‘To the Top’ Avoids ‘The Voice Kids’

‘To the Top”s upcoming weekend schedule will see them pit against ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ instead of ‘The Voice Kids’ season 2. (Logo courtesy of GMA & ‘To the Top’ Official Facebook)

“Avoid ‘The Voice Kids’ at all costs.”

This is the battle cry of a despondent GMA management upon revealing the schedules of the soon-to-air multi-platform reality boyband talent show ‘To the Top’. Starting July 25, ‘To the Top’ will air every Saturday at 8:50 p.m. following ‘Magpakailanman’, and every Sunday at 9:40 p.m. following ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’.

This means that ‘To the Top’ will only compete against ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ rather than the ‘The Voice Kids’ season 2. With the latter having set a series ratings record of around 43% (according to Kantar Media) the previous weekend, GMA knows they’re in a losing battle, and wisely did what’s best for them.

But that doesn’t mean ‘To the Top’ will beat ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ once they get underway. As it stands, PBB remains a serious contender despite the recent spate of controversies, and for GMA to make ‘To the Top’ even more interesting than its adversary, they need to raise the level of skill and entertainment value to win the viewers’ hearts.

That said, a tough battle still lies ahead for ‘To the Top’. Even though they’ll no longer go head-to-head with ‘The Voice Kids’, they still have something to prove as far as ratings go, and that alone won’t be easy.

Good luck.

PBB Premiere Nears, StarStruck Still Out of Commission

It appears that the much-anticipated clash between ‘StarStruck’ and ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ may not happen after all.

ABS-CBN announced that the latest season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will officially launch this June at a still-unspecified date. The new season will be titled ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’, and as of today, six unnamed housemates have been confirmed on the show’s official Facebook.

The new season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will be the 12th overall and sixth regular season in the reality’s show’s history. It will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of the franchise, which first saw the light of day back in 2005.

But while ‘Pinoy Big Brother”s season premiere is drawing near, ‘StarStruck”s plans for a comeback appear to have been stalled. Their most recent teaser (see video below) was aired back in March, after which GMA pulled the plug for reasons unknown.

The new season of ‘StarStruck’ has been in the works since September of last year, with auditions having taken place during that time. GMA even confirmed that Megan Young and Dingdong Dantes will host the said reality show.

That said, the countdown to the return of ‘StarStruck’ should have started at this point. After all, GMA had worked so long and hard for the show to come back that fans cannot wait to see it coming.

Instead, GMA can only watch helplessly as its rival from Mother Ignacia made final preparations for the return of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’.

The rivalry between ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ and ‘StarStruck’ should have been an interesting one, especially with the latter attempting to resuscitate GMA’s fortunes in the reality show genre. But with the long and tedious process still affecting ‘StarStruck”s comeback plans, all signs now point for PBB to continue its dominance.

It remains to be seen if GMA would heed its promise and launch ‘StarStruck’ in the soonest possible time. For now, though, they will have to endure painful and sleepless nights against the popular yet controversial ‘Pinoy Big Brother’.

In 100 Words: Anticipating a PBB-StarStruck Battle

Once again, interest is heating up in ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ and ‘StarStruck’.

GMA recently posted another teaser for ‘StarStruck”s sixth season, promoting the show’s legacy as the ‘original and legitimate artista search in Philippine television’.

Not to be outdone, ABS-CBN released their own teaser for the tenth season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, announcing the Metro Manila audition dates on March 6 and 7.

The collision course between the two reality shows is highly anticipated. Not since the late 2000s has this rivalry reach a fever pitch.

And while ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ seem to have put ‘StarStruck’ out of commission for a while, it is now GMA’s turn to mount a fightback. In a few months, the rivalry of both shows will be a must-see event for 2015.

Bet ng Bayan: A Future Flop in the Making?

Auditions for GMA’s upcoming reality talent show ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are currently ongoing. (Logo courtesy of GMA Network)

Despite the clear signs of decline on the part of the GMA Artist Center, the network remains defiant in its attempt to hone new stars.

Thus, another attempt at a reality talent show was conceptualized.

Enter ‘Bet ng Bayan’, GMA’s latest attempt at finding new artists and performers. The upcoming reality program will be hosted by Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Alden Richards, and it will premiere either this August or September.

Auditions for ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are currently ongoing in various parts of the country, and will run until the first week of August.  The show will feature solo, duo, and group singers, dancers, and novelty performers over 15 years old.

Let’s face it, ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is essentially a copycat of ABS-CBN’s ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ and TV5’s ‘Talentadong Pinoy’. While GMA claims that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is an original concept of theirs, it is clear that they borrowed several aspects of ‘PGT’ and ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ into their reality talent program.

It is also clear that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is just another move by GMA to replenish their weekend lineup. Already decimated by numerous lineup changes and four movie blocks, they now hope that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ will be their saving grace to their weekend woes. But with ABS-CBN continuing to impose their will on the opposition, it will be an even tougher task for ‘Bet ng Bayan’ to achieve, considering that GMA’s previous weekend reality talent show ‘Protege’ failed to attract viewers during its two-season run.

The producers of ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are definitely under pressure to make the series work. And with GMA’s current roster of artists struggling to stay relevant, they hope that fresh blood will come with this program. However, it remains to be seen if ‘Bet ng Bayan’ can really deliver ‘the next big star’.