Is It Time for GMA to End Astig Authority on Weekdays?

The entry of ‘Assassination Classroom’ (retitled ‘Invincible Teacher’) on GMA may have excited anime fans, but the network’s short leash on Astig Authority suggest that its days are numbered. (Photo credit: Crunchyroll, Shuiesha, Fuji TV, Funimation, Viz Media)

This is not a good sign.

For many years, GMA’s Astig Authority dominated early mornings with new and repetitive anime programs that every generation can appreciate. Not any amount of criticism or hate can stop this block from becoming a ratings darling in a period where overall viewership is lower compared to later hours.

However, it seems like the days of Astig Authority are being numbered. Since last week, Astig Authority on weekdays was reduced to just two anime titles, a far cry from several years ago when it went as high as five programs.

And it’s not just the number of programs that is decreasing. Even the overall running time was compromised as well, with commercial breaks enjoying longer airtime than the anime themselves.

So what is going on with Astig Authority lately? Perhaps one should point out a time when GMA introduced a new anime to its audience.

When GMA decided to air ‘Assassination Classroom’ on the block (retitled ‘Invincible Teacher’ to avoid negative connotations), that was where the butchering began. For some unexplained reason, editors began to cut some scenes without warning to compensate for the short running time.

Even some more recent anime such as ‘Hunter x Hunter’ or ‘Detective Conan’ were not safe from the editors’ hands. With all that’s going on behind the scenes, not even its good ratings could prevent anime fans from harshly criticizing GMA for doing such a bad deed.

Perhaps GMA should do the right thing and cease airing anime on weekdays altogether. After all, they have essentially neglected such programs to the point that they simply don’t care.

If this abolition were to happen, GMA has three choices. They could either replace Astig Authority with the Heart of Asia block (with one Koreanovela airing every morning in a 45-minute span), move its imported fantasy series to an earlier time and accommodate two Tagalized movies, or simply add EZ Shop to fill in airtime.

For now, GMA’s Astig Authority is still around. However, with all that took place of late, it will not be long before GMA finally pulls the plug on this long-running anime block.

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In 150 Words: Imbestigador and CelebriTV Switch Timeslots

GMA is switching timeslots for ‘Imbestigador’ and ‘CelebriTV’ this coming Saturday.

Caught off-guard by ABS-CBN’s most recent timeslot change on their Saturday schedule, GMA decided to change the timeslots of ‘Imbestigador’ and ‘CelebriTV’. As a result, the former will now air at 4:00 p.m., while the latter will air at 5:00 p.m.

This means that ‘Imbestigador’ will once again face ‘SOCO: Scene of the Crime Operatives’, while ‘CelebriTV’ will be up against ‘Celebrity Playtime’ and ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’. As it stands, ‘Imbestigador”s newest timeslot is now the earliest in the program’s 15-year history, having started as a primetime show early in its tenure.

Much like GMA’s most recent revamp of its weekday schedule, this decision only enhances GMA’s recent reputation as a ‘you lead and I follow’ network. Whatever move ABS-CBN makes, GMA seems to have a response, and that is not good for a network that is trying to rebound this year.

UPDATE: The scheduling change for ‘Imbestigador’ and ‘CelebriTV’ will take effect on February 27.

Heart of Asia, Astig Authority Reduced As Part of GMA’s New Programming Lineup

‘Wowowin”s new timeslot and extended running is part of another revamp of GMA’s lineup. (Logo courtesy of Wil Productions Inc., GMA Network)

Yesterday marked yet another change in GMA’s programming.

Once again, the Kapuso network brought back ‘Kapuso Movie Festival’ (airing weekdays at 9:00 a.m.) in hopes of competing with ABS-CBN’s ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’. To accommodate the said movie block, the duration of the Astig Authority and Heart of Asia Mornings blocks were reduced to 90 and 60 minutes respectively.

The impressive ratings of ‘Wowowin’, though still not enough to beat ‘Pasion de Amor’ nationally, also led to a timeslot change. As a result, ‘Wowowin”s start time was pushed to 5:00 p.m., and its running time was extended for another 30 minutes; this enabled the show to compete against ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ as well.

Consequentially, the extension of ‘Wowowin’ likewise led to a timeslot change for the programs that once occupied the 5:00 p.m. slot. In what has become a ‘you lead and I follow’ scenario, GMA moved its News and Public Affairs block back to late nights, two months after ABS-CBN’s own News and Current Affairs block returned to the said timeslot.

Unlike ABS-CBN’s current affairs block, however, GMA’s so-called ‘Pampamulat sa Gabi’ block only airs from Mondays to Thursdays (thank you ‘Bubble Gang’), and will comprise of these programs. They are ‘Front Row’ (Mondays), ‘Alisto’ (Tuesdays), ‘Tunay na Buhay’ (Wednesdays), and ‘Reporters’ Notebook’ (Thursdays).

Speaking of Mondays to Thursdays, the Heart of Asia Mornings block (‘You’re the Best’, ‘Carmina’) was also reduced to make way for a pair of refugees from the 5:00 p.m. slot. Both ‘Dream Home’ (formerly ‘Power House’) and ‘Love Hotline’ were moved to Friday mornings, and will take over the timeslot of the former block on that day.

By all indications, this is another desperate attempt by GMA to keep up with rival ABS-CBN. Considering that the latter network continues to dominate virtually every timeslot in the ratings, GMA’s answers don’t seem to matter at this point.

Now they need to be patient with this new approach. Otherwise another revamp is in store for the Kapuso network.

In 100 Words: The 700 Club Asia Returns ‘Home’

GMA made a surprising programming decision this week.

Starting Monday, December 14, ‘The 700 Club Asia’ will be seen on Channel 7 every weeknight at 12:00 a.m. This brings the CBN Asia-produced program back to its original home for the first time in 13 years.

The return of ‘The 700 Club Asia’ to Channel 7 came just in time for the show’s 20th anniversary. Thus, it was only fitting for the program to move back to the channel where it all started as they celebrate two decades on television.

As for the show’s now-vacated timeslot on GMA News TV, how will the so-called ‘news’ station ever fill the void? A lot of possibilities are on board for News TV come this Monday as they try to replace ‘The 700 Club Asia’.

Thanks to Ipaglaban Mo, Startalk and Wish Ko Lang Switch Timeslots

The success of the legal drama ‘Ipaglaban Mo’ on ABS-CBN has forced GMA to tweak anew their Saturday lineup, with ‘Wish Ko Lang’ and ‘Startalk’ switching timeslots. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

GMA’s weekend programming instability continues.

Last Saturday, the Kapuso network decided to switch the timeslots of ‘Startalk’ and ‘Wish Ko Lang’. As a result, the former now airs at 3:45 p.m. while the latter follows suit.

There is a reason why GMA made another change on Saturday afternoons, and that is the ratings success of ‘Ipaglaban Mo’ on ABS-CBN. Since the legal drama returned to the small screen this past June, it has managed to dominate ‘Startalk’ in both the TNS Kantar and the AGB Nielsen ratings.

This marked ‘Startalk”s third timeslot change this year, compared to only two in their first 18 years. In January, ‘Startalk’ moved to Sunday afternoons in order to compete against ‘Buzz ng Bayan’, only to move back to Saturdays in May following the revival of ‘The Buzz’ and the reunion of Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda.

The latest change now sees ‘Startalk’ airing at a similar timeslot as its rival ‘The Buzz’, only at a different day and on a running time of 45 minutes to an hour. In addition, ‘Startalk’ will now face ‘Failon Ngayon’, another of ABS-CBN’s highly-rated programs.

For ‘Wish Ko Lang’, it marked their third timeslot change in their 12-year history. Typically a late-afternoon program on Saturdays, ‘Wish Ko Lang’ has once moved to early primetime, and now it airs in the mid-afternoon slot.

While ‘Wish Ko Lang’ was a dominant program early in its run, beating similar rivals on ABS-CBN such as ‘Willingly Yours’, ‘Simpleng Hiling’ and ‘Nagmamahal Kapamilya’, the introduction and subsequent success of ‘Failon Ngayon’ saw its viewership numbers gradually decline. Now GMA management can only hope that ‘Wish Ko Lang’ will fare much better against ‘Ipaglaban Mo’.

In all, it was another tweak to GMA’s rather feeble lineup of weekend programs. But it gets even more interesting come this weekend.