Koreanovelas Return to ABS-CBN

What’s going on, ABS-CBN?

In an extremely unusual move, the Kapamilya network decided to bring back Koreanovelas after an eight-month absence. Their newest Koreanovela, ‘My Love Donna’ will air starting this Monday, and will replace ‘And I Love You So’ on the Kapamilya Gold block.

‘My Love Donna’ stars Joo Jin-Mo and Kim Sa-Rang. It will be the first Koreanovela since ‘Let’s Get Married’ and ‘My Lovely Girl’ to air on ABS-CBN.

Bringing back Koreanovelas on ABS-CBN doesn’t make sense. They already have the resources and technology to produce more local programming, so why do they still need to import foreign series when in fact interest in Koreanovelas are declining and there are some Star Magic artists who are waiting for opportunities to shine.

In addition, ABS-CBN is infamous for cutting a lot of good scenes when it comes to foreign dramas, so much so that their runs are shorter than originally indicated (remember ‘Ana Manuela’?). The fact that these dramas are short-term in nature doesn’t help ABS-CBN at all, and it only hurts their viewership whenever they are present.

By bringing ‘My Love Donna’ to Kapamilya Gold, ABS-CBN has made the wrong decision and the wrong time to bring back a Koreanovela. On the same day ‘My Love Donna’ premieres, GMA will bring in a new teleserye, the Andrea Torres-starred ‘The Millionaire’s Wife’, on the very same timeslot (more on that this Monday).

Remember, the Kapuso network only airs Koreanovelas in the morning and evening slots, and on Mondays to Thursdays as well. The presence of ‘Wowowin’ and longer teleseryes means that there is no place for them to add Koreanovelas in the afternoon.

That said, expect ABS-CBN to lose in the ratings with their newest Koreanovela. This is a definite mismatch for the Kapamilya network, and thus, it won’t help them at all.

What was thought to be the ‘end of an era’ for Koreanovelas on the network turned out to be false hope. Yes, ABS-CBN brought back a Koreanovela, but it won’t be long before they stopped airing them anew.

Other Notes: Speaking of Koreanovelas, GMA will have Korean movies every Monday to Thursday at 10:00 p.m. as part of the ‘Heart of Asia Presents’ series. It will replace ‘Temptation’ starting March 14.

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The Demise of Asianovelas on ABS-CBN

Once known for introducing F4 (above) and ‘Meteor Garden’ to Filipino audiences, ABS-CBN has effectively ceased its importation of Asianovelas since the middle of this year. (Photo credit: Meteor Garden ABS-CBN Official Facebook)

Asianovelas on ABS-CBN are now a thing of the past.

The premiere of the teleserye ‘You’re My Home’ last November 9 signaled the end of an era. Gone are the days when ABS-CBN usually reserves the final spot of their weekday afternoon and evening blocks for Asianovelas.

Now they are leaning more towards local programming in an effort to make use of their deep roster of talents. This makes sense, considering that ABS-CBN has the resources and the technology to produce their own programs.

The last Asianovelas aired on ABS-CBN were ‘Let’s Get Married’ and ‘My Lovely Girl’, whose final episodes were aired on June 19 of this year. When the recently-concluded ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ premiered on the weekday slots three days later, many thought this was only a temporary break for Asianovelas on the network.

As it turned out, ABS-CBN has bigger plans in mind. With so many programs currently kept under wraps, management thought it was best to finally devote more time to locally-produced shows.

This led to the entry of more recent teleseryes such as ‘Ningning’, ‘Doble Kara’, ‘All of Me’, ‘Walang Iwanan’, and the aforementioned ‘You’re My Home’. A few other programs are still being planned, with a target date set for early next year.

Today, the Prime Tanghali, Kapamilya Gold and Primetime Bida blocks air a combined total of nine teleseryes. More than half of the network’s roster of contract artists are currently utilized in these teleseryes, ranging from child stars like ‘Ningning”s Jana Agoncillo to forty-somethings like ‘You’re My Home”s Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta.

ABS-CBN’s new path should benefit the network in the years to come. Having recently launched ABS-CBN HD, they now strive to take advantage of this new technology by committing more towards local programs, with the intent of broadcasting a purely Filipino programming lineup in the near future.

As for Asianovelas, it’s now GMA’s responsibility to continue airing them. After all, they still have Heart of Asia mornings to keep fans company.

Note: ‘Angel Wings’ is excluded here as it is considered a spiritual successor of the long-running anthology series ‘Chinese Variety Show’. Asianovelas only refer to imported series from Eastern Asian countries that air on weekdays.