The End of TV5’s KBO, As We Know It

Since January 2015, reruns are now dominating what was once the ‘Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ block on TV5. The said block debuted in October 2013, but was deemphasized the following year. (Screenshot courtesy of TV5)

The ‘Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ block on TV5 is now a distant memory.

These days, the remnants of the KBO block, consisting of ‘Demolition Job’, ‘Numero’, ‘History with Lourd’, ‘Unang Tikim’, and ‘Astig’, air reruns of past episodes at 11:30 p.m., a far cry from the block’s early days. It is safe to say that the KBO block has run its course, and with it, comes the clear fact that the said block has become more irrelevant than ever.

Debuting in October 2013 as part of a new programming strategy of the Kapatid network, KBO is originally composed of the following programs:

• Demolition Job – hosted by Paolo Bediones
• Numero – hosted by Cheryl Cosim
• History with Lourd – hosted by Lourd de Veyra
• Dayo – hosted by Atty. Theresa Licaros
• Astig – hosted by Paolo Bediones

Upon the departure of Atty. Licaros from the network, ‘Dayo’ was replaced by ‘Bigtime’, hosted by Twink Macaraig, in February 2014. The original incarnation of KBO aired their last episodes in May 2014.

In September 2014, a new incarnation of KBO debuted, as ‘Demolition Job’ and ‘History with Lourd’ returned for their second season. A new program, ‘Unang Tikim’, premiered on the said block, with chef Jeremy Favia as host, while ‘Numero’ and ‘Astig’ continued to air old episodes.

At this point, however, TV5 deemphasized the KBO name on air, but for reference purposes From the Tube will continue to use the KBO name when referring to TV5’s current 11:30 p.m. block.

The KBO block was also simulcast on TV5’s sister UHF network AksyonTV. But on the second incarnation of the said block, ‘Unang Tikim’ was not included on the simulcast, and ‘Bigtime’ continued to air instead.

By January 2015,  reruns are dominating the entire KBO block. The last new episodes of ‘Demolition Job’, ‘History with Lourd’ and ‘Unang Tikim’ were aired two months earlier, and upon checking the Facebook pages of each program, no mention of new episodes were posted.

What was once a very promising news block is now riddled with irrelevance, a lack of freshness and creativity, and a sense of exhaustion. The KBO block is now a shell of its former self, and News5 paid dearly for not maintaining it.

It remains to be seen if News5 finally wakes up to their senses and replace these overly repetitive programs. But in the eyes of the observers, the ‘Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ block is essentially over, never to be seen again.

Coming Soon: Confessions of a Torpe, Plus Other TV5 Updates

Both Ogie Alcasid and Alice Dixson will be part of ‘Confessions of a Torpe’, slated to launch this March 3.

Last October, TV5 decided to distinguish themselves from its competitors by airing a more light-hearted primetime comedy and drama series ‘Madam Chairman’. This March, the Kapatid network is set to introduce a similarly-themed series as a worthy follow-up.

Enter ‘Confessions of a Torpe’, a series topbilled by Ogie Alcasid, Bayani Agbayani, Gelli de Belen, Wendell Ramos, Plita Corrales, Alice Dixson, Jojo Alejar, Albie Casino, and Mark Neumann. This will be Alcasid’s first weeknight primetime series as a Kapatid; his intended first series ‘The Gift’ was shelved for the time being. Alcasid, de Belen and Ramos are also part of the gag show ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’, while Neumann and Dixson recently starred in the Studio5 original ‘Lady Next Door’. ‘Confessions of a Torpe’ debuts this March 3.

The departure of ‘What’s Up Doods?’ enabled News5 to fill the 10:30 slot with a pair of documentaries. First aired was ‘Kaya’, hosted by News5 executives Patrick Paez and Luchi Cruz-Valdes. The two-parter, aired last February 8 and 15, tackled issues such as stem cell treatment and the impending worldwide disaster that may affect the Earth. Tonight, another documentary called ‘Yaman ng Bayan’ will focus on the country’s natural resources and the responsibility that comes through it. The documentary will be hosted by Interaksyon.com editor-in-chief Roby Alampay.

And on the ‘Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ block, ‘Bigtime’ will take over the slot vacated by ‘Dayo’. Aired every Thursday before ‘Pilipinas News’ and hosted by Twink Macaraig, ‘Bigtime’ will focus on various individuals as they share their hard work and triumph, as well as secrets to their success.

Meanwhile, starting February 24, ‘Aksyon’ and ‘Pilipinas News’ will now be broadcast inside a newly-built virtual studio at the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong. In addition, the closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics will be aired Monday midnight on TV5 and its affiliates. And finally, the U.S. NCAA March Madness is coming to TV5 this March, with further details coming in future articles.

It has been said that the only way TV5 can be relevant today is when they introduce alternatives to already established norms in television viewership. So far, it has paid off despite committing several missteps. And with more alternative programs coming in the succeeding weeks, expect TV5 to expand its effort in bringing a different kind of programming to more knowledgeable viewers.

TV5’s New Programs for October (Part I)

Last month, TV5 brought in its first wave of new and returning programs as part of its restructuring process. These programs began to air on the weekend of September 14-15 on what became known as ‘Weekend Do It Better’. This October, TV5 will continue its restructuring with the introduction of new programs on the weeknight slot, with the hopes of attracting younger and more socially conscious viewers. For Part I, I will discuss News5‘s newest programs.

The new News5 programming block will be dubbed as ‘KBO’ (Karunungan, Balita, Opinyon), which will start airing on October 14 at 10:00 p.m.. On Mondays, Paolo Bediones will host ‘Demolition Job’, a program which he will challenge and refute some commonly accepted facts. On Tuesdays, Cheryl Cosim will host ‘Numero’, a program similar in scope with the former but with the use of statistics as proof. On Wednesdays, Lourd de Veyra will host ‘History’, a program which will feature history lessons as told by Lourd himself. On Thursdays, Atty. Teresa Licaros will host ‘Dayo’, a program which will tell stories about the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers. And on Fridays, Paolo Bediones returns to host ‘Astig’, a program featuring interesting sports stories.

The ‘KBO’ block will be followed by the late night news broadcast ‘Pilipinas News‘ with anchors Paolo Bediones, Cheri Mercado and Jove Francisco, and ‘Reaksyon’ with News5 head Luchi Cruz-Valdes.

One program that was axed to make way for these news programs happen to be the late night talk show ‘The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A.’. The program, through its various incarnations, has been airing on TV5 since 2009. However, with the anticipated programming shakeup, Jojo Alejar and his All the Way Band finally decided to bid goodbye to their loyal viewers last September 27, after a four-year run. Following the final airing of ‘Medyo Late Night’, AksyonTV original programs began to air on TV5 primarily to fill in programming hours, but will only been seen on an interim basis while the aforementioned ‘KBO’ block is being prepared for launch. As for ‘Medyo Late Night’, it remains to be seen whether it will be brought back sometime in the future.

Meanwhile, the morning news program ‘Good Morning Club‘ will also be revamped to include new hosts and segments. The new hosts will include Radyo5’s ‘Punto Asintado’ tandem of Erwin Tulfo and Martin Andanar, ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’ star Tuesday Vargas, and News5 anchor Twink Macaraig. The newly-reformatted ‘GMC’ will also be shortened to two hours as opposed to three on the other competing morning shows, and will be divided into segments in order to provide information to a specific audience, and not just to the general public.

These new program offerings of News5 are also expected to air on sister network AksyonTV, though it has not been confirmed at the moment. In the meantime, TV5’s new entertainment programs will be discussed in Part II.