue airing the talk show as a series of ‘best of’ specials. ‘The Best of Kris TV’, as seen in the program plugs, airs on the very timeslot that ‘Kris TV’ once occupied, from 7:30-9:00 a.m. on weekdays.

The reason behind this decision is unclear, though it may be attributed to a lack of a suitable replacement. There were rumors that a talk show hosted by Karla Estrada would replace ‘Kris TV’, but the Kapamilya actress quickly shot it down.

With nearly five years and over 1,000 episodes to boot, ‘Kris TV’ ranks as one of the longest-running morning talk shows on Philippine television. While the show may not have been a ratings darling, its loyal following and Kris Aquino’s dedication to her craft helped ‘Kris TV’ stay on the air for as long as Kris’ body and mind allowed it to.

Still, with the show having closed shop, what’s next for ABS-CBN as far as its vacated timeslot is concerned? After all, they don’t want an already concluded show like ‘Kris TV’ to remain on the air, so they need to make a decision about it as soon as possible.

Hopefully the wait won’t be long. As for Kris Aquino, let’s just hope that she returns to prominence with her body and mind as strong as ever.

 

Billboard Hot 100 – April 2, 2016

Here are the Top 10 songs from the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of April 2, 2016.

1. Rihanna feat. Drake – Work. No. 1 last week.

2. Justin Bieber – Love Yourself. No. 2 last week.

3. Lukas Graham – 7 Years. No. 5 last week.

4. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out. No. 3 last week.

5. Flo Rida – My House. No. 4 last week.

6. Zayn – Pillowtalk. No. 6 last week.

7. G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha – Me, Myself & I. No. 7 last week.

8. Justin Bieber – Sorry. No. 8 last week.

9. DNCE – Cake by the Ocean. No. 9 last week.

10. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman. New entry.

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

Poor Señorita to Challenge Ang Probinsyano Starting Tonight

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, meet Coco Martin.

After easily disposing both ‘MariMar’ and ‘Little Nanay’, ‘FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’ now awaits a new opponent. This time, young stars will not be the focus of this new GMA teleserye, but rather, a still-relevant 40-year-old Asia’s Songbird

Yes, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid remains a visible figure after nearly three decades in the industry. Although she earned her stripes as a singer, she also had major success as an actress, and starting tonight, the latter aspect of her talents will be shown on the upcoming series ‘Poor Señorita’.

In ‘Poor Señorita’, Regine plays Rita, a successful yet obsessive-compulsive owner of a perfume company. After suddenly losing her wealth, she stumbled upon five children who would try to help her get back on her feet, and in the process, show her the true meaning of love and happiness.

Joining Regine on ‘Poor Señorita’ are Mikael Daez, Sheena Halili, Kevin Santos, Valeen Montenegro, Jaya, Ervic Vijandre, Jillian Ward, Miggs Cuaderno, Zymic Jaranilla, Caprice Cayetano, Ralph Noriega, Snooky Serna, Ayra Mariano and Elyson de Dios. For Ayra and Elyson, it will be their first project after winning ‘StarStruck’ season 6.

Playing special roles on ‘Poor Señorita’ are Ricky Davao and Dingdong Dantes. Dominic Zapata will be the series’ director.

‘Poor Señorita’ is the latest in a series of attempts by GMA Telebabad to make their dramas lighter and more family-friendly. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out, and the fact that ABS-CBN (with the help of Dreamscape and Star Creatives) succeeded with dramas that appeal to the everyday Filipino made it more difficult for GMA to thrive.

That said, a daunting challenge awaits ‘Poor Señorita’ on its very first week. With ‘FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’ on a roll, the former needs to prove that they can also keep up and make lighter series just as appealing to viewers.

‘Poor Señorita’ airs starting tonight after ’24 Oras’ on GMA Telebabad.

Billboard Hot 100 – March 26, 2016

Here are the Top 10 songs from the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of March 26, 2016.

1. Rihanna feat. Drake – Work. No. 1 last week.

2. Justin Bieber – Love Yourself. No. 2 last week.

3. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out. No. 3 last week.

4. Flo Rida – My House. No. 4 last week.

5. Lukas Graham – 7 Years. No. 9 last week.

6. Zayn – Pillowtalk. No. 6 last week.

7. G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha – Me, Myself & I. No. 7 last week.

8. Justin Bieber – Sorry. No. 5 last week.

9. DNCE – Cake by the Ocean. No. 10 last week.

10. Mike Posner – I Took a Pill in Ibiza. No. 14 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.

American Series Return to ABS-CBN via Jane the Virgin

The unthinkable has happened.

On March 28, ABS-CBN will bring ‘Jane the Virgin’ to Channel 2 as a replacement to ‘You’re My Home’. This will mark the first time in over a decade that Channel 2 had an American series on its lineup.

‘Jane the Virgin’ stars Gina Rodriguez as the titular 23-year-old virgin woman. She was accidentally inseminated artificially with sperm samples of a wealthy and married hotel owner Rafael (played by Justin Baldoni), disrupting her plans of keeping her virginity.

The incident eventually led to the two becoming a couple and raising a child of their own. Still, it didn’t help that her plans to marry her detective boyfriend (Brett Dier) ended in ruin because of it.

In the United States, ‘Jane the Virgin’ airs on the CW and has a total of two seasons and 36 episodes since premiering in the autumn of 2014. It was recently renewed for a third season thanks to good ratings and positive reviews.

Due to the fact that ‘Jane the Virgin’, like all other American series, airs weekly and only on a seasonal basis, broadcasting the series will be a problem for ABS-CBN. Because of that, they might need to produce or import a replacement as soon as possible, due to these circumstances.

And even if ‘Jane the Virgin’ was renewed for another season or two, the Kapamilya network may not even make a long-term commitment. That said, their decision to air ‘Jane the Virgin’ will depend on its performance and how willing are they to take a risk.

The truth is, Filipino viewers have no penchant for patience, and for ABS-CBN, this may turn out to be a big mistake. After all, such seasonal series only caters to the upper and middle class, and for a station with a mass following, this might not help at all.

‘Jane the Virgin’, dubbed in Filipino, airs weeknights starting March 28 after ‘The Story of Us’ on Primetime Bida.

FTT Advisory: From the Tube will take a break in observance of Holy Week. Regular posts resume on March 28. Have a wonderful and blessed Holy Week.