Tawag ng Tanghalan 2 Finale Scores Big, But Not Big Enough

Talk about a complete turnaround.

Saturday’s ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ finale on ABS-CBN’s ‘It’s Showtime’ scored a whopping 31% in the Kantar ratings. On the other hand, GMA’s ‘Eat Bulaga’ earned a paltry 9.5% as it tried to keep up with Seen-A-Like, Sing-A-Like, Guhit Bulaga and other promotional gimmicks.

Maraming-maraming Salamat po Madlang People at Kapamilya Worldwide! pic.twitter.com/4oRHxdGXkw

— Tawag Ng Tanghalan (@TNTABSCBN) June 4, 2018

The finale of ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ saw 16-year-old Janine Berdin outlast five other aspiring singers to win P2 million, a house and lot and a management contract among other prizes. Her final piece saw her belt out a medley of hits from Bamboo, which immediately trended on social media and received millions of views on YouTube.

Despite the blowout win, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan”s 31% rating was still a far cry from the 40.1% rating of ‘Eat Bulaga”s Sa Tamang Panahon in 2015. Nevertheless, ‘It’s Showtime’ should be more than satisfied with the finale’s ratings considering the segment’s consistently strong performance since its 2016 debut.

For now, though, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ will not continue after a run of over two years (this includes two adult editions and a kids’ edition). Instead, ‘It’s Showtime’ will devote its time to a couple of other segments such as Miss Q&A and Mini Me.

But without ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ to hold the fort, it remains to be seen if ‘It’s Showtime’ will remain a winner despite the temporary hiatus of its most popular segment. That said, an imposing challenge awaits this noontime show as it tries to pick up the pieces post-‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’.

As for ‘Eat Bulaga’, there is nothing to worry about its poor ratings that day. Considering the show has no chance of pulling off the upset, the best that they did was to reveal a couple of old tricks to satisfy its loyal fanbase (being a show that is nearing 39 years old, it looks like they have nothing left to prove).

Oh, and one more thing: stop putting Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza together once and for all. With all due respect to AlDub Nation, they have outlived their usefulness as a love team (in fact, Maine already said that she and Alden were only friends and not in a relationship) and they should be better off thriving on their own.

Maine Takes LOA from Eat Bulaga; Pastillas Girl Resurfaces on FHM

Remember the infamous yet short-lived rivalry between “Yaya Dub” Maine Mendoza and “Pastillas Girl” Angelica Yap?

Last week, the two noontime ladies were in the headlines anew for various reasons. First off, the most obvious one.

I got myself, I will catch myself, and I will pick myself up pic.twitter.com/VoU5kFuReQ

— Maine Mendoza (@mainedcm) November 26, 2017

‘Eat Bulaga’ co-host Maine Mendoza recently posted an open letter thanking her fans for all the support. She then clarified that she and on-screen partner Alden Richards were just friends in real life and not in a relationship.

The open letter elicited some negative responses from other netizens. Soon after, Maine posted this tweet.

You are all right. I deserve all the hate in the world because I am such a coward and a selfish little brat. I get it and I understand..

— Maine Mendoza (@mainedcm) November 27, 2017

Maine was last seen on ‘Eat Bulaga’ on November 27, and has apparently left the show in the wake of her social media outrage. Netizens were quick to speculate regarding her future in entertainment, with some even going as far as spreading rumors that she would transfer to ABS-CBN.

Regardless, some fans still kept the faith, and they showed that by staging a “white rally” outside Broadway Centrum last November 30. However, with ‘Eat Bulaga’ currently struggling behind ‘It’s Showtime’ in the ratings and support for the AlDub tandem continuing to wane, how will the show be affected by Maine’s absence?

Speaking of noontime, “Pastillas Girl” Angelica Yap resurfaces with a new name and a new image. The bubbly girl that was a fixture of ‘It’s Showtime”s ‘Nasaan Ka, Mr. Pastillas’ segment two years ago is now sexier and stronger than ever.

A little christmas gift to fire up your December and to end the year right with @itsmedebbiee and me 🔥 Grab your copies now! I'm 1/2 of the cover 😉 (then tag me & debbie who's naughty & nice 🙇🏻‍♀️) #fhmAngel #fhmDebbie pic.twitter.com/a6Eqr9w6ah

— Angelica Yap (@angelicaj__) December 2, 2017

FHM released its December 2017 issue featuring Yap and model Debbie Garcia. Like most FHM covers, these two women are photographed in lingerie and other revealing attire.

Yap first gained notoriety through the ‘Nasaan Ka, Mr. Pastillas’ segment (mostly forgotten now due to ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’), where ‘It’s Showtime’ hosts tried to find a man that would help her move on from a break-up. She has since reconciled with the man who broke up with her and are now engaged.

In the years leading up to her FHM cover debut, Yap gradually shed her innocent image by posting sexy and provocative images on social media. Though out of the limelight for some time, Yap signed up with Viva Entertainment and she even started a YouTube account with her fiance.

Perhaps posing for FHM is just the tonic Angelica Yap needs to restart her career. One can only hope that the former “Pastillas Girl” will embrace the small screen and possibly the big screen in the near future.

Why Jackpot En Poy Only Makes Eat Bulaga Worse?

For 37 years, ‘Eat Bulaga’ was known for its innovative and groundbreaking segments.

Some of their most famous portions have become synonymous with the show; examples include Little Miss Philippines, That’s My Boy, Laban o Bawi, Pinoy Henyo and Juan for All, All for Juan. However, they recently took a further step back by introducing this ridiculous segment.

Earlier this year, ‘Eat Bulaga’ brought the game of rock-paper-scissors (or in Filipino, Jack en Poy) to the show and billed it as the ‘most serious’ game ever. Enter the infamous Jackpot En Poy segment.

In this game, four people who represent a particular color section of the audience (red, green, yellow, blue) go one-on-one in the game of rock-paper-scissors. The first round winners then face off in the finals, after which that round’s winner gets a chance to play in the jackpot round against a select team of ‘Eat Bulaga’ hosts, each with a particular prize money allotted to them.

To make the game ‘serious’, ‘Eat Bulaga’ brought in Gov Lloyd as its ‘referee’, while a guest judge takes a look at violations that took place during the segment. Initially, Jose Manalo, Paolo Ballesteros, Wally Bayola and Maine Mendoza were brought in as ‘judges’, but after only a few episodes, they were reassigned to do another segment.

While the Jackpot En Poy segment typically used regular audience members as players, the more recent episodes featured none other than guest celebrities from different fields. For instance, the March 25 installment of Jackpot En Poy saw Senators Sonny Angara, JV Ejercito, Gringo Honasan and Manny Pacquiao play the said game.

Maraming Salamat sa mga Senator na nakilaro sa amin ngayong tanghalian sa Jackpot En Poy! pic.twitter.com/qF89uk3yIg

— Eat Bulaga (@EatBulaga) March 25, 2017

Despite its ‘serious’ yet ‘entertaining’ nature, the segment proved to be ‘Eat Bulaga”s weakest and most desperate segment yet. Let’s face it, rock-paper-scissors is a simple game, but once ‘Eat Bulaga’ added some shenanigans to make it appear like it was innovated, this act only alienated a more vocal section of the audience.

It is no secret that the ratings of ‘Eat Bulaga’ continues to fall with each episode. The fact of the matter is, this noontime show is now on the twilight of its run, and with ‘It’s Showtime”s emergence, it appears that the torch has finally been passed.

Sorry, Jackpot En Poy, but this segment does not deserve a place on ‘Eat Bulaga’ lore. Let’s just hope that it will be good riddance to this simple yet ridiculous skit.

FTT Year 2016 in Review: The 20 Stories That Define the Year in Media (Part I)

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2017, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at the 20 moments that define the Philippine media this year.

Here is Part I of the four-part series. These stories are arranged in no particular order.

The Return of Tawag ng Tanghalan

‘It’s Showtime’ was on the brink of waving the white flag when rival ‘Eat Bulaga”s Kalyeserye segment (starring AlDub) became wildly popular in the second half of 2015. So in order to get back on track, they decided to revive a singing competition that was successful in the era of black and white television.

Thus on the second day of 2016, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ was brought back as a segment of ‘It’s Showtime’. The segment would set the tone for ‘It’s Showtime”s renaissance, as it recaptured the ratings lead from ‘Eat Bulaga’ by the third week of January.

Speaking of ‘Eat Bulaga’…

Kalyeserye Concluded, Revived, Then Concluded Again

The long-running Kalyeserye segment had been on a roll since its debut on July 16, 2015. Unfortunately, the return to form of ‘It’s Showtime’, coupled by the presumed seven-month suspension of Paolo Ballesteros (a.k.a. Lola Tidora) and fans’ apparent frustration over repetitive and predictable storylines, led to a decline in popularity for the segment.

Along the way, Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza took time off to record and promote the film ‘Imagine You and Me’. With the desire to push the duo to new territory, ‘Eat Bulaga’ decided to end Kalyeserye on September 3, although they revived the skit from October 15 to December 17 with a new chapter.

Both Alden and Maine are scheduled to star in the upcoming GMA teleserye ‘Destined to Be Yours’ beginning next year, putting Kalyeserye’s future in doubt.

KathNiel, LizQuen and JaDine’s Reign on Primetime Continues

ABS-CBN’s ‘Big Three’ love teams continued to roll in 2016. The year began with ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’, starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, reigning on the 8:40 timeslot, followed by its replacement ‘Dolce Amore’, starring Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, which debuted on February 15.

Unfortunately, although James Reid and Nadine Lustre began the year with the highly successful ‘On the Wings of Love’, they failed to keep the momentum going when ‘Till I Met You’ premiered on August 29 to a rather lukewarm reception in the ratings. As a result, on September 19, ABS-CBN moved the series’ timeslot to 9:30 p.m., which eventually paid off.

But for every successful pairing, there are some love teams that did not click at all, as seen in this next entry.

AnBie, AlNine and ElNella: The Lost Love Teams

Barbie Forteza and Andre Paras were paired in the long-running afternoon drama ‘The Half-Sisters’, which finally came to an end on January 15. Two weeks later, they received a primetime push with ‘That’s My Amboy’, but the series ended in late April with just 68 episodes and little fanfare.

Its successor, Aljur Abrenica and Janine Gutierrez’s ‘Once Again’, did not even come close, clocking at only 59 episodes from May to July. Over at ABS-CBN, Janine’s ex-boyfriend Elmo Magalona was paired with Janella Salvador in ‘Born for You’, but the series made little impact either, lasting 65 episodes from June to September.

It remains to be seen if the three love teams will have a chance to redeem themselves next year. But in the meantime, let’s move on.

Sexy Time in 2016

The trend towards sensually mature programs continued in 2016. On ABS-CBN, ‘Pasion de Amor’, ‘Tubig at Langis’ and ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ stood out, with Coleen Garcia, Ellen Adarna, Arci Muñoz, Isabelle Daza and Cristine Reyes emerging to showcase their newfound abilities in a more raunchy setting.

Over on GMA, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’, ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’ and ‘Hahamakin ang Lahat’ provided a new dimension for stars Rhian Ramos, Andrea Torres and Joyce Ching to show their chops. But perhaps their greatest contributions were ‘Juan Happy Love Story’ and ‘A1 Ko Sa ‘Yo’, both of which feature a mix of comedy and sensuality.

If 2016 set the tone for more sexual themes with SPG ratings all over the place, then what else is in store come 2017? Find out soon.

In the meantime, Part II of this four-part series is coming up tomorrow. Stay tuned.

AlDub ‘Wedding’ Catapaults Eat Bulaga to Victory

The ‘wedding’ between Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards became a must-watch.

On Saturday, October 22, ‘Eat Bulaga’ presented a special edition of the newly-revived Kalyeserye segment. The emphasis of the three-hour episode was on the aforementioned ‘wedding’ between Maine and Alden’s characters, which was set inside Christ the King Church in Quezon City.

The ‘wedding’ featured numerous special guests, such as Ai-Ai delas Alas (in her Lola Babah character), Jake Ejercito, Mike Enriquez, Rodjun Cruz, Helen Gamboa and Irma Adlawan. As always, the ‘Eat Bulaga’ hosts played special roles in the event, which included a rare appearance of Vic Sotto’s Dodong character.

The seemingly realistic marriage between the two had been carefully prepared throughout the week, from the pre-nuptial shoots and bridal showers to the proposals for Maine’s wedding gown. The skits even went as far as preparing an invitation to the said ‘wedding’, and inviting Liz Uy and Jason Magbanua to play key roles.

The ‘wedding’ itself took over an hour to complete, a majority of which were spent without commercial interruption. Near the end of the segment, however, Lola Nidora (played by Wally Bayola) fainted in the midst of Alden and Maine’s exchange of I dos, prompting ‘Eat Bulaga’ to take a commercial break in order to add drama.

Despite the incident, Lola Nidora was able to regain consciousness, and the ‘wedding’ proper eventually pushed through without further incident. In the end, Maine and Alden left the episode as a ‘married’ couple.

The episode, which took place nearly a year after the successful Sa Tamang Panahon event, gave ‘Eat Bulaga’ a rare victory in Kantar’s national ratings, as it barely finished o.1% above ‘It’s Showtime”s figures.  More importantly, netizens took the hashtag #AlDubWedding to one of the top global trending spots on Twitter, with over five million tweets.

Considering that the show has been struggling to remain relevant in the months after Sa Tamang Panahon, this episode was in many ways a shot of adrenaline. Still, not even a rare victory can satisfy any AlDub fan, or whoever’s left of the once-highly popular fanbase, as they try to rekindle the tandem’s glory days.

At least there are still ‘Eat Bulaga’ loyalists who have supported the show even before Alden and Maine came aboard. As long as they’re here, ‘Eat Bulaga’ will still enjoy some moral victories, no matter how small it becomes.

It’s Showtime’s Fall and Rebirth Amid the AlDub Saga

What a difference a year makes.

Back on July 16, 2015, viewers of the then-hit noontime show ‘It’s Showtime’ were suddenly stunned to see the debut of the popular AlDub tandem on ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Kalyeserye’ segment. Thanks to the split-screen magic between Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, ‘Eat Bulaga’ was able to win by just 0.2% in the national ratings that day.

The surprising love team took not only the nation, but the entire world by storm. Twitter went abuzz as Alden and Maine exchanged Dubsmash replies through song each and every day, while Lola Nidora (played by Wally Bayola) tried to play it as if it is only fictional in nature.

While the AlDub phenomenon was hitting its stride, ‘It’s Showtime’ tried its best to keep up. They answered the AlDub love team by trying to give Angelica Yap (a.k.a. Pastillas Girl) a new partner in the skit ‘Nasaan Ka Mr. Pastillas’, which did not work out.

The peak of the AlDub fever took place on October 24, when ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Sa Tamang Panahon’ charity concert at the Philippine Arena drew not only 50,000 or so fans, but also millions of viewers around the world. The national ratings reflected that success as well, as ‘Eat Bulaga’ scored a 40.1% rating over ‘It’s Showtime”s 10.2%.

The lopsided ratings could have ended ‘It’s Showtime’ as viewers know it. Instead, they persevered and finally came up with a segment that took the steam out of AlDub.

Enter ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’, the 1950s classic singing competition that returned as a segment of ‘It’s Showtime’ on January 2. The premise of the segment was simple: singers must perform well to win, then defend the title the next day against other aspirants from around the country.

Thanks to the presence of the revived TNT, the show gradually rebounded, and by January 11, ‘It’s Showtime’ overtook ‘Eat Bulaga’ for good in the ratings. The aura that once enveloped AlDub on ‘Kalyeserye’ disappeared.

Many factors were given as to why ‘Kalyeserye’ suddenly fell flat. But perhaps the most notable of these was the fact that Maine Mendoza, whose real voice had been withheld from the public for months (except for an interview on ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’), was finally ‘given’ an ability to talk fluently during the ‘Sa Tamang Panahon’ concert.

Skits soon became predictable and repetitive, and as a result, viewers who were once part of the AlDub fever were switching back to ‘It’s Showtime’. Even after the July 16 episode in which Alden and Maine celebrated their first anniversary as a couple, ‘Eat Bulaga’ was unable to recapture past glory.

On the other hand, ‘It’s Showtime’ was back to its old entertaining self. They not only have the hit ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ segment, but also ‘TrabaHula’, a skit where players had to guess the real worker among the four in the audience.

Indeed, the recent dominance of ‘It’s Showtime’ in the first half of the decade is manifesting itself once again. And for Vice Ganda and company, they have no intention of letting it go.

So what’s next for this noontime rivalry? One can only hope that ‘Eat Bulaga’ can find a way to regroup their ‘Kalyeserye’ strategy, otherwise, ‘It’s Showtime’ and TNT will continue to assert their place atop the noontime charts.