The Kids’ Choice Fails to Deliver Despite Good Ratings

Call it a win that actually isn’t.

For ‘The Kids’ Choice’, it is true that they are winning in the ratings. But in hindsight, it is more of a moral defeat than an actual victory because the numbers tell more of a losing battle.

While Kantar figures suggest that last Sunday’s finale of ‘The Kids’ Choice’ was a success, in reality it is not. Its 26.8% rating was a major drop-off from the second season finale of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ which hit 45.6%.

"The Kids' Choice" grand finals topped weekend programming as it recorded 24.8% last Saturday (Nov 3) and 26.8% last Sunday (Nov 4). #KantarMedia pic.twitter.com/mkN1XMS3Rr

— ABS-CBN PR (@ABSCBNpr) November 5, 2018

In terms of overall performance from start to finish, ‘The Kids’ Choice’ failed to deliver as well. None of its episodes cracked the 30% barrier, with its highest-rated episode being the first which received 29%.

Again, this was a huge step back from ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ which routinely hit the 30% mark or higher in its run. To make matters worse, GMA took advantage of ‘The Kids’ Choice”s ineptitude, as ‘The Clash’ came to within 1% of the latter in its finale last month.

With such a pitiful performance in spite of the show’s good ratings, it is no secret why ABS-CBN pulled the plug on ‘The Kids’ Choice’ after only 20 episodes. The concept may be original, but in the eyes of the viewers, the Just Kids League is simply too raw and too young to process some serious critical thinking.

Not even the shift from ordinary kids to celebrities last month made the difference. Overall, ‘The Kids’ Choice’ had potential written all over, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

To ABS-CBN’s credit, however, they at least gave it a try. A round of applause should dim all the pain.

Still, much like the ill-fated GMA talent show ‘Anak Ko Yan’ a few years ago, only a few will reminisce about ‘The Kids’ Choice’. This is one forgettable show that ABS-CBN would like to get rid of, and for good reason: it simply did not resonate with the masses.

Tanghalan ng Kampeon: GMA’s Answer to Tawag ng Tanghalan

A brewing rivalry continues to emerge between ‘It’s Showtime’ and ‘Wowowin’.

After the latter show copied the former in going past its normal allotted time, ‘Wowowin’ now takes a shot on ‘It’s Showtime”s popular singing competition ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’. Their response is a singing competition of their own, one that is just as familiar to audiences as ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’.

From Star Bytes by Butch Francisco (The Philippine Star, 2003):

Tanghalan ng Kampeon — Conceived and born on RPN 9 as Ang Bagong Kampeon, this amateur singing contest moved to GMA7 when its creator, Wilma Galvante, also transferred in 1988 to Channel 7 where she is now one of the station’s top bosses. Tanghalan had great production values and was also eagerly awaited by its followers because of the great rapport between the two hosts, Pilita Corrales and the late Bert Marcelo.

Consider it sealed. In a similar deal ABS-CBN undertook for ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ on ‘It’s Showtime’, GMA revived ‘Tanghalan ng Kampeon’ as a segment of ‘Wowowin’.

The premise of ‘Tanghalan ng Kampeon’ is simple. Any individual aged 16 to 40 years old with a knack to hit the right notes are welcome to audition in this competition, with the winner receiving a GMA recording contract, house and lot, and P2 million in cash.

With GMA short on talented singers in the wake of Regine Velasquez’s highly-publicized move to ABS-CBN, it only made sense for the network to revive a long-forgotten singing competition to shore up their talent pool. But to go as far as to take a page out of ‘It’s Showtime”s book, that’s too much to ask for.

Perhaps GMA should acknowledge ‘Wowowin”s brewing rivalry with ‘It’s Showtime’. Never mind that the two shows air in different timeslots, their perceived similarities appear perfect to pit against one another.

The start date of ‘Tanghalan ng Kampeon’ on ‘Wowowin’ is yet to be determined. But for fans of this show, the wait can’t come soon enough.

The Kids’ Choice Turns to Celebrities to Hike Ratings

ABS-CBN’s overdependence on celebrities in its talent and game shows is once again rearing its ugly head.

This time, the victim is ‘The Kids’ Choice’, whose last few episodes were celebrity editions. Since September 29, ‘The Kids’ Choice’ featured either Kapamilya child celebrities or sons/daughters of Kapamilya celebrities, a drastic departure from past episodes involving ordinary kids.

While ‘The Kids’ Choice’ is currently performing well in the ratings, it seems like ABS-CBN is in no mood to celebrate. After all, the program’s 27% average is less than that of its predecessor ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ which regularly peaked in the 30s.

To make matters worse, ‘The Kids’ Choice’ was nearly beaten by the finale of ‘The Clash’ during the weekend of September 29 as the latter came within 1% of the former’s ratings. Overall, since its premiere on September 2, the gap between ‘The Kids’ Choice’ and its competitor was only around 5%.

It was clear that the dominance of past ABS-CBN talent shows was nowhere to be found on ‘The Kids’ Choice’. While it was an original creation, a rarity for ABS-CBN these days, viewers were unimpressed with how the show is being conducted.

Considering that the judges are just 10-year-old elementary school celebrity children with raw trains of thought, the criticisms are undeniable. Exposing them to unfamiliar territory as superiors was just too much to ask for.

Somewhere in Timog Avenue, the folks from GMA Network are celebrating this near-victory. And it will not be a surprise to see either ‘Daddy’s Gurl’ or ‘Studio 7’ overtake ‘The Kids’ Choice’, unless something drastic happens.

That said, the shift from ordinary children to celebrities was a clear desperate move on ABS-CBN’s part to improve the ratings of ‘The Kids’ Choice’ and restore its dominance in that timeslot. The show may be intriguing and unique to begin with, but at the end of the day, the network only cares about the bottom line.

The Inevitable: Moving to ABS-CBN Might Rejuvenate Regine Velasquez’s Career

From Kapuso… to Kapamilya?

The future of Regine Velasquez’s career has been hanging in the balance over the past month. As Regine’s contract with GMA is set to expire, there were reports of her moving to ABS-CBN to join her husband Ogie Alcasid.

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@cvvidanes @montie08 and @reginevalcasid #ABSCBNBall2018

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Those rumors escalated further when Regine unexpectedly showed up at the ABS-CBN Ball Saturday night despite making an appearance on ‘The Clash’ for its final weekend (Saturday’s episode was pre-taped while Sunday’s episode was aired live). With all things considered, is Regine of no use to GMA and would be better off joining ABS-CBN?

First things first, let’s look back at recent history. Back in 2015, Regine was a host and performer on ‘Sunday All-Stars’, but low ratings and changing timeslots forced GMA to give up the show and allow APT Entertainment to take over the Sunday noontime slot with ‘Sunday PinaSaya’.

Regine did not join ‘Sunday PinaSaya’ because of a perceived ‘lack of familiarity’ and from that point on her career with GMA stalled. Her two acting projects in ‘Poor Señorita’ and ‘Mulawin vs. Ravena’ failed to beat Coco Martin”s long-running series ‘Ang Probinsyano’, while a primetime variety show in ‘Full House Tonight’ ran for only four months.

While Regine remained visible as an on-air talent via the cooking show ‘Sarap Diva’, it was clear that her days with GMA are being numbered. The fact is, Regine is no longer that relevant as a Kapuso star with all those recent projects that did not work out.

It only got worse when her one-time co-performers on ‘SOP’ (namely Ogie Alcasid, Jaya, Kyla, Jay-R and Janno Gibbs) found a new outlet in former rival ‘ASAP’. With GMA lacking any capable recording artists to keep up with ABS-CBN’s, Regine finds herself helpless to cope with the dearth in talent.

Which is why moving to ABS-CBN might help rejuvenate her career. Not only will she expected to make appearances with her former ‘SOP’ brethren on ‘ASAP’, she will also have an opportunity to become a judge in one of ABS-CBN’s upcoming talent shows (rumor has it that she might join ‘The Voice’ as a judge).

More importantly, Regine’s love for performing will be rekindled within Kapamilya walls, especially during ‘ASAP’. That alone may be a long shot given the abundance of performers on ABS-CBN, but given Regine’s track record that may be too good to pass up.

Still, it will be up to Regine Velasquez to decide the next phase of her career. Let’s just hope that she chooses something that will be best for her.

The Kids’ Choice on ABS-CBN This Weekend

What if the kids are the judges of a reality talent show?

In a role reversal of sorts, ABS-CBN will give its young child stars an opportunity to play the part of judges on ‘The Kids’ Choice’. The five kid judges (dubbed the Just Kids League) are as follows:

• Jayden Villegas
• Carlo Mendoza
• Onyok Pineda
• Xia Vigor
• Chunsa Jung

Every week, the Just Kids League will discuss and evaluate the performance of four “Fambatos” or non-celebrity families brimming with talent. Being the youngest of the bunch, expect these kids to be more spontaneous with their comments.

In a deviation from the norm, ‘The Kids’ Choice’ will be an original concept created by ABS-CBN. In addition, the show will feature ordinary families instead of merely celebrity contestants.

Anyone who has criticized ABS-CBN’s tendency to use celebrities and foreign talent show franchises on a regular basis would be baffled to see them produce a more unique show like ‘The Kids’ Choice’. That said, with this creation, ABS-CBN should prove doubters wrong and if this show rates well, their hard work will be justified.

‘The Kids’ Choice’ will be hosted by Robi Domingo with Erik Nicolas as his sidekick. It will air every Saturday after ‘Home Sweetie Home’ and every Sunday after ‘Wansapanatym’ on ABS-CBN.

GMA’s The Clash Endures Poor Reviews and Bad Ratings After Two Weeks

Welp!

Four episodes in and ‘The Clash’ does not look too enticing to say the least. The GMA singing competition show is off to a poor start, both critically and commercially.

During the weekend of July 7, ‘The Clash”s ratings were at 19.4 and 19.6% on Saturday and Sunday respectively. On the other hand, ABS-CBN’s ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ season 2 ended with 32.2 and 34.1%.

But it is not just the underwhelming ratings that hurt ‘The Clash’. From the moment it aired viewers complained about the bad lighting, shaky camera angles, awful sound quality and fake audience reactions.

Much of the blame was pointed to director Louie Ignacio. Despite the fact that he is one of the most in-demand directors in television, people can’t help but think why this man had to be at the helm of ‘The Clash’ when in fact he had been the culprit for the downfall of ‘Party Pilipinas’ several years ago.

And while GMA claimed that ‘The Clash”s pilot episode topped Twitter’s trending topics, the overwhelmingly negative reception to the program muted this achievement. But things only got worse for ‘The Clash’.

GMA's newest talent competition 'The Clash' took the first spot on Twitter yesterday, July 7. https://t.co/U94oDvaaVS

— GMA Network (@gmanetwork) July 9, 2018

The second weekend of ‘The Clash’ last July 14-15 saw the program dip to 17.3% and 17.6% in the ratings. Meanwhile, ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ remained consistent, posting figures of 33.4 and 32.4%.

There were still some negative reactions from netizens but the impact was less considerable from the first weekend. As a result, ‘The Clash’ became a non-factor on Twitter whereas ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ got a boost thanks to Marco Masa’s winning portrayal of Enrique Gil.

The good news for ‘The Clash’ is that the competition still has a long way to go. Judging them as a flop after only four episodes may be a tad premature.

But how much longer can the viewers tolerate a mess of a talent show? Unless certain improvements are to be made in terms of presentation, public sentiment against ‘The Clash’ will only grow from hereon.