FTT Year 2017 in Review: The Hot or Not Stories That Define the Year in Media (Part III)

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2018, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at some of the Hot or Not moments that define the Philippine media this year.

If you missed out on Part I and Part II of this series, click on the highlighted link for more information.

Here is Part III of the four-part series. These stories are arranged in no particular order.

HOT: Ang Probinsyano

Year II of ‘Ang Probinsyano’ was no different from Year I. Despite questions surrounding its quality for a series that has run for two years and counting, ‘Ang Probinsyano’ continued to dominate the primetime landscape, often reaching 40% or better some nights.

Even as the likes of Maja Salvador, Bela Padilla and Albert Martinez depart, ‘Ang Probinsyano’ soldiered on with new additions such as former GMA stars Aljur Abrenica and Louise delos Reyes. The series was also rewarded with yet another extension that will last until an undetermined date in 2018 (barring another extension).

NOT: Ang Probinsyano’s Opponents

Meanwhile, four different opponents from the Kapuso network tried to take down ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and its lengthy run of excellence. Unfortunately, neither ‘Encantadia’, ‘Alyas Robin Hood’, ‘Mulawin vs. Ravena’ nor ‘Super Ma’am’ were able to take Coco Martin and company down.

None of the four teleseryes breached the 20% mark and worse, the disparity between ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and its opponent is around 20% or better. With such a large deficit GMA should start thinking of a new strategy this early or wait for ‘Ang Probinsyano’ to end in order to take advantage of this new opportunity (too bad there’s no end date yet).

HOT: 2016 Miss Universe

The 2016 Miss Universe was held in the Philippines last January 30 and was simulcast on ABS-CBN, TV5, GMA and Solar Entertainment channels. The collaboration marked just the second time that an event of national interest was aired in unison among the country’s broadcast giants; the last being the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing fight two years ago.

France’s Iris Mittenaere was crowned the 2016 Miss Universe while the host’s representative Maxine Medina finished among the top 6. However, she was unable to complete an entire year’s reign as this year’s Miss Universe was held last November 26 with South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters winning the said pageant.

NOT: Pacquiao vs. Horn and the sport of boxing

The declining interest in Manny Pacquiao continued as he fought Jeff Horn in July. The end result was a unanimous decision victory for Horn, some bloodshot eyes from Pacquiao and lukewarm reception from boxing fans in the country.

It was a poor year overall for boxing on Philippine television. Despite the efforts of ALA Promotions to promote the sport via its Pinoy Pride series, the year saw the end of ABS-CBN Sports’ partnership with Top Rank Boxing (coinciding with Nonito Donaire ending ties with Bob Arum’s promotion) and the expected cancellation of ‘Blow by Blow’ on TV5.

HOT: Magandang Buhay

2017 proved to be a coming-out party of sorts for ‘Magandang Buhay’ as the show became a ratings hit each and every morning. The news is an encouraging one for ABS-CBN despite the fact that the show airs at 8:00 a.m., which is typically ‘dead’ time for viewership.

With the trio of Melai Cantiveros, Jolina Magdangal and Karla Estrada, plus some impressive selection of guests, it is no secret that this talk show has become the talk of the town. With all due respect to Kris Aquino, the trio of Melai, Jolina and Karla should now inherit the ‘queens of talk’ mantra considering ‘Magandang Buhay”s success.

NOT: GMA’s Animes and The Lolas’ Beautiful Show

The traditional morning powerhouse that is GMA’s Astig Authority suddenly became vulnerable with the rise of ‘Magandang Buhay’. Even though the network redubbed ‘Voltes V’ and ‘Daimos’ this year with a host of celebrities from their stable, it failed to prevent the inevitable.

One talk show that would have helped is ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’, hosted by Wally Bayola, Jose Manalo and Paolo Ballesteros in their alter-egos as Nidora, Tinidora and Tidora. However, the show’s status as a TAPE-produced show (TAPE programs are only allowed an 11:30-2:30 timeslot on GMA most afternoons) prevented it from seriously challenging ‘Magandang Buhay’.

It also didn’t help that ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ is losing to the morning drama ‘Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin’ on a regular basis. Perhaps GMA should loosen the reins a bit to give the lolas of ‘Eat Bulaga’ a chance to go up against the momshies of ‘Magandang Buhay’.

HOT: ABS-CBN Reality/Talent Shows

Reality and talent shows continue to give ABS-CBN plenty of reasons to celebrate. This year’s winners are:

Pinoy Big Brother Lucky 7 – Maymay Entrata

Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids – Awra Briguela

I Can Do That – Wacky Kiray

The Voice Teens Philippines – Jona Soquite

Currently on the network’s weekend primetime menu are ‘Little Big Shots’ and ‘I Can See Your Voice’, both of which continue to excel and trend among viewers. If 2018 is of any indication, then even more excitement awaits ABS-CBN as it introduces either new seasons of existing reality/talent shows or new programs.

NOT: All-Star Videoke

A poor man’s version of the popular ‘All-Star K’ was introduced to GMA last September. Unfortunately, ‘All-Star Videoke’ failed to live up to the standards of its more successful sibling.

GMA could have used this opportunity to bring back ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ or acquire ‘Killer Karaoke’. Instead, they rehashed an original Filipino concept that did not work out, and with all due respect to Betong Sumaya and Solenn Heussaff, they are no Allan K and Jaya in that regard.

Part IV of this four-part series is coming up tomorrow. Stay tuned.

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On TV5, Quiet is the Name of the Game

Host Richard Gomez and Freemantle Media senior executive producer Howard Huntridge take command on TV5’s newest game show ‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’. (Photo credit: Interaksyon.com)

A new game show is on its way to TV5. But this is not any ordinary game show.

Enter ‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’, TV5’s latest venture into the game show genre. Hosted by Richard Gomez, the upcoming program is set to premiere this Sunday.

‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’ is part of TV5’s ‘Signal No. 5: Umuulan ng Saya’ campaign that started in July. The new program will replace the recently concluded ‘JasMine’ that starred Jasmine Curtis-Smith.

The concept of the game show is simple. Contestants must accomplish a series of tasks in a short amount of time without setting off the giant noise meter, which rings an alarm if it reaches a certain noise level. Eventually, the goal of the program is to perform each task without any noise in order to win the jackpot prize.

‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’ is produced by Freemantle Media, the same group that brought the Philippine franchise of ‘Killer Karaoke’ to TV5. It will also be the first program in the ‘Quiet Please!’ franchise.

Joining Richard Gomez will be K Brosas, who will provide a lively and humorous take on the game show.

Sunday’s first episode will feature a celebrity cast of contestants. Joining Goma and K on the maiden episode are Derek Ramsey, Alice Dixson and Wendell Ramos of ‘Team Sexy’, and Anjo Yllana, Joey Marquez and Snooky Serna as ‘Team BFF’.

‘Quiet Please! Bawal ang Maingay’ airs every Sunday on TV5, right after ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ and before ‘Wow Mali Lakas ng Tama’.

Killer Karaoke Episode Abruptly Ended

TV5’s ‘Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman’ was about to air the final round of their second episode when it was abruptly cut off the air in favor of ‘Juan Direction’. And many viewers were shocked about the sudden change of programming.

At around 9:20 p.m., TV5 was on a commercial break when a plug of the succeeding episode of ‘Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman’ began to air. A few minutes later came the Parental Guidance advisory of the MTRCB, after which a new episode of ‘Juan Direction’ got underway. Following several complaints from netizens, host Michael V then tweeted that ‘technical difficulties’ caused the abrupt ending of ‘Killer Karaoke’, and then promised a re-airing of that episode in full.

The abrupt ending of ‘Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman’ was just one blunder in an otherwise productive day for the Kapatid network, which began with a live PBA game before wrapping it up with a new music-oriented program called ‘SpinNation’. While TV5 promised a re-air of ‘Killer Karaoke’, it was indeed a learning lesson for the operators on the nuances of running a television program.

Killer Karaoke and Singing Bee Debut Today

Today will officially mark the first episodes of two sing-along game shows: ABS-CBN‘s ‘The Singing Bee‘, and TV5’s ‘Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman’. Both programs have been hyped heavily over the past couple of weeks, so expect a whole lot of fun watching the two programs.

‘The Singing Bee’ makes its long-awaited return on the Kapamilya network. The original iteration was previously hosted by current Kapuso talent Cesar Montano, and aired from 2008-10. The new version of ‘The Singing Bee’ will be hosted by Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez, and will be joined by the dancing crew The Honeybees, the all-vocal ensemble The Songbees, and the instrumental band The Bandible Bees. The main objective of the program is to guess either the missing line or the lyrics, arrange a particular line of a song in the correct order, and guess the artist who sang a particular song.

The new edition of ‘The Singing Bee’ airs every Saturday at 3:00 p.m. following ‘Showtime’. The first guests of the show will be former Apo Hiking Society singer Boboy Garovillo, actresses Carmi Martin, Eric Fructuoso and Kiray Celis, and showbiz host Ogie Diaz. The program marks the reunion of ‘Dick and Amy’ on television, having first seen in the ‘Pera o Bayong’ segment of the defunct ‘Magandang Tanghali Bayan‘.

Meanwhile, TV5’s Pinoy version of the popular American game show ‘Killer Karaoke’ finally makes its highly-anticipated debut. The program, known locally as ‘Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman’, will be hosted by Michael V, best known for his lengthy service with GMA’s gag show ‘Bubble Gang’. The program’s first guests will be Ogie Alcasid, Arci Munoz, Eula Caballero, Shalala, Jayce Flores and Rufa Me.

‘Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman”s main objective is to sing while being subjected to a variety of challenges. These challenges range from the disgusting to the shocking, regardless of the difficulty. The final challenge will see the contestants being forced to sing while spinning on a turntable, with the last contestant standing adjudged as the jackpot winner.

‘Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman’ airs every Saturday at 8:30 p.m. after ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’, on TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’. This will be Michael V’s first TV5 appearance since ‘Tropang Trumpo’, and his first solo hosting job since his defunct comedy shows ‘Bitoy’s Funniest Videos’ and ‘Bitoy’s ‘Showwwtime’.

Killer Karaoke Goes Pinoy

‘Killer Karaoke: Pinoy Naman!’ makes its long-awaited debut on TV5 this November 16, and will be hosted by comedian Michael V.

On November 16, the Pinoy version of ‘Killer Karaoke‘ will finally make its debut. Hosted by Michael V, the game show will feature contestants singing a particular song while getting treated to a variety of challenges that may impede their performances.

‘Killer Karaoke’ debuted last September as part of the ‘Weekend Do It Better’ lineup of TV5. However, at the time of the debut, Michael V had yet to sign a non-exclusive deal, thus the American version hosted by Steve-O was aired instead. Nevertheless, Filipino viewers warmed up to the program by witnessing these contestants in a variety of creepy and shocking tasks while belting out songs in front of a live audience.

‘Killer Karaoke’ marks Michael V’s first project with the Kapatid network since ‘Tropang Trumpo‘ in the 1990s. The popular comedian is one of several talents doubling as both Kapatid and Kapuso hosts, following fellow ‘Eat Bulaga‘ hosts Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon. The local title of the program will be ‘Killer Karaoke: Pinoy Naman!’, and will be TV5’s third current game show franchise after ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ and ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’.

‘Killer Karaoke: Pinoy Naman!’ airs this Saturday at 9:00 p.m., on TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’.

TV5’s Adjusted Weekend Do It Better Schedule This Week

Last week, the Saturday ‘Weekend Do It Better’ lineup on TV5 was moved an hour later due to the final episode of the controversial noontime variety show ‘Wowowillie‘. For this week, ‘Pinoy Explorer‘ will occupy the Saturday night lineup for one night only, while ‘Juan Direction’ makes its debut.

With the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals in progress, ‘Pinoy Explorer’ was preempted last Sunday to make way for Game 2 of that series. For this week, the program will be slotted to the Saturday night lineup, after ‘Showbiz Police’, and before ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’. Meanwhile, the new reality series ‘Juan Direction’ will make its long-awaited debut tonight at 10:00 p.m. The program will feature YouTube sensations and Fil-Brits Henry Edwards, Michael McDonnell, Charlie Sutcliffe, Daniel Marsh and Brian Wilson in a journey around the country, as they attempt to adjust and experience Filipino culture and society.

Here is how TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ will look this week:

Saturday, October 19

6:00 p.m. – ‘Showbiz Police’

7:00 p.m. – ‘Pinoy Explorer’

8:00 p.m. – ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’

9:00 p.m. – ‘Killer Karaoke‘

10:00 p.m. – ‘Juan Direction’

10:30 p.m. – ‘What’s Up, Doods?’

Sunday, October 20

4:30 p.m. – PBA Governors’ Cup Finals Game 5: San Mig Coffee Mixers vs. Petron Blaze Boosters

7:00 p.m. – ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’

8:00 p.m. – ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’

9:00 p.m. – ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’

TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ slot will return to its normal lineup for the week of October 26.

UPDATE: ‘Pinoy Explorer’ will now be seen every Saturday at 7:00 p.m., while ‘Juan Direction’ and ‘What’s Up, Doods?’ air starting at 10:00 p.m. As of now the vacated Sunday afternoon slot has yet to be filled, although it may appear that PBA games will air on this timeslot beginning this 2013-14 Philippine Cup.