Love in the Moonlight Marks Return of Asianovelas to ABS-CBN Primetime Bida

For the first time in nearly two years, a Koreanovela will occupy the penultimate slot on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

Tonight will mark the premiere of the popular Korean series ‘Love in the Moonlight’, starring Park Bo Gum and Kim Yoo Jung. The series enjoyed an impressive run in its native Korea, and it won a number of awards such as Best Couple, Best Excellent Actress, and Best Actor awards in the 2016 KBS Drama Awards.

Prior to ‘Love in the Moonlight’, Primetime Bida has not had a Korean drama since ‘My Lovely Girl’, whose last episode was aired in June 2015. In between, two seasons of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ (737, Lucky 7), the teleserye ‘You’re My Home’, and the American series ‘Jane the Virgin’ were aired on that slot.

‘Love in the Moonlight’ is just one of several Korean dramas whose rights were acquired by ABS-CBN a few weeks ago. Others in the pipeline include  ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’, ‘Hwarang’, ‘Goblin’, ‘Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo’, ‘W’ and ‘Doctors’.

In premiering ‘Love in the Moonlight’, ABS-CBN crushed the notion that Asianovelas on Channel 2 were essentially extinct. Their last Korean drama was ‘My Love Donna’ last year, and many thought the network finally moved on from the genre once sister channel CineMo began to import its own set of Koreanovelas later that year.

Instead, ABS-CBN surprised many, including Koreanovela fans, by acquiring the aforementioned hit Korean dramas. And considering how rival GMA loaded themselves up with more Asianovelas (including those airing on sister station GMA News TV), ABS-CBN made it clear that they are still indeed the ‘First and True Home of Asianovelas’.

The question now is whether or not ‘Love in the Moonlight”s success in Korea will translate over to the Philippines. With ABS-CBN having not aired a Koreanovela on primetime in nearly two years, this will be a huge test to see if their decision to bring them back is all worth it.

‘Love in the Moonlight’ airs weeknights after ‘A Love to Last’ on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.

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ABS-CBN Koreanovelas Find a New Home

Koreanovelas on ABS-CBN find a new partner in CineMo!. After ‘Blood’, the second Koreanovela on CineMo!, ‘You’re All Surrounded’, begins this Sunday. (Publicity photo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

The relocation of Koreanovelas on ABS-CBN is now underway.

With the flagship Channel 2 no longer committed to broadcast Koreanovelas due to various critical factors (e.g. low ratings, heavily edited content), ABS-CBN decided to move them to another platform. Fortunately, an exclusive channel of the network’s TVPlus platform came to the rescue.

Enter CineMo!, whose foray to the Koreanovela genre began May 1 with the series ‘Blood’. After ‘Blood’ aired its final episode last Sunday, CineMo! followed it up with another Koreanovela, titled ‘You’re All Surrounded’, which will air starting July 10.

If viewers on ABS-CBN were not happy with their harsh treatment of Koreanovelas, then they should feel relieved with CineMo!’s more relaxed approach. Unlike the weekday airing of Koreanovelas on Channel 2, CineMo!’s Koreanovelas air once a week, and on a near-uninterrupted and unedited basis.

This means that viewers will enjoy a more complete, unadulterated and free-flowing Koreanovela experience, something that Channel 2 cannot guarantee due to its stricter programming rules. More importantly, their entry should appease more consumers to purchase the ABS-CBN TVPlus digital box.

ABS-CBN’s most recent Koreanovela on the main Channel 2 was ‘My Love Donna’, which was either cancelled or concluded last April after a run of nearly one month. After the humiliating experience of ‘My Love Donna’, it was clear to ABS-CBN that Koreanovelas, like animes before them, are no longer a good fit to Channel 2’s current plans.

With the presence of digital channels such as CineMo!, ABS-CBN was able to accommodate some of their imported programming to their new digital counterparts. That way, Channel 2 can air more local programming which should satisfy viewers’ appetites.

As far as ABS-CBN is concerned, flexibility matters in this digital age. Now that Koreanovelas on ABS-CBN move to their digital partners, the network’s future becomes brighter than ever, and with a greater emphasis on local programming, expect them to continue their consolidation as the premier broadcast network in the Philippines.