Struggling Kapamilya Gold Needs a Boost

Thanks to ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ and succeeding dramas ‘Impostora’ and ‘Haplos’, GMA Afternoon Prime suddenly looked imposingly strong against ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold. (Photo credit: GMA Network)

The struggle is indeed real.

ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold block has hit a rough patch of late. In the last several weeks, teleseryes ‘Pusong Ligaw’, ‘The Better Half’ and its replacement ‘The Promise of Forever’ scored fewer ratings than GMA Afternoon Prime counterparts ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, ‘Impostora’ and ‘Haplos’.

Although the three series did have a few winning moments, it was clear that the momentum is now on GMA’s side. ABS-CBN may be the better network overall, but their issues in the afternoon slots are causing plenty of concerns.

One reason why GMA suddenly became winnable in the afternoon is ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, the popular yet at times campy drama series starring Sunshine Dizon, Ryza Cenon and Gabby Concepcion. Since March, the series earned ratings of 15 to 18%, good enough to give ‘It’s Showtime’ plenty of fits.

In a previous article, From the Tube discussed how ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ was able to win the hearts of viewers while at the same time exposes ABS-CBN’s weaknesses in the afternoon slots. Although ‘It’s Showtime’ recently countered by replacing ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ with ‘Miss Q&A’ as the noontime show’s final segment, it still had a hard time cracking ‘Ika-6 na Utos” armor.

The success of ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ has since spread like wildfire to the two succeeding GMA Afternoon Prime series. From late August onwards, ‘Impostora’ and ‘Haplos’ earned better ratings than ‘Pusong Ligaw’ and ‘The Better Half’, and even though the latter was then replaced by ‘The Promise of Forever’, the results were mostly the same.

If ABS-CBN wants to restore order within Kapamilya Gold, drastic measures must be implemented. Going back to a three-teleserye setup is what the network desperately needs at this point, but in order to do that, they need to make some sacrifices.

For one, they must convince ‘It’s Showtime’ to either cut a portion of their airtime or return to the pre-noontime slot. Regarding the third teleserye, a possible option for that would be ‘Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin’, which despite earning good ratings in the pre-noontime slot, has a more serious storyline than its predecessors and is better equipped for the afternoon slot.

Would it be better to see Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson, Jake Cuenca and Coleen Garcia go up against Sunshine Dizon, Ryza Cenon and Gabby Concepcion? Perhaps, but given ABS-CBN’s pre-noontime dominance, that potential matchup between ‘Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin’ and ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ will only be just that, a fantasy.

Still, the sudden change of fortune on Kapamilya Gold should give the ABS-CBN brass some sense of urgency. After all, despite their success, there are always holes with which the opponent will take advantage of, and ABS-CBN should be aware of that.

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It’s Showtime Extended, Kapamilya Gold Down to Three Programs

A game of one-upmanship continues on ABS-CBN.

The Kapamilya network’s afternoon slot had a different look beginning yesterday. With the conclusion of the Koreanovela ‘My Love Donna’ last Friday, ABS-CBN chose not to replace the said program, and reduced Kapamilya Gold to just two teleseryes (‘Doble Kara’, Tubig at Langis’) and ‘Game ng Bayan’.

On top of that, ‘It’s Showtime’ had its running time extended to three hours, and as a result, Kapamilya Gold now begins much later, at 3:15 p.m.

By all accounts, it seems like ABS-CBN is once again trying to give GMA a run for its money. With the 30-minute extension, ‘It’s Showtime’ now has to contend not only with perennial rival ‘Eat Bulaga’, but also the teleserye ‘Wish I May’, whose run will come to an end soon.

Over at Kapamilya Gold, ‘Doble Kara’ will now have to face ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, while ‘Tubig at Langis’ will be up against ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’. And with the exception of regional networks, ‘Game ng Bayan’ will once again have to contend with the first 45 minutes of ‘Wowowin’.

 

Overall, the move provided some sense of anticipation for ABS-CBN. Knowing that GMA and TAPE, Inc. could extend ‘Eat Bulaga’ to another 30 minutes in case of a lack of replacement for ‘Wish I May’, ABS-CBN quickly took action, in hopes that GMA may indeed make a game-changing response.

Still, is three hours on weekdays too much for ‘It’s Showtime’? And is the three-program approach on Kapamilya Gold all worth it for ABS-CBN?

Let’s face it, ‘It’s Showtime’ may have overtaken ‘Eat Bulaga’ following its low point that is the AlDub vs. Pastillas rivalry, but they don’t need a 30-minute extension on weekdays. After all, the viewers need some siesta time as well, not to mention the fact that the hosts’ busy schedule were being compromised by this extension.

And what about Kapamilya Gold? With just two teleseryes and a move to a later timeslot, this may not bode well for the block’s ratings, especially with GMA consistently taking over the lead at around 4:00 p.m. in the lead-up to ‘Wowowin’.

That said, this latest programming change of ABS-CBN in the afternoon may not be helpful in the long run. While they are still winning, this new lineup will not make sense if they started to lose steam.

Now that ABS-CBN once again tweaked its afternoon lineup, will GMA respond to its rival’s move? Find out soon.

Revamp for Kapamilya Gold

‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ may be affected in the regional networks as Kapamilya Gold revamps its lineup with the move of the NCA block to late nights. (Logo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

A brand-new Kapamilya Gold awaits viewers later today.

As previously announced, ‘And I Love You So’ will take over the slot once occupied by the recently concluded (albeit short-lived) series ‘Walang Iwanan’. The new series, starring Julia Barretto, Miles Ocampo, Angel Aquino and Dimples Romana, will air after ‘All of Me’.

The revamp does not end there, however. Starting today, the News and Current Affairs block will no longer air on Kapamilya Gold, and will instead move back to its original timeslot following ‘Bandila’.

The NCA block lineup will remain the same following the timeslot change. ‘Mission Possible’ airs on Mondays, followed by ‘My Puhunan’ on Tuesdays, ‘Red Alert’ on Wednesdays, ‘Sports U’ on Thursdays, and ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ on Fridays.

Now that the NCA block has moved to late nights, how will this affect the Kapamilya Gold lineup in the regions? As it stands, this is how the Kapamilya Gold block will look like starting today, as far as Metro Manila viewers are concerned.

2:45 p.m. – Doble Kara

3:30 p.m. – All of Me

4:15 p.m. – And I Love You So

5:00 p.m. – Kapamilya Deal or No Deal

One program likely to be affected with the change in the regions will be ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. With the regional networks’ own broadcast of ‘TV Patrol’, they may be forced to preempt ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ in their area.

As such, the ‘available in select areas’ advisory may apply during episode previews for ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’, in order to inform viewers of a possible preemption. Here’s how it may potentially look like in the regional networks.

2:45 p.m. – Doble Kara

3:30 p.m. – All of Me

4:15 p.m. – And I Love You So

5:00 p.m. – Kapamilya Deal or No Deal/TV Patrol regionals

That said, ABS-CBN has a decision to make regarding Kapamilya Gold in the regions. After all, they don’t want to risk shedding some viewers outside Metro Manila with this move.