Back to ‘Normal’ Ways for AksyonTV

AksyonTV brought back reruns of programs such as ‘Cocktales’ following the conclusion of the 2014 Asian Games. (Photo credit: Daphne.ph)

After sharing the coverage of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Asian Games with TV5, it is back to ‘normal’ for the embattled AksyonTV.

The conclusion of these sports events means that re-runs of old AksyonTV and TV5 programs were once again occupying the network’s vacant hours.  Other than the ongoing NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the rest of AksyonTV’s content reverted back to where they were in the summer of 2014.

AksyonTV’s return to a rerun-based programming does not help their cause at all, and it is clear that they are in extremely bad shape to compete against the likes of ABS-CBN Sports+Action, 9TV and GMA News TV.

Back in May, I wrote about the need to improve AksyonTV’s programming. In summarizing the needs of AksyonTV to improve in order to be competitive, here are my suggestions:

1. Eliminate the dependence of simulcasting TV5’s newscasts, and produce their own that do not conflict with the mother network.
2. Make Radyo5’s ‘Orly Mercado All Ready’ as the main morning show of the network.
3. Produce more original programs.

Since then, however, AksyonTV’s programming quality got even worse, despite the return of Radyo5 programs ‘Aksyon Solusyon’ and ‘Remoto Control’ to the fold.

In July, the network stopped producing ‘Aksyon Breaking’ and ‘Aksyon Weather’ updates, as well as ‘Andar ng mga Balita’ and ‘Balitang 60’. Then in September, old programs such as ‘Cocktales’ and ‘Wasak’ were brought back.

In addition, the network decided not to air new episodes of ‘Demolition Job’ and ‘History with Lourd’, as well as a new program called ‘Unang Tikim’. Instead previous episodes of KBO were re-aired, much to the dismay of its viewers.

For AksyonTV, this is an already alarming situation. Instead of trying to improve the network’s programming quality, it seems like the management is becoming extremely casual in operating the lackluster station, especially when there are no sports events to cover.

If TV5 wants to upgrade and improve the status of its UHF counterpart, the management should start acting on this matter right now. Otherwise, AksyonTV’s days will be numbered, to the point where a permanent sign off is difficult to resist.

AksyonTV is definitely a good network to watch. But with the kind of programming they have right now, this will not help their standing among the other major UHF networks.

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TV5 Needs to Improve its News and Sports Broadcasts

TV5 needs to improve its production of sports and news programs in order to be more consistent with the other networks. (Photo courtesy of TV5)

TV5’s sports broadcasting resume was enhanced by acquiring the broadcast rights for this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, there are some issues that need to be resolved when it comes to both sports and news coverage.

As I observed the recent Sports5 broadcasts of the NCAA and PBA, there is something wrong with their live coverage, and that involves the announcers and courtside reporters of the said network. Typically announcers are required to wait for the commercials to end before resuming their duties, but in Sports5’s example, the announcers are already speaking once the commercials are done and a live shot of the game is shown. This is a bad example of airing a live sports event.

If Sports5’s vision is to be a leader in sportscasting, their announcers need to improve in terms of timing and thorough delivery. By eliminating this ‘can’t wait’ mentality, the broadcast of a live sports event will be well-produced and consistent. Perhaps they should look at ABS-CBN Sports’ coverage of the UAAP and see why.

Going to the news aspect, I was disgusted by Radyo5 92.3 News FM’s simulcast of ‘T3: Reload’ the other day. Their commercial breaks are too long, so much so that the final segment where Ben, Erwin and Raffy Tulfo usually deliver their final remarks and bid farewell to the viewers never aired. Meanwhile, on AksyonTV’s simulcasts of Radyo5 programs, their ‘Aksyon Breaking’ news segment is also too long, perhaps twice as long as the ‘Aksyon News Update’ on Radyo5, due to the coverage of so many stories and ‘Aksyon Weather’. As a result, the simulcast of the radio program does not start in time on AksyonTV.

Perhaps the most misleading observation is the title ‘Aksyon Breaking’. The title should only be used during live press conferences and urgent breaking news that happen beyond the top of the hour such as ongoing fires, hostage crises, accidents and shooting incidents. ‘Aksyon News Alert’, the title used on TV5, is the more applicable title for AksyonTV’s top-of-the-hour newsbreaks.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions. Whenever ‘T3: Reload’ is aired on Radyo5, they should limit themselves to 30 or 60-second commercial breaks, due to the lengthy resolution of complaints on the program. On ‘Aksyon’, around 120 to 150 seconds is more than enough. And during AksyonTV’s top-of-the-hour newsbreaks, they should limit their stories to just one or two, and deliver them in an average of 40 to 50 seconds. Finally, ‘Aksyon Weather’ should move back to the :30 minute mark of the hour, and include the global and regional weather segments.

TV5 definitely has the potential to produce the best sports and news programming possible. But unless they improve on these aspects, their progression as a media giant will be hindered.