ABS-CBN Sports Erroneously Advertised Game 2 of UAAP Finals as Airing on Channel 2

Ateneo did win after all at UP’s expense.

And it was not even close. Game 2 of the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball finals ended with a 99-81 score in favor of the Blue Eagles, clinching their tenth championship and eighth in this millennium.

But in the days leading up to Game 2 there was some confusion as to which channels would air the game. A look at ABS-CBN Sports’ Facebook page and it was clear that their social media team screwed up with the announcements.

This post was taken last Tuesday.

Then they made another post hours prior to the game.

The same posts were tweeted on ABS-CBN Sports’ Twitter account, although the latter post was deleted a few hours later. Either way this was a perplexing situation.

The photo stated that Game 2 would be aired on ABS-CBN Channel 2, S+A, via live stream on ABS-CBN Sports’ official website and iWant. However, Channel 2 did not advertise the game at all, and instead aired episode teasers of ‘Kadenang Ginto’, ‘Los Bastardos’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother Otso’ and ‘Meteor Garden’ throughout the morning and early afternoon last Wednesday.

Sure enough, Channel 2 continued on with Kapamilya Gold while Game 2 ended up airing only on S+A. In short, ABS-CBN Sports social media made quite an epic gaffe over the announcement.

Since 2009, ABS-CBN Sports’ contract with the UAAP allowed for at least one game of the Finals to air on Channel 2 (usually on Saturdays). However, Channel 2 ended up airing only Game 1 on most seasons and rarely does the channel air the more compelling Games 2 and/or 3 which are potential championship clinchers.

With the addition of S+A as a secondary option in 2016, ratings of the UAAP finals on Channel 2 saw some precipitous drops, and this year was no exception. Game 1 of the 2018 Finals between Ateneo and UP on Channel 2 only finished with an 11.2% rating, whereas GMA shows ‘Wish Ko Lang’, ‘Imbestigador’ and ’24 Oras Weekend’ posted better numbers.

There are two things that are to blame for Channel 2’s low ratings of the Finals. First, viewers were more accustomed to watching the game on S+A (especially now with the addition of the ABS-CBN TVPlus), and second, Game 1 was not even significant to begin with as there is nothing on the line except the first victory.

That said, with the Finals on Channel 2 experiencing low ratings of late, perhaps ABS-CBN Sports should make some adjustments to the airing schedule. Since Game 1 is not that important, they should look at Games 2 and 3 as potential ratings draws and schedule them on a Saturday so that Channel 2 can join in.

If not, just abandon said practice and air all games on S+A only. That could be a fair deal.

The good news is that the ‘Battle of Katipunan’ UAAP finals attracted many spectators and viewers alike. But unless ABS-CBN does something smarter to make the finals more enticing, expect lower ratings in future games on Channel 2.

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Outside the Box: The Two Most LSS Songs on the MYX Daily Top 10 Pinoy Edition

‘Panaginip’ and ‘Fake Love’.

Those two songs are currently in the middle of the pack on the MYX Daily Top 10 Pinoy Edition. But for whatever reason, ‘Panaginip’ and ‘Fake Love’ simply cannot get out of my head.

For the record, ‘Panaginip’ is a song recorded by Morissette, a former finalist on ‘The Voice of the Philippines’. On the other hand, ‘Fake Love’ is the debut single of actress Kyline Alcantara (of ‘Kambal Karibal’ fame).

And since music videos on MYX usually feature digital on-screen graphics of song lyrics at the bottom (akin to a videoke machine), I get to look at the lyrics of the two songs to see what really hits the spot. Here are some of the lyrics that got my attention.

Baby, don’t lie
It won’t work on me, don’t try
To even message or call me up
I’m not falling for your fake love
Baby, goodbye
You’re no longer in my life
I decided to move on
Get up on your knees, ’cause I’m gone
Fake Love
by Kyline Alcantara

Gising na gising
tulala sa hangin nakatitig pa rin
isa kang panaginip
Gising na gising
tulala sa tabi
nakatitig pa rin
isa kang panaginip

Panaginip lang ba
panaginip lang ba
panaginip 
panaginip ka sa tuwina 
Panaginip lang ba
panaginip lang ba
panaginip 
panaginip ka sa tuwina
Panaginip
by Morissette

The two songs have quite a contrasting mood to one another. ‘Fake Love’ is pessimistic, negative and serious, while ‘Panaginip’ is optimistic, happy and loose.

Just look at the music videos for the two songs. They do go the opposite ways, isn’t it?

The same thing applies to the teleseryes on ABS-CBN and GMA. Light-hearted shows like ‘Playhouse’ play the ‘Panaginip’ part, while every afternoon teleserye plays the ‘Fake Love’ part, albeit without the upbeat tone.

That said, I find the two songs too addictive for my liking. I can’t stop humming to either ‘Fake Love’ or ‘Panaginip’.

Too bad neither song is at No. 1 right now (although ‘Panaginip’ reached No. 1 a few weeks ago). Still, ‘Panaginip’ and ‘Fake Love’ are worth a listen, especially when relationships are involved.

Precious Hearts Revival Series Continues with Los Bastardos

From ‘Araw Gabi’ to ‘Los Bastardos’.

On Monday, the revived ‘Precious Hearts Romances’ series will continue with a second pocketbook adaptation in ‘Los Bastardos’. And much like its predecessor ‘Araw Gabi’, ‘Los Bastardos’ will showcase mature and sensual themes that is typical of the ‘Precious Hearts Romances’ franchise.

‘Araw Gabi’, which starred JM de Guzman, Barbie Imperial, Phoebe Walker, Jane Oineza, Vina Morales, Rita Avila, and Raymond Bagatsing among others, premiered on April 30 and will air its 119th and final episode later today. The series enjoyed a decent run with an average of around 15% in the ratings.

‘Araw Gabi”s satisfactory performance prompted ABS-CBN to continue with the ‘Precious Hearts Romances’ adaptations. This time, five of the Kapamilya network’s male heartthrobs will grace the small screen with ‘Los Bastardos’.

‘Los Bastardos’ will be led by Jake Cuenca, Diego Loyzaga, Marco Gumabao, Albie Casiño, and Joshua Colet, who will play five brothers born and raised by one father (Ronaldo Valdez) and five different women who fell in love with him. The series will look at how these five half-brothers discover their origins and fight for the right and power of his family.

Based on the Precious Hearts Romances pocketbook ‘Cardinal Bastards’, ‘Los Bastardos’ tells the story of Don Roman (Ronaldo), a rich man who lived a happy life with a small family. But a severe tragedy forces him to make love with four different woman which will bear him four different sons to go along with a fifth from his own family.

The five brothers are Isagani (Jake), his long-lost son from his first love; Joaquin (Diego), the only son who will grow up under his care; Marco (Matteo), who will grow up alongside Don Roman’s rival family; Connor (Joshua), a conman hellbent on destroying Don Ramon’s wealth; and Lucas (Albie), who grows up not knowing about the man he serves is his own father.

Also part of ‘Los Bastardos’ are Marijoy Apostol, Mica Javier, Jane Oineza, Maxine Medina, Ritz Azul, and Kylie Verzosa. Completing the supporting cast are Perla Bautista, Ana Abad Santos, Joyce Ann Burton, Pinky Amador, Jeffrey Santos, Isabel Rivas, Lito Pimentel, Rosanna Roces and Bert Reyes.

For what it’s worth, ‘Los Bastardos’ will have its hands full following up the success of ‘Araw Gabi’. But if there is any indication about Kapamilya Gold’s recent streak of good fortune, expect this series to do just fine.

‘Los Bastardos’ airs weekdays after ‘Kadenang Ginto’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

Kadenang Ginto: Golden Opportunity or Golden Letdown?

Welcome to the ‘better late than never’ era of Kapamilya Gold.

Gone are the days when the block starts at 3:20 p.m. as soon as ‘It’s Showtime’ ended. These days, Vice Ganda and his big mouth are the main attraction for over half the afternoon while Kapamilya Gold could only helplessly watch as they were pushed back by 30 minutes.

While the ratings of Kapamilya Gold remain excellent despite the late start time, an upcoming series or two could derail whatever momentum this block had attained. Over the next two weeks, Kapamilya Gold will have two new programs in store, and one of them is already feeling the pressure.

This early, ‘Kadenang Ginto’ is hard-pressed to fill the void left by ‘Asintado’. The series, which will be led by Albert Martinez, Dimples Romana, Adrian Alandy and Beauty Gonzalez, lacked the star power of ‘Asintado’, and while the four are already accomplished actors they are still supporting player material in the eyes of viewers.

‘Kadenang Ginto tells the story of Romina (Beauty), Carlos (Adrian), Robert (Albert) and Daniela (Dimples). Both Romina and Carlos are initially engaged to one another, but after Romina is raped by an unknown man, Carlos breaks up with her and worse, the rape incident results in Romina bearing a child.

Romina then finds refuge and true love in Robert, the owner of the company she works for; Romina’s child Cassandra (Francine Diaz) is then adopted legally by Robert. However, Robert’s daughter Daniela disapproves of their relationship and accuses Romina of being a gold digger.

Eventually Daniela leaves her family behind, falls in love with Carlos and bears a child named Margaret (Andrea Brillantes). This leads to a blood feud between her and Romina for the right to inherit Robert’s wealth.

Also part of ‘Kadenang Ginto’ are Eula Valdez, Ronnie Lazaro, Luke Conde, Nikko Natividad, Adrian Lindayag, Kat Galang, and Savannah Rosales. The series will be directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng.

Come this Monday ‘Kadenang Ginto’ should have its hands full in keeping viewers to their seats. It will be interesting to see how this new series plays out, so good luck.

‘Kadenang Ginto’ airs weekdays after ‘It’s Showtime’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

Asintado’s Final Week

It all comes down to this.

‘Asintado”s final episode is slated to air this Friday. But in many ways, this series turned out to be unpredictable.

First aired on January 15, 2018, ‘Asintado’ was placed in the leadoff slot of ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold. It was to be the comeback series of Julia Montes nearly a year after starring in the long-running afternoon series ‘Doble Kara’.

But unlike ‘Doble Kara’, ‘Asintado’ performed on a relatively quiet scale. Debuting with a 17.7% rating, the series hovered between 14-17% for much of its run.

Despite that, ‘Asintado”s ratings were more than enough to dispatch its rival GMA dramas ‘Impostora’ and ‘The Stepdaughters’. And considering that it now airs at 3:50 p.m. on a regular basis due to the longer-than-usual running time of ‘It’s Showtime’, ‘Asintado”s performance was still impressive at best.

Overall, ‘Asintado’ will have a total of 187 episodes by Friday’s finale. As far as ABS-CBN standards go, this is already a long run.

If there is anything to pick up about ‘Asintado’, it is on how some of the cast members adapt to a role they were not used to. Julia Montes, long known for her dramatic skills regardless of being a villain or a protagonist, became more of an action star in this series as her character Ana sought vengeance on the loved ones she lost.

Shaina Magdayao, as Samantha, embraced the bad girl role particularly well, that is until it was revealed that Samantha and Ana were actually long-lost sisters. Paulo Avelino, as Gael, was no slouch either in working the good and bad side of his character.

In the last few weeks of ‘Asintado’, the focus shifted to Nonie Buencamino’s character Salvador, whom Ana blamed for the murder of her wife (and Salvador’s son) Gael as well as his wife Miranda (Lorna Tolentino). While Nonie”s credits as a villain were few and far between, his portrayal of Salvador may have been his best yet as a heel.

That said, the last week of ‘Asintado’ should be a good one. Whether or not Ana gains her much-needed justice remains to be seen, so stay tuned to find out the ending to this story of revenge and vindication.

Thoughts on Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show

A filler show to end all filler shows.

With the 2018 remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ set to air right before ‘TV Patrol’ starting this Monday (more on that later this week), ABS-CBN decided to fill the void with a transitional show on the timeslot normally occupied by its Asianovelas. And this is no ordinary show.

Back in April, ABS-CBN announced a worldwide audition tour called ‘Star Hunt: The Kapamilya Grand Auditions’. The tour began in Manila on the weekend of April 20, after which the network hosted further auditions in both the Philippines and abroad.

Their purpose is to find aspirants that will become part of various ABS-CBN talent and reality shows. Examples include ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ‘I Can See Your Voice’, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’, ‘Dance Kids’, ‘Little Big Shots’, ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and the soon-to-be-launched ‘World of Dance Philippines’.

Beginning Monday, ABS-CBN will air highlights from these auditions as part of ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’. Hosted by former ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ alums Kim Chiu, Robi Domingo, Alex Gonzaga and Melai Cantiveros, the program will take a look at some of the aspirants and their backstories.

This is perhaps a mere short-term solution for ABS-CBN. After all, there are high hopes surrounding the remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ that airing the Asianovela on its normal afternoon timeslot may hinder its viewership due to the ‘TV Patrol’ regional newscasts in the provinces.

Not wanting to risk a loss of viewers, ABS-CBN decided to place ‘Meteor Garden’ on the leadoff slot of Primetime Bida. This leads to ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’ taking over the regular Asianovela timeslot of Kapamilya Gold.

Honestly, it makes perfect sense for ABS-CBN to produce a filler show on a timeslot where not all areas will receive it. With regional versions of ‘TV Patrol’ being plugged into this timeslot, ABS-CBN realized that a filler show like ‘Star Hunt’ will be much better than, let’s say a teleserye, because ratings are of no concern to the program and it only serves as a stopgap.

With that, good luck to ABS-CBN for this temporary endeavor. Regardless of how it performed, the most important part is that it served its purpose.