A game of one-upmanship continues on ABS-CBN.
The Kapamilya network’s afternoon slot had a different look beginning yesterday. With the conclusion of the Koreanovela ‘My Love Donna’ last Friday, ABS-CBN chose not to replace the said program, and reduced Kapamilya Gold to just two teleseryes (‘Doble Kara’, Tubig at Langis’) and ‘Game ng Bayan’.
On top of that, ‘It’s Showtime’ had its running time extended to three hours, and as a result, Kapamilya Gold now begins much later, at 3:15 p.m.
By all accounts, it seems like ABS-CBN is once again trying to give GMA a run for its money. With the 30-minute extension, ‘It’s Showtime’ now has to contend not only with perennial rival ‘Eat Bulaga’, but also the teleserye ‘Wish I May’, whose run will come to an end soon.
Over at Kapamilya Gold, ‘Doble Kara’ will now have to face ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, while ‘Tubig at Langis’ will be up against ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’. And with the exception of regional networks, ‘Game ng Bayan’ will once again have to contend with the first 45 minutes of ‘Wowowin’.
Overall, the move provided some sense of anticipation for ABS-CBN. Knowing that GMA and TAPE, Inc. could extend ‘Eat Bulaga’ to another 30 minutes in case of a lack of replacement for ‘Wish I May’, ABS-CBN quickly took action, in hopes that GMA may indeed make a game-changing response.
Still, is three hours on weekdays too much for ‘It’s Showtime’? And is the three-program approach on Kapamilya Gold all worth it for ABS-CBN?
Let’s face it, ‘It’s Showtime’ may have overtaken ‘Eat Bulaga’ following its low point that is the AlDub vs. Pastillas rivalry, but they don’t need a 30-minute extension on weekdays. After all, the viewers need some siesta time as well, not to mention the fact that the hosts’ busy schedule were being compromised by this extension.
And what about Kapamilya Gold? With just two teleseryes and a move to a later timeslot, this may not bode well for the block’s ratings, especially with GMA consistently taking over the lead at around 4:00 p.m. in the lead-up to ‘Wowowin’.
That said, this latest programming change of ABS-CBN in the afternoon may not be helpful in the long run. While they are still winning, this new lineup will not make sense if they started to lose steam.
Now that ABS-CBN once again tweaked its afternoon lineup, will GMA respond to its rival’s move? Find out soon.
From the Tube 
It would have been better if there are children’s programming after the teleseryes and before Game ng Bayan. Sa bagay, tag-init na kasi.
Problem is, they’re not willing to do that given the current trends of cable and online viewing. So that’s out of the picture.
As far as I know, Wish I May will have its replacement titled Magkaibang Mundo starring Louise delos Reyes and Juancho Trivino. It will premiere on May 2. In my opinion, GMA will not sacrifice Afternoon Prime block just to compete with IS and KGold’s changes. I believe that it’s just temporary since there are rumors that We Will Survive will be demoted to KGold to give way to the premiere of My Super D on its Primetime Bida timeslot.
Given that Wowowin has overtaken We Will Survive since the beginning of April, it might be wise for ABS to just demote the latter to KGold. With My Super D about to premiere next week (more on that in an upcoming article), that may be the next best thing for ABS to do.
As for GMA, there is indeed a replacement on the way in Magkaibang Mundo, hence no plan on following ABS’ programming change. However, they have yet to release a trailer for this. Probably by next week, we’ll know if that’s really official, given GMA’s tendency to move back premiere dates of some future teleseryes.
Rumors also that Doble Kara will end on April 22.
ABS hasn’t confirmed it yet, so it’s not official. And besides, there’s no replacement for it at this point.
And that rumor remained false. Doble Kara is still airing.
Instead of wrapping up, they added a ‘Book 2’ where Kara and Sara were now mothers. Sayang at namatay yung anak ni Sara at the start.
Just in: Game ng Bayan will have its last episode this April 15, as per TV Patrol. As we all know, talo ang Game ng Bayan in both Nielsen and Kantar against Wowowin
Looks like Game Ng Bayan’s replacement is pretty much confirmed. More details: https://jrdvworld.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/game-ng-bayan-ends-friday-replacement-yet-to-be-named/
Simply put, the regional TV Patrol affected its ratings nationally, a dilemma that has not been addressed by ABS for many years now. Mabuti nga sila may RNG, TVPlus at iWanTV, kaso with the regional news, there are certain programs that cannot be seen at the same time as the Metro Manila flagship, hence the not-so impressive ratings.
Not to mention the fact that producing GNB is a waste of time and money, especially considering it’s an independent weekday show taped in various barangays. They’re no Happy Truck and Juan for All that’s for sure.