GMA Is NOT The True No. 1 Station As Rasonable and Cruz Claim

The braintrust running GMA are at it again.

In an article published by the network last week, GMA executives Lilybeth Rasonable and Angela Cruz claimed that GMA is the No. 1 network and that AGB Nielsen is the more trusted ratings provider, based on the 77% mark that the network attained in the latest NUTAM and Urban Luzon ratings. While that was a good reason to cheer, ratings is not the only measuring stick towards becoming a top network.

As harsh as it sounds, GMA is nowhere close to what ABS-CBN has done. For several years, GMA is plagued by a variety of issues, most which have been thoroughly discussed to on this blog.

To summarize, here are the concerns that have frustrated the Kapuso network.

Lack of Quality Talents

Talents, in this case, are the actors and hosts of various GMA programs. This is already self-explanatory, as Rasonable has had trouble overseeing the development and utilization of GMA’s roster of talents.

Labor Woes

Following the concerns that its employees were illegally dismissed, the National Labor Relations Commission has no choice but to force GMA to pay sums of money to them. The well-documented struggle of TAG (Talents Associated with GMA) only added to GMA’s poor reputation, and the NLRC’s decision serves to give them justice.

Streamlining of Operations

Despite GMA’s claims of over P2 billion in revenue, cash within the network remains few and far between. Right now, GMA is streamlining its operations, which started by closing most of their regional operations.

Unwise Usage of Funds

The shortage of cash only got worse when GMA began to produce a new installment of ‘Encantadia’. They would have been smart enough by saving some of the money for more important things, such as HD, digital broadcasts, and the improvement of the much-maligned GMA News TV.

A New Investor

CEO Felipe Gozon has already expressed his intention to sell some of his shares to prospective investors. However, the GMA executive should have done this a long time ago, and considering the ongoing issues that GMA faced, that may be too late to resuscitate the network.

These are just some of the concerns that plague GMA in recent years. Overall, despite the so-called proclamation that GMA is the true No. 1 network, they can never be the real No. 1 unless they fix these long-standing issues.

That said, the onus is on Rasonable and other executives to justify GMA’s No. 1 billing through a network-wide rebuilding program. Because as it stands, GMA is not even close to fit the bill as the Philippines’ best network.

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Poor Señorita’s Awful Ending

‘Poor Señorita’ will officially close its book this Friday. The series was doomed from the start, getting blown out on a regular basis by ABS-CBN’s ‘Ang Probinsyano’. (Publicity photo courtesy of GMA Network)

Poor Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, literally.

It has been a difficult and painful four months for Asia’s Songbird. Once again, she tried to once again convince people that she is more than just an accomplished singer, and true enough, she did her best as an actress, but not in a way that would result into high ratings.

Which is exactly what happened to ‘Poor Señorita’. From the moment it premiered on March 28, it was clear that it would live up to its ‘poor’ reputation, both literally and figuratively.

The series’ national ratings overall were a wreck, as it got blown out on a regular basis by a cop-playing Coco Martin, sometimes by margins of over 30%. ‘Ang Probinsyano”s constantly high ratings proved to be a huge burden for Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, and ‘Poor Señorita’ soon became a target of ridicule by many tabloids.

To make matters worse, GMA decided not to actively promote ‘Poor Señorita’ from the beginning of April onwards, resulting in the lack of any episode teasers. The fact that GMA gave up quickly on ‘Poor Señorita’ was reflected on its atrocious performance.

That said, GMA should feel relieved now that ‘Poor Señorita”s uninspiring 79-episode run will come to an end this Friday. It was obvious from the start that they were unable to endure the sight of Regine Velasquez-Alcasid playing a riches-to-rags role in this series.

Perhaps GMA should have not thrown the word ‘actress’ in Regine Velasquez-Alcasid’s repertoire. After all, she is known better as a singer, not an actress.

So what’s next for Regine Velasquez-Alcasid? Following the conclusion of ‘Poor Señorita’, she will continue to host her Saturday morning cooking show ‘Sarap Diva’, but other than that, parental commitments with her son Nathan will be her priority for now.

As for ‘Poor Señorita’, it will be all over come this Friday. It was a hell of a ride, but sadly, it was a wrecked one to say the least.