Shop Japan’s entry to AksyonTV only made things worse for the said network. (Logo courtesy of Shop Japan Philippines)
Shop Japan has now infiltrated AksyonTV’s programming.
The infomercial series first aired on weekends at 12:00 p.m., originally in lieu of reruns of the defunct KBO block. Nowadays it airs specifically during most vacant programming hours, replacing the reruns of defunct AksyonTV-produced programs while serving its purpose as filler programming during a lull in sports or news coverage.
Shop Japan was first introduced to TV5 last year in response to ABS-CBN’s establishment of the O Shopping block. The said program currently airs on TV5 every day as the network’s final program prior to sign-off, airing almost at the same time as rival O Shopping.
Shop Japan became the first infomercial program on TV5 since the combination of EZ Shop, Venta5 and Winner TV aired on its predecessor ABC-5.
Shop Japan also airs on BEAM Channel 31, which also happens to broadcast the infomercials of rivals O Shopping and TV Shoppe.
The entry of Shop Japan only furthers the growing gap between AksyonTV and its rival sister stations. There is nothing wrong about TV5’s decision to bring Shop Japan to its sister station, but airing them very often only provided further complications.
For instance, the PBA coverage on TV5, Radyo5 92.3 News FM and AksyonTV forced several Radyo5-simulcast programs to adjust their schedules during weekday doubleheaders. But beginning with the Governors’ Cup, only the final 60 minutes of ‘Punto Asintado’ is simulcast on AksyonTV, giving away the first 30 to Shop Japan instead.
The presence of Shop Japan simply hampered AksyonTV’s hopes of refurbishing what has been a declining product. The said network has depended a lot on Radyo5, News5 and Sports5 programs to keep it afloat, but as it stands, little to no improvement has been made on TV5’s sister station when it comes to its lineup.
Only time will tell when AksyonTV will finally come to its senses. At this point, however, the network has nowhere else to go.
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