Deal or No Deal Returns, Plus Umaganda’s Slump Continues

‘Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal’ returns with a new format this Monday. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

‘Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal’ returns for a new season with a new twist.

The popular ABS-CBN game show will have its fifth season premiere on February 9, with Luis Manzano again taking over hosting duties. This time around, a different format will encompass KDND’s latest season.

Gone are the ’26K Girls’ that held the show’s briefcases in previous seasons. Instead, celebrity guests will be holding the briefcases containing an unknown amount of money, and will be dubbed as the ’20 Lucky Stars’.

In addition, the day’s studio player will be selected from the aforementioned 20 celebrities via a roulette. The said player has the choice of keeping or trading briefcases with the other 19 ‘Lucky Stars’.

As was the case in prior seasons, the objective of the game is for the player to open each briefcase in hopes of getting a better offer from the unnamed banker.

The new season of ‘Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal’ will replace ‘Bet on Your Baby’ beginning this Monday. The second season of the latter game show will have its final episode aired tomorrow afternoon.

Also down to its final episode tomorrow is ‘The Singing Bee’. The long-running game show was a consistent top-rater for the Kapamilya network for the majority of its run, dispatching rival GMA game show ‘Don’t Lose Your Money’ and talk show ‘Basta Every Day Happy’ in the process.

But its success paled in comparison to the rest of the shows on Umaganda, especially Team Animazing. And starting this Monday morning, expect Umaganda’s quality to get even worse with the return of ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’.

The temporary movie block will replace both ‘The Singing Bee’ and ‘Pedro Penduko’ on Umaganda. And if that was not enough, ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’ will take on supposedly weaker competition in GMA’s ‘Corazon Indomable’ and ‘Women in the Sun’.

That said, the return of ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’ should give ABS-CBN more problems than solutions. Unless they quickly find a replacement program or two in the soonest possible time, expect Umaganda to grow even staler while giving GMA some much-needed breathing room in the mornings.

This is definitely not a good way for ABS-CBN to cement its dominance as the No. 1 network in the country with all the moves they make these days.

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Inauspicious Start for Revamped Kapamilya Gold

Despite tremendous hype surrounding the return of Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin to ABS-CBN, ‘Flordeliza’ failed to make an impact against its counterpart ‘The Half-Sisters’ on its first week. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

ABS-CBN’s new-look Kapamilya Gold is off to a slow start.

Ratings from the network’s trusted source Kantar Media showed that last Monday’s pilot episodes of ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ registered a paltry 9.7 and 8.9% figures, respectively. On the other hand, GMA Afternoon Prime counterparts ‘The Half-Sisters’ and ‘Yagit’ earned better marks of 14.9% and 11.6%.

The two shows’ ratings also failed to improve following last Tuesday’s episodes. ‘Flordeliza’ earned an 8.2% mark against ‘The Half-Sisters” 15.5%, while ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ managed a 7.9% rating opposite ‘Yagit”s 11.9%.

And following last Wednesday’s episodes, ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ garnered ratings of 9% and 8.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, ‘The Half-Sisters’ and ‘Yagit’ fared much better with 14.8% and 12.3%.

The struggle has been all too real for Kapamilya Gold. Since ‘Moon of Desire’ ended its run in August, the afternoon block has been on the decline, both in terms of quality and in viewership.

From mid-August to mid-January, ABS-CBN did not produce any local teleseryes for the said block. The vacant slot in between ‘It’s Showtime’ and the News and Current Affairs programs was first filled in by the ill-fated telenovela ‘Ana Manuela’, followed by the movie block ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’.

The lack of local teleseryes clearly took its toll on Kapamilya Gold. As a result, Afternoon Prime retook control in the ratings, led by the top-rated ‘The Half-Sisters’, and never looked back.

It is clear that both ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ have a lot more work to do in order to match, let alone surpass the ratings of their rivals. The hype surrounding the two shows is undeniable, but unless they back it up with an improved ratings performance, all that hype will go to waste.

That said, it is up to the executives at ABS-CBN to make some improvements for Kapamilya Gold. They are undoubtedly the No. 1 television network today, but it doesn’t mean they are invincible with this weakness.

Note: ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ will be bumped to earlier timeslots in order to make way for the Koreanovela ‘Fated to Love You’, starting today.

Three Teleseryes Debut on ABS-CBN This Monday

A trio of Kapamilya teleseryes will be launched on the same day.

To kick off its 2015 slate of new programs, ABS-CBN will have its ‘Kapamilya Thank You Day’ on January 19, and as part of the occasion, three teleseryes will have their pilot episodes aired throughout the day. The new teleseryes are:

Flordeliza

Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin will headline this upcoming teleserye, making it their first project together on the Kapamilya side since 2002. They will be joined by Desiree del Valle and child actresses Ashley Sarmiento and Rhey Bustamante.

‘Flordeliza’ will focus on two families whose daughters will become the best of friends, only to be torn apart by a heartbreaking revelation. The title itself will be based on the names of the aforementioned lead cast.

The series will also feature Carlo Aquino, Elizabeth Oropesa, Tetchie Agbayani, and Juan Rodrigo in supporting roles.

Oh My G!

Once a supporting cast member of ‘Be Careful with My Heart’, Janella Salvador will now headline her own teleserye with ‘Oh My G!’

The new series will focus on a teenager’s struggles following the death of her parents, and is said to be inspired by the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila.

Joining Salvador in the light-hearted series will be fellow ‘Be Careful’ castmate Marlo Mortel, ex-‘Pinoy Big Brother’ housemate Manolo Pedrosa, and veteran actors Sunshine Cruz, Dominic Ochoa, John Arcilla, Edgar Allan Guzman, and Janice de Belen.

Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita

‘Pinoy Big Brother’ housemates Jane Oineza, Loisa Andalo and Joshua Garcia will be front and center on the upcoming series ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’.

The series, which focuses on a daughter’s search for her lost father, will be based on the 1986 film of the same name.

Written by famed scriptwriter Ricky Lee, ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ will also feature Vina Morales, Denise Laurel, Christian Vasquez, and Jerome Ponce in supporting roles.

Notwithstanding their dominant performance the previous year, ABS-CBN knows that there are still some improvements to make. The afternoon block Kapamilya Gold, for example, has been left in ruins thanks to the network’s decision to air ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’ in the midst of rival GMA Afternoon Prime’s string of success.

That said, bringing Kapamilya Gold back to relevance will be ABS-CBN’s priority for the early part of the year. Two of the three new teleseryes will likely be seen in the afternoon, while one will take the place of the seasonal drama ‘Give Love on Christmas’, whose finale will be aired this Friday.

For ABS-CBN, a good start to 2015 is all they need to keep the streak of good fortune going. And three teleseryes premiering on the same day is a great start.