Heart of Asia, Astig Authority Reduced As Part of GMA’s New Programming Lineup

‘Wowowin”s new timeslot and extended running is part of another revamp of GMA’s lineup. (Logo courtesy of Wil Productions Inc., GMA Network)

Yesterday marked yet another change in GMA’s programming.

Once again, the Kapuso network brought back ‘Kapuso Movie Festival’ (airing weekdays at 9:00 a.m.) in hopes of competing with ABS-CBN’s ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’. To accommodate the said movie block, the duration of the Astig Authority and Heart of Asia Mornings blocks were reduced to 90 and 60 minutes respectively.

The impressive ratings of ‘Wowowin’, though still not enough to beat ‘Pasion de Amor’ nationally, also led to a timeslot change. As a result, ‘Wowowin”s start time was pushed to 5:00 p.m., and its running time was extended for another 30 minutes; this enabled the show to compete against ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ as well.

Consequentially, the extension of ‘Wowowin’ likewise led to a timeslot change for the programs that once occupied the 5:00 p.m. slot. In what has become a ‘you lead and I follow’ scenario, GMA moved its News and Public Affairs block back to late nights, two months after ABS-CBN’s own News and Current Affairs block returned to the said timeslot.

Unlike ABS-CBN’s current affairs block, however, GMA’s so-called ‘Pampamulat sa Gabi’ block only airs from Mondays to Thursdays (thank you ‘Bubble Gang’), and will comprise of these programs. They are ‘Front Row’ (Mondays), ‘Alisto’ (Tuesdays), ‘Tunay na Buhay’ (Wednesdays), and ‘Reporters’ Notebook’ (Thursdays).

Speaking of Mondays to Thursdays, the Heart of Asia Mornings block (‘You’re the Best’, ‘Carmina’) was also reduced to make way for a pair of refugees from the 5:00 p.m. slot. Both ‘Dream Home’ (formerly ‘Power House’) and ‘Love Hotline’ were moved to Friday mornings, and will take over the timeslot of the former block on that day.

By all indications, this is another desperate attempt by GMA to keep up with rival ABS-CBN. Considering that the latter network continues to dominate virtually every timeslot in the ratings, GMA’s answers don’t seem to matter at this point.

Now they need to be patient with this new approach. Otherwise another revamp is in store for the Kapuso network.

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Revamp for Kapamilya Gold

‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ may be affected in the regional networks as Kapamilya Gold revamps its lineup with the move of the NCA block to late nights. (Logo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

A brand-new Kapamilya Gold awaits viewers later today.

As previously announced, ‘And I Love You So’ will take over the slot once occupied by the recently concluded (albeit short-lived) series ‘Walang Iwanan’. The new series, starring Julia Barretto, Miles Ocampo, Angel Aquino and Dimples Romana, will air after ‘All of Me’.

The revamp does not end there, however. Starting today, the News and Current Affairs block will no longer air on Kapamilya Gold, and will instead move back to its original timeslot following ‘Bandila’.

The NCA block lineup will remain the same following the timeslot change. ‘Mission Possible’ airs on Mondays, followed by ‘My Puhunan’ on Tuesdays, ‘Red Alert’ on Wednesdays, ‘Sports U’ on Thursdays, and ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ on Fridays.

Now that the NCA block has moved to late nights, how will this affect the Kapamilya Gold lineup in the regions? As it stands, this is how the Kapamilya Gold block will look like starting today, as far as Metro Manila viewers are concerned.

2:45 p.m. – Doble Kara

3:30 p.m. – All of Me

4:15 p.m. – And I Love You So

5:00 p.m. – Kapamilya Deal or No Deal

One program likely to be affected with the change in the regions will be ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. With the regional networks’ own broadcast of ‘TV Patrol’, they may be forced to preempt ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ in their area.

As such, the ‘available in select areas’ advisory may apply during episode previews for ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, in order to inform viewers of a possible preemption. Here’s how it may potentially look like in the regional networks.

2:45 p.m. – Doble Kara

3:30 p.m. – All of Me

4:15 p.m. – And I Love You So

5:00 p.m. – Kapamilya Deal or No Deal/TV Patrol regionals

That said, ABS-CBN has a decision to make regarding Kapamilya Gold in the regions. After all, they don’t want to risk shedding some viewers outside Metro Manila with this move.

GMA Afternoon Prime Revamps Schedule

The newly-premiered GMA series ‘Destiny Rose’ is one of three teleseryes whose running times were extended as part of Afternoon Prime’s revamped schedule. (Logo courtesy of GMA Network/Destiny Rose Official Facebook)

GMA’s Afternoon Prime block is now down to four programs.

In an attempt to curb the declining ratings of the block, GMA decided to shrink the amount of programs that Afternoon Prime normally airs. The victim of this revamp is the Koreanovelas; following the conclusion of ‘Birth of a Beauty’, GMA decided not to air a Koreanovela in the afternoon, leaving Afternoon Prime with just four programs.

The four programs are:

• The Half-Sisters
• Buena Familia
• Destiny Rose (new show)
• News and Public Affairs block (Alisto, Tunay na Buhay, Power House, Reporters’ Notebook, Love Hotline)

This means that GMA will now extend the running times of the three teleseryes by 5-10 minutes. So expect ‘The Half-Sisters’, ‘Buena Familia’ and newcomer ‘Destiny Rose’ to air for nearly an hour each, which is uncharacteristic for a teleserye.

As for the News and Public Affairs block, the new schedule puts them out of position. Instead of going head-to-head with their ABS-CBN counterparts, they will now go up against ‘Kapamilya: Deal or No Deal’, which is a definite mismatch based on the latter’s recent string of ratings success.

Overall, this is not a good scheduling idea for GMA in the long run. Since the three teleseryes run for nearly an hour, there will be issues of more frequent commercial breaks and unexpected cliffhangers, something that would make these teleseryes tough and mentally draining to watch even for the more die-hard viewers.

Not even the viewership of ‘Eat Bulaga’ will help either. Despite the show’s recent success with the AlDub phenomenon, the momentum built up during ‘Eat Bulaga’ gradually falls after the show ends, due to various factors.

That said, the reduction of the number of programs in the afternoon is of no use for GMA. Dragging these programs for an extended period may mean disaster for this once-formidable programming block.

Now it’s up to ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold to take advantage. GMA’s loss is now ABS-CBN’s gain.

Kapamilya Gold Reclaims Ratings Supremacy, At Least in Kantar

The recent success of ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ (above) boosted the viewership of Kapamilya Gold. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold block is back in business.

The last two months saw Kapamilya Gold regain its footing in the ratings. The block’s two teleseryes in ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ were beginning to win over viewers as their story intensifies, while their two counterparts in ‘The Half-Sisters’ and ‘Yagit’ were losing steam as their stories become even more predictable.

At the moment, both ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ were averaging at least 14% in the ratings (according to Kantar Media), which is a far cry from the single-digit marks they attained in mid-January. And if that’s not enough, both shows were also beating their Kapuso counterparts in most, if not all recent episodes.

With ‘Yagit’ about to be replaced by ‘Buena Familia’ starting July 27, it would be a great opportunity for ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ to take advantage of a new opponent. As for ‘Flordeliza’, their battle with ‘The Half-Sisters’ may be a neck-and-neck struggle, but they are definitely more than happy to earn victory points with each episode.

The recent success of Kapamilya Gold isn’t limited to the two teleseryes alone. The entry of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737 Gold’ also boosted its fortunes, even though the MTRCB recently imposed an SPG rating to the show due to its scenes that are strictly inappropriate for children.

And finally, the News and Current Affairs programs and ‘Kapamilya: Deal or No Deal’ continued to dominate their counterparts from GMA. Overall, Kapamilya Gold has turned things around after a slow start this year, with each show registering double figure ratings.

That said, the pressure is now on GMA’s Afternoon Prime to keep up. Having lost some momentum at the midway point, GMA must change it up a bit to maintain interest, otherwise viewer interest will continue to wane.

For now, Kapamilya Gold has won, at least in Kantar. But will they keep it up? We’ll see.

My Puhunan and Red Alert Return to ABS-CBN’s NCA Block

‘My Puhunan’, hosted by Karen Davila (above), will be one of two returning programs on ABS-CBN’s NCA block, along with ‘Red Alert’. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

Two old mainstays return to ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs block.

‘My Puhunan’, hosted by Karen Davila, and ‘Red Alert’, hosted by Atom Araullo, will once again embrace ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold lineup. The two returning shows will replace ‘3 in 1’ and ‘RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib’.

As their titles suggest, ‘My Puhunan’ and ‘Red Alert’ focuses on entrepreneurship and disaster response, respectively. ‘My Puhunan’ will feature stories of aspiring entrepreneurs who sought the advice of experienced businessmen to succeed in their craft, while ‘Red Alert’ will feature tips in overcoming various incidents and disasters.

‘My Puhunan’ originally aired every Wednesday from July 17, 2013 to February 4, 2015, while ‘Red Alert’ originally aired every Friday from March 21, 2014 to February 6, 2015. The latter started out as a radio program on DZMM TeleRadyo and DZMM Radyo Patrol 630, before it became a weekly ABS-CBN public affairs program.

‘My Puhunan’ and ‘Red Alert’ will join holdovers ‘Mission Possible’, ‘Sports U’ and ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ on the NCA block, and will air at 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. For regional networks, ‘My Puhunan’ and Red Alert’ will air every Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00 a.m., to give way to ‘TV Patrol’ regional newscasts.

Another Revamp for ABS-CBN’s NCA Programs

If there is one department that ABS-CBN needs to improve, it’s the News and Current Affairs department.

Starting this week, the NCA afternoon block, formerly known as ‘Pinoy True Stories’, will have a new look. Four new programs will make their debut on the newly-revamped block, with only ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ retained from the previous group.

The new programs are:

Mission Possible

Hosted by Julius Babao, ‘Mission Possible’ will showcase inspiring stories from struggling individuals, no matter the circumstances. At the end of the program, a surprise gift will await the featured person.

‘Mission Possible’ airs every Monday.

3 in 1

Hosted by Karen Davila, K Brosas and Atty. Claire Castro, ‘3 in 1’ will discuss a wide variety of topics, from news to general interest stories. The talk show will be seen live every week.

‘3 in 1’ airs every Tuesday.

RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib

Hosted by Atom Araullo, ‘RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib’ will feature death-defying home videos from various parts of the world. Warning: this program is not for the faint of heart.

‘RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib’ airs every Wednesday.

Sports U

Hosted by Dyan Castillejo, ‘Sports U’ will profile the lives of Filipino athletes from various sports. The program will be a spinoff to the long-running ‘Sports Unlimited’.

‘Sports U’ airs every Thursday.

The four programs will replace ‘Bistado’, ‘My Puhunan’, ‘Mutya ng Masa’ and ‘Red Alert’. It is the third such revamp on the NCA block since it moved to the afternoon slot nearly three years earlier.

This latest turnover clearly shows the lack of consistency within ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs department. While news programs such as ‘TV Patrol’ made the said department one of the most credible, it is their public affairs programs that still need some work, both in terms of storytelling and longevity.

For the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, establishing these attributes begin with these four new programs and ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’. If GMA proved that with their award-winning public affairs programs, so can ABS-CBN, and it all starts now.

The ABS-CBN NCA block airs weekdays after ‘Fated to Love You’ on Kapamilya Gold, available only on select areas nationwide.