What a difference a year makes.
Back on July 16, 2015, viewers of the then-hit noontime show ‘It’s Showtime’ were suddenly stunned to see the debut of the popular AlDub tandem on ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Kalyeserye’ segment. Thanks to the split-screen magic between Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, ‘Eat Bulaga’ was able to win by just 0.2% in the national ratings that day.
The surprising love team took not only the nation, but the entire world by storm. Twitter went abuzz as Alden and Maine exchanged Dubsmash replies through song each and every day, while Lola Nidora (played by Wally Bayola) tried to play it as if it is only fictional in nature.
While the AlDub phenomenon was hitting its stride, ‘It’s Showtime’ tried its best to keep up. They answered the AlDub love team by trying to give Angelica Yap (a.k.a. Pastillas Girl) a new partner in the skit ‘Nasaan Ka Mr. Pastillas’, which did not work out.
The peak of the AlDub fever took place on October 24, when ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Sa Tamang Panahon’ charity concert at the Philippine Arena drew not only 50,000 or so fans, but also millions of viewers around the world. The national ratings reflected that success as well, as ‘Eat Bulaga’ scored a 40.1% rating over ‘It’s Showtime”s 10.2%.
The lopsided ratings could have ended ‘It’s Showtime’ as viewers know it. Instead, they persevered and finally came up with a segment that took the steam out of AlDub.
Enter ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’, the 1950s classic singing competition that returned as a segment of ‘It’s Showtime’ on January 2. The premise of the segment was simple: singers must perform well to win, then defend the title the next day against other aspirants from around the country.
Thanks to the presence of the revived TNT, the show gradually rebounded, and by January 11, ‘It’s Showtime’ overtook ‘Eat Bulaga’ for good in the ratings. The aura that once enveloped AlDub on ‘Kalyeserye’ disappeared.
Many factors were given as to why ‘Kalyeserye’ suddenly fell flat. But perhaps the most notable of these was the fact that Maine Mendoza, whose real voice had been withheld from the public for months (except for an interview on ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’), was finally ‘given’ an ability to talk fluently during the ‘Sa Tamang Panahon’ concert.
Skits soon became predictable and repetitive, and as a result, viewers who were once part of the AlDub fever were switching back to ‘It’s Showtime’. Even after the July 16 episode in which Alden and Maine celebrated their first anniversary as a couple, ‘Eat Bulaga’ was unable to recapture past glory.
On the other hand, ‘It’s Showtime’ was back to its old entertaining self. They not only have the hit ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ segment, but also ‘TrabaHula’, a skit where players had to guess the real worker among the four in the audience.
Indeed, the recent dominance of ‘It’s Showtime’ in the first half of the decade is manifesting itself once again. And for Vice Ganda and company, they have no intention of letting it go.
So what’s next for this noontime rivalry? One can only hope that ‘Eat Bulaga’ can find a way to regroup their ‘Kalyeserye’ strategy, otherwise, ‘It’s Showtime’ and TNT will continue to assert their place atop the noontime charts.
From the Tube 
Sometime Showtime’s credits were fully shown, but normally, before the credits show up, Doble Kara already started, sometimes even immediately after the daily champion is announced. Is this normal for ABS-CBN?
Even on TV Patrol it sometimes happens. I don’t know why, but it’s possible that they cut the credits before it’s over due to overtime.
TV Patrol cuts their full credits by showing their program title card before the MTRCB advisory plug of Ang Probinsyano.
This is totally not the case of GMA’s news programs (both on Channel 7 & 11) and Unang Hirit. They aired the full credits but it is always cut except during Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve!
If I were the programming department, a short credits detailing the producers and director with the simple “all rights reserved” would do.
Ibang usapan na ang ending credits ng Showtime. Ang topic dito ay ang fall ng Showtime during AlDub’s reign at ang muling pagbangon ng Showtime since January dahil sa Tawag ng Tanghalan at Trabahula. Sa totoo lang, ang tunay na factor sa pagsikat muli ng Showtime is sawang-sawa na sila sa kwento ng Kalyeserye and it all started since Ang Tamang Panahon concert last October sa Philippine Arena. Looks like Tawag ng Tanghalan and Trabahula saved Showtime from further humiliation.
Come to think of it, once nagkaroon na ng boses si Maine, that was it. The surprise factor is gone. And so is the hype.
I think the ‘Kalyeserye’ segment entitled ‘Lola’s Playlist’ was the answer of EB to ‘(It’s) Showtime’…just a thought of it.
On the other side, ‘Kalyeserye’ should be finished as soon as Paolo Ballesteros returns on September after his suspension term.
But more viewers are still glued with Showtime kahit nandiyan ang Lola’s Playlist. It’s not enough. Mula noong Ang Tamang Panahon concert, viewers slowly tuned out.
In short, nawala ang malaking audience ng EB dahil nakakapagsalita na si Maine on national TV. It’s not their fault that they need to give Maine an opportunity to talk normally on the show, but rather, it’s the disappearance of the ‘unpredictable’ factor that made Kalyeserye great then.
at nakabawi na rin ang IS sa ratings, particularly sa Kantar Media.
Since January of this year it’s been all Showtime. At this point, EB is having a hard time dealing with Tawag ng Tanghalan. Not even their Just Duet or Lola’s Playlist helped their cause.
Now we have to blame them kung bakit naging 6:45 na ang TV Patrol…
I’ll have an article about this next week. It’s either ABS is starting a new trend or is intimidated by GMA’s continued success in the afternoon slots.