GMA’s Disservice to Pacquiao Fights

GMA will not air the replay of the Manny Pacquiao-Brandon Rios fight, presumably for ratings and earnings concerns.

For the past few weeks, GMA has been replaying classic fights of Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios, which I think is unnecessary. And now GMA is not even willing to air a replay of the Pacquiao-Rios fight this Sunday night, and instead they gave the airtime to an Aljur Abrenica concert. It is a last-second decision that is undeserving and unfaithful to the network.

This is not the first time that GMA refused to schedule the same-day replay of a Pacquiao fight. From 2008-11, Pacquiao replays were aired on RPN 9, before it was reformatted to ETC. When Solar found no takers for a free TV replay, GMA stepped in and replayed the fights on either the main Channel 7 or News TV 11. However, after recent Pacquiao losses to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, GMA decided to again defer from airing the same-day replays and Solar was forced to look for a free TV partner.

At the last minute, IBC 13 stepped in to air the replay. The network, which recently ended its blocktime deal with TV5 last May, has a reputation for airing sports events, even introducing Manny Pacquiao to Filipino viewers in 1996. However, its signal quality will be put into question, so it remains to be seen how IBC would fare in airing the replay.

Meanwhile, GMA’s snub underscores its lack of purpose towards sports coverage. I have already written before about GMA’s lack of sports coverage, and their non-committal to a same-day Pacquiao replay was an example of their reluctance. They would have also moved the replay to GMA News TV, but they have previously committed to air the documentary on the John F. Kennedy assassination.

Instead the viewers who missed out have no choice but to watch the fight on IBC 13. And it’s a bad thing, because GMA has the wider reach and the superior signals, giving them a clear advantage. However, concerns on earnings and slumping ratings left the network with no option but to refuse a replay of the fight.

In the end, what GMA did is an act of cowardliness. Refusing to air an encore presentation of the Pacquiao-Rios fight was an example of how the Kapuso network had become: a cheap, inept and reckless network. And should Pacquiao lose, it will only add insult to injury for the management.

 

No to Pacquiao Replays on GMA

GMA is once again attempting to draw extensive hype by airing classic Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios fights. However, GMA’s old approach doesn’t usually end with a win for the Pacman.

GMA recently aired replays of classic Manny Pacquiao fights, in addition to Brandon Rios‘ more recent bouts. But here’s my question: Why do you need a replay when all you need is just a pre-fight primer?

For the past several years, GMA and ABS-CBN have been the home to two of the best pound-for-pound fighters today. GMA has Manny Pacquiao, while ABS-CBN has Nonito Donaire. The two have some things in common: both were promoted by Top Rank Boxing, have won world championships, earned endorsement deals with various products, and inspired future boxers in the Philippines. For some reason they are boxing’s version of a teleserye; GMA would air a Pacquiao fight one day, and then ABS-CBN will respond with a Donaire fight. This one-upsmanship has served well for both networks, with high ratings and earnings after each fight.

However, after recent defeats by both fighters, it becomes clear that the game of playing it safe is necessary for them to bounce back. But while ABS-CBN decided to air a primer of Donaire’s upcoming fight with Vic Darchinyan on Studio 23, GMA decided to continue its tried and tested aggressive promotion of Pacquiao through the airing of his classic bouts. Seems like they’re doing it simply to add fuel to the fire, isn’t it? But after losing to Juan Manuel Marquez in the previous bout, did GMA make the right decision?

My answer is an obvious NO. GMA should have stuck with a more low-key approach in an effort to not overhype the fight. In the previous Pacquiao defeats to Timothy Bradley and Marquez, the extreme hype and overconfidence that GMA exuded during their promotional ads proved crucial in the defeat. Let’s face it. Filipinos got used to Pacquiao winning at all costs, that they were confident that he can do the same heading into the Bradley fight. As it turned out, the younger Bradley did the right thing in stopping the somewhat overconfident Pacquiao during their fight, and that overconfidence proved costly too in the next fight against Marquez, in which he was able to knock out Pacquiao.

For GMA, it’s a sense of desperation, given that the network doesn’t have its own sports division and that they only air Pacquiao fights in cooperation with Solar Sports. And while ABS-CBN has enough resources to build their sports department, GMA lacks the necessary revenue and in-house crew to produce this big event. Pacquiao may be the biggest draw come November 24, but in the end, it comes down to the most highly-produced and well-hyped bout of the year.

Disliking Manny Pacquiao’s Non-Boxing Roles

Manny Pacquiao’s many roles other than as a boxer had a negative effect in his boxing career of late. (Photo credit: Mike Gonzalez, Wikimedia Commons)

Just a few weeks ago, ‘Para Sa ‘Yo Ang Laban na To’ was pulled off the air by GMA 7. Obviously no one wants to tune in to a counseling and advice program hosted by Manny Pacquiao, as more people wanted to watch raunchier and more aggressive disputes in programs such as TV5’s ‘Face to Face‘ and GMA News TV‘s ‘Personalan‘. And I think it was another failed attempt by Pacquiao to gain a viewing fanbase in a profession other than boxing.

It was Pacquiao’s forays into showbiz that somehow threatened his boxing career. Since signing with GMA 7 in 2007, Pacquiao was given several shows by the network, such as ‘Show Me Da Manny‘ and ‘Manny Many Prizes‘. Unfortunately, neither of Pacquiao’s programs were able to even crack the top 10 in the ratings.

In addition to his hosting and acting stints, he is also a congressman and a preacher back in his hometown of Sarangani. Playing multiple roles at the same time affected his mental focus, concentration and punching accuracy, which led to his defeats against Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez in his last two bouts. Is it good to read out the laws of the government while thinking about the opponent? I don’t think so.

If I were Manny Pacquiao, I would rather focus only on punching opponents, and nothing else. Just ask Nonito Donaire, who has found success knocking out his opponents without any distraction. Although Donaire lost in his recent bout to Jorge Arce, he did not take the showbiz route seriously like Pacquiao (his only minor role is on a McDonalds commercial). Instead he is resting his wounds, awaiting the right time to return to the ring soon.

Manny Pacquiao is a Hall of Famer, no doubt. He is an eight-division world champion, no doubt. He typifies the rags-to-riches type, carrying its burden to inspire future Filipino success stories.  But his success in boxing was overshadowed by his willingness to accept new roles in an effort to gain greater fame and recognition, most of which did not earn the desired results. And even as he tries to regain the in-ring success heading into a November bout with Brandon Rios, the damage has been done, because Manny Pacquiao the entertainer, politician and preacher had virtually ‘wounded’ the ego of Manny Pacquiao the in-ring competitor.