In 100 Words: Sarap, ‘Di ba?

‘Sarap Diva’ has been transformed.

In the wake of Regine Velasquez’s move to ABS-CBN this past week, her former show immediately went to work and rebranded itself into ‘Sarap, ‘Di ba?’ effective last Saturday. Replacing Regine as the show’s host is the family trio of Carmina Villaroel and twin children Mavy and Cassy Legaspi.

For all intents and purposes, ‘Sarap, ‘Di ba?’ is considered a ‘new’ show that is different in tone from its successor. While the cooking portion of the show remains, Carmina, Mavy and Cassy now focus on topics regarding family and individual lifestyles.

So far, ‘Sarap, ‘Di ba?’ has been well-received by viewers. But it remains to be seen if it will be good enough to last as long as its predecessor did.

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New Name for Lifestyle, Plus Toonami Gets the Ax

Lifestyle (Network) has a new name.

On April 2, 2018, Lifestyle was renamed and rebranded as the Metro Channel. Named after the high-end lifestyle magazine of the same name, Metro Channel will feature almost the same content as its predecessor, with a focus on food, fashion and travel programs.

Some of the programs that will air on Metro Channel include locally-produced shows such as ‘The Crawl’, ‘Casa Daza’, ‘At the Table’, ‘G Diaries’ and ‘Pia’s Postcards’. It will also feature foreign canned programs such as ‘Masterchef’, ‘America’s Next Top Model’ and ‘The Great British Bakeoff’.

Operated by ABS-CBN affiliate Creative Programs Inc., Metro Channel was originally launched on July 24, 1999 as the Lifestyle Network. It was later rebranded as ‘Lifestyle’ in 2015 with increased emphasis towards programs concerning food, fashion and travel.

Metro Channel will continue to air on SkyCable channel 52 and on high definition channel 174. It is also available on SkyDirect channel 31 and on select cable operators in the Philippines.

Easter weekend also saw the demise of Toonami, a cable channel operated by Turner Broadcasting. After nearly six years on the air, Toonami was officially shut down on March 31, 2018.

A sister channel of Cartoon Network and Boomerang, Toonami was known to air a selection of anime and American action cartoon series. Among the notable programs that were aired on Toonami include ‘Batman’, ‘Teen Titans’, ‘Ben 10’, ‘Inazuma Eleven Go’, ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’, ‘Yo-Kai Watch’ and ‘Dragon Ball Z’.

The shutdown of Toonami had huge repercussions to Filipino anime fans who still mourn the loss of local anime channel Hero. At the time it was taken off the air, Toonami was broadcasting the ongoing ‘Dragon Ball Super’ series which has yet to be launched on Filipino free TV.

It remains to be seen if Cartoon Network will be able to revive the Toonami primetime block to accommodate its displaced programs. But for anime fans who are looking for other ways to watch their favorite programs, there are other options such as cable channels Animax and AniPlus, as well as anime streaming websites.

At Last: GMA Enters Digital Territory with Online-Exclusive Shows

Better late than never.

After witnessing rivals ABS-CBN and TV5 establish their online presence with a slew of internet-exclusive programs the past few years, GMA finally decided to join in the fun by penetrating the digital world. The start of 2018 saw GMA launch three online-exclusive shows as part of its GMA ONE series.

They are:

Adulting 

Hosted by Atom Araullo, this program teaches young viewers some tips and advice in making adult life meaningful. It also takes a look at Atom’s daily life where he deals with the various trials and tribulations of being an adult.

#Goals

Hosted by Gabbi Garcia, this program tackles various fashion and lifestyle-related topics that young viewers can relate to. It will also look into Gabbi’s everyday life as she goes deep into her kikay kit and explore her personal goals, beliefs, desires and tastes.

Fact or Fake

Hosted by Joseph Morong, this program divulges deep into the news and determines whether or not it is factual or fictitious. Joseph’s role as a news reporter will come in handy as he sorts out which news is true and which is not.

The three online-exclusive shows were first streamed on the official GMA Network website and on GMA’s official YouTube channel last Monday. It will stream every Monday at 5:00 p.m. thereafter.

About the only thing missing from the launch of the three programs is GMA’s own online video-on-demand service similar to ABS-CBN’s iWant TV platform. Although the Kapuso network joined forces with YouTube to bring in full episodes of classic teleseryes from years past, it was still not enough to satisfy its need to create its own website/app that would house most, if not all of its programs both on TV and online.

Still, step one of perhaps an even bigger objective for GMA is worth a start. Now if they can start looking towards a bigger picture in order to be at par with what ABS-CBN is doing.

A Summary of TV5’s New Blocktimer Shows

TV5 is soldiering on with the help of blocktimers.

Over the next two days, three new programs will make their way into TV5’s lineup. They are:

Travel 360

A new travel show to be hosted by Kim Sarreal, Carla de Castro and Bien de la Paz, ‘Travel 360’ will highlight various places of interest while giving prospective travelers tips on how to enjoy one’s vacation to the fullest.

Bloggers TV

Hosted by Adele David, ‘Bloggers TV’ is a lifestyle program that is dedicated to the passion of blogging. It will take a look at the latest events and happenings that every blogger should love.

Both programs will be produced by Style International Company. The up-and-coming group is known for three things: event promotion, marketing and advertising.

Meanwhile, a third program will be a co-production of TV5 and Coca-Cola Philippines. ‘Coke Studio PH’ will feature live performances from some of the country’s up-and-coming and highly recognizable musicians.

Some of the confirmed performers on the show include Reese Lansangan, Jensen and the Flips, BP Valenzuela, Autotelic, Gracenote, Ransom Collective, Franco, Sandwich, Ebe Dancel, Noel Cabangon, Moonstar 88, Abra, Gabby Alipe, Raimund Marasigan, Curtismith and Buddy Zabala. ‘Coke Studio PH’ will also be streamed live on YouTube.

At this point, the short term is becoming apparent when it comes to TV5’s local fare. With the network still reeling from last year’s disaster, the best that they can do at this point is to hook up with blocktimers to produce quality content that should satisfy even the most hardcore of Kapatids.

With that, good luck to the three shows that will air on TV5 this weekend. It may be short and sweet, but the effort should be worth it.

Not Dead Yet: ATC @ IBC Returns from Long Hiatus

Former Swiss ambassador to the Philippines Raoul Imbach will try his hand at hosting on the ATC @ IBC-produced show ‘An Evening with Raoul’. (Photo credit: The Manila Times)

It looks like the ATC @ IBC block is going back to business, sort of.

The Asian Television Content Corporation (via their newly established Facebook page) announced a pair of programs that will air on IBC-13 starting this July. First on the bucket list is a talk show called ‘An Evening with Raoul’, which will air beginning this Saturday at 10:00 p.m.

The Raoul in ‘An Evening to Raoul’ refers to former Swiss ambassador to the Philippines Raoul Imbach, who is also an avid singer. He will bring some special guests who will primarily share with him their common passions.

ATC @ IBC will also air the 2017 Boracay Latin Dance Festival. The tape-delayed event will air on July 22 at 9:00 p.m.

The last time ATC was active on IBC-13 was when it aired games of the PBA D-League, NAASCU and the UCBL between 2015 and mid-2016. Previous to that were a slate of programs that included two telenovelas, some documentary programs and even ONE FC.

Unfortunately, IBC-13’s continuously poor state was too much for ATC to overcome, and the company seem destined to fold. Considering that their website was shut down and their original Facebook page no longer posts new content, liquidation of assets should have been the solution for the beleaguered company.

But with these recent developments, it appears that ATC’s presumptive demise was only premature. Then again, the slow snail-like privatization process of IBC-13 will once again come to play here, and the short-term benefits of ATC’s reentry may not be enough to give the perpetually moribund network a much-needed shot in the arm.

If ATC fails anew, it will not be surprising to see IBC-13 go back to airing unlimited hours’ worth of TV Shop Philippines and EZ Shop plus religious and cockfighting programs. For now, though, enjoy this low-key comeback while it lasts.

Gina Lopez’s G Diaries This Sunday on ABS-CBN

Gina Lopez has come home.

After a controversial 10-month run as environment secretary, Lopez embarks on a new role, that of a television personality. Her 13-episode series, ‘G Diaries’, serves as a platform of her past experience, as she dives deep into the country’s most scenic locations while continuing to advocate environmental protection.

As previously mentioned, ‘G Diaries’ is a homecoming of sorts for Lopez. Prior to her stint as environment secretary, Lopez served a variety of roles within the ABS-CBN family, most notably as managing director of the Lingkod Kapamilya foundation.

In ‘G Diaries’, Lopez pays a visit into some of the country’s must-see attractions, and along the way she will meet new friends and talk about preserving the environment. According to Lopez herself,

“‘G Diaries’ seeks not only to entertain viewers and promote the Philippines as a majestic travel destination but also to inform and incite action, for everyone to be part of the collective effort to preserve the environment and bequeath it in its healthiest state to the next generation.”

All 13 episodes of ‘G Diaries’ will be directed by esteemed Hollywood director, producer and writer Wil Harper. The series will kick off with a signature prelude film featuring celebrities such as Sharon Cuneta, Eddie Garcia and Charo Santos-Concio.

While ‘G Diaries’ may be just another travel program, there is one aspect of the show that is worth looking at. Not only will viewers see some new destinations, but they will also look at the environmental and aesthetic aspect that each locale presents.

That said, awareness of one’s surroundings is put to a premium in this series. And for those who want to become environmentalists someday, this show is worth watching.

The premiere episode of ‘G Diaries’ will air this Sunday before ‘ASAP’, after which it will air every Saturday at 8:00 a.m. on ABS-CBN. The series will also be seen on Lifestyle Network and the ABS-CBN News Channel.