Around DZMM: Pasada 630’s New Hosts, Plus Where’s Ted Failon?

DZMM’s ‘Pasada 630’ has found a new tandem.

For the past few weeks, the ‘Teka Muna’ team of Peter Musñgi and Pat-P Daza were asked to take over ‘Pasada 630’ in lieu of longtime host Vic de Leon-Lima. But after a two-week trial run (which was well-received by the way) DZMM decided to keep the change permanent starting last Monday.

In the past, ‘Pasada 630’ was hosted by the aforementioned Vic de Leon-Lima and Karen Davila. The duo were once the faces of the program for many years.

However, Karen decided to leave the show earlier this year for health reasons while Vic went solo. ‘Pasada 630’ continued with Vic as the man on the microphone until late October when Peter and Pat took over.

While ‘Pasada 630’ will soldier on with a new tandem, Vic will continue to appear on ‘On the Spot’ and ‘Tandem: Lima and Oro’ while making select appearances on the microphone for breaking news stories. In short, listeners will still hear Vic’s ageless baritone on the air.

Meanwhile, listeners of ‘Failon Ngayon sa DZMM’ are still perplexed over the absence of Ted Failon on the program. For those who may not know, Ted’s last appearance on his show came on August 31, 2018.

Komentaryo, balita, at impormasyon. Samahan si Ted Failon sa #FailonNgayon.

FREE AUDIO STREAM: https://t.co/Fu1W2nH9we
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/ix9IGC74AX pic.twitter.com/Q5ZIAwIJcY

— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) August 31, 2018

Since early September, however, a number of substitute hosts took over ‘Failon Ngayon’. These include DZMM reporters Ricky Rosales and Johnson Manabat, as well as occasional co-hosts Alvin Elchico and Jing Castañeda.

Yet despite his absence on radio, Ted continues to appear on ‘TV Patrol’ and ‘Failon Ngayon’ on ABS-CBN. It really doesn’t make sense for Ted not to show up on the DZMM booth while still working ‘TV Patrol’ and ‘Failon Ngayon’ on television considering that he is in good health.

49 araw na lang, Pasko na. Maraming salamat sa inyong pagtutok sa #TVPatrol. Magandang gabi, mga Kapamilya. pic.twitter.com/7DXu8PZEkv

— TV Patrol (@TVPatrol) November 6, 2018

Anyway, comments are welcome on this article as we debate over Ted Failon’s absences on DZMM. Listeners can only hope that this iconic news anchor will once again grace the DZMM booth in the near future.

Bonus: Kim Atienza replaced Marc Logan as Amy Perez’s co-host on ‘Sakto’ effective October 15. No explanation was given regarding the change.

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GMA’s Unstable Sabado Star Power Continues

Saturdays have been a source of frustration for GMA.

Once again, the Kapuso network decided to make a change in their Sabado Star Power afternoon lineup. Gone was ‘Laff, Camera, Action’, and in came ‘#Like’, the newest reality talent show hosted by Tom Rodriguez and internet sensation Balang.

‘#Like’ is a talent show featuring online sensations battling against each other in a barangay setting. To the surprise of no one, it is just another concept produced by the GMA Public Affairs team, whose penchant for producing non-news shows becomes more infectious and more criticized than ever.

The premiere of ‘#Like’ took place last September 3, but instead of replacing ‘Laff, Camera, Action’ on its 4:30 timeslot, GMA decided to air the said show after ‘Eat Bulaga’. As a result, this is the how the schedule looks like:

• 2:30 p.m. – #Like
• 3:00 p.m. – Karelasyon
• 4:00 p.m. – Wish Ko Lang
• 5:00 p.m. – Imbestigador

However, the change did little to improve the ratings. All four of GMA’s post-‘Eat Bulaga’ afternoon programs were on the losing end, with ‘Wish Ko Lang’ the least impressive at 9.4%.

Let’s face it, would’ve been better for ‘#Like’ to go up against ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’ instead of the last half-hour of ‘It’s Showtime’? Probably, given that Marc Logan’s show also features internet sensations and GMA would’ve loved to see that matchup.

Still, GMA had no regrets in making the change once again. However, they would have been better off if ‘Wish Ko Lang’ and ‘Imbestigador’ were to be cancelled, since they are no longer the same programs as they once were.

Meanwhile, another new program premiered last Saturday on the said network. The new show, ‘Superstar Duets’, replaced ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’, whose run finally ended after seven months.

Based on the format alone, ‘Superstar Duets’ appears to be the second coming of ‘Celebrity Duets’, except that the celebrities in the show were paired alongside impersonators of foreign singers. The show is currently hosted by Jennylyn Mercado, with Allan K, Aicelle Santos and Christian Bautista serving as judges.

The premiere of ‘Superstar Duets’ didn’t quite impress many, as it earned a 13.2% rating. On the other hand, ‘Pinoy Big Brother Lucky Season 7’ fared much better with a 16.4% rating.

This is going to be a tough battle as far as ‘Superstar Duets’ were concerned. Though it has the potential to run just as long as ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ did, the possibility of winning remains tricky at best.

The Unexpected and Quiet Cancellation of Sabado-Badoo

‘Sabado-Badoo’ last aired on July 25, with GMA quietly pulling out the show from its lineup. (Photo credit: GMA Network)

It was a cancellation that no one saw coming.

The GMA comedy program ‘Sabado-Badoo’ was last seen on July 25. The show, hosted by Sef Cadayona and Betong Sumaya, featured a wide variety of videos that were variously presented in a humorous manner; most of which contained scenes from classic GMA shows.

When it premiered last March 14, ‘Sabado-Badoo’ was supposed to be GMA’s answer to ABS-CBN’s ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’. But it failed to even make a dent in the national ratings, as viewers find Marc Logan’s presentation style to be even funnier and quirkier than Sef and Betong’s.

‘Sabado-Badoo”s most recent episode came on July 25. After that, however, no further episodes were aired, and instead, ‘Pepito Manaloto: Ang Tunay na Kwento’ was moved to an earlier timeslot.

GMA did not officially announce the cancellation; instead they quietly pulled out ‘Sabado-Badoo’ from its Sabado Star Power lineup. Meanwhile, Sef was given a lead role in ‘Juan Tamad’, which began airing on August 23 (this should also explain why Sef left ‘Vampire ang Daddy Ko’ in order to concentrate on this project).

‘Sabado-Badoo’ could have been a good show had GMA chose a more experienced presenter. Too bad they don’t have a match for humor-oriented journalist Marc Logan, who is a regular on TV Patrol’s closing segments and a host on DZMM’s ‘Sakto’ with Amy Perez.

It was an unfortunate ending to a promising show. Let’s just hope that GMA learns from this latest ordeal.

A New Opponent for Marc Logan on GMA

ABS-CBN News’ resident humorist Marc Logan has a new rival coming up.

In response to Logan’s popular blooper show ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’, GMA announced a new show with a similar premise. Titled ‘Sabado-Badoo’, the upcoming comedy show will be hosted by Sef Cadayona and Betong Sumaya, and is scheduled to air beginning this Saturday.

‘Sabado-Badoo’ will showcase a wide variety of videos that are presented in a humorous manner. These will be shown in a variety of ways, from countdowns to mashups of other videos.

Unlike ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’, which occasionally presents straight-up blooper reels of ABS-CBN programs and Star Cinema films, ‘Sabado-Badoo’ is expected to feature more serious takes from classic GMA programs. It is up to Sef and Betong to make a humorous comment with regards to the scenes in question.

This is not the first time that GMA produced a blooper-oriented comedy program. The popular mid-2000s program ‘Bitoy’s Funniest Videos’, hosted by Michael V., featured a similar formula and scope as ‘Sabado-Badoo’.

Unlike ‘BFV’, however, a more daunting test awaits ‘Sabado-Badoo’. Since premiering in August of last year, ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’ consistently ranks among the top-rated programs in the country, and several of its blooper reels (e.g. ‘Crazy Beautiful You’) have trended on Twitter.

That said, Marc Logan’s wit and experience in the industry will be a major challenge to the young duo of Sef Cadayona and Betong Sumaya. Although the two have blossomed individually in programs such as the long-running gag show ‘Bubble Gang’, presenting a program of this magnitude is virtually new territory for them.

Still, GMA is confident that Sef and Betong will deliver their chops well on ‘Sabado-Badoo’. After all, a stint in hosting will boost their resumes in the industry.

‘Sabado-Badoo’ premieres this Saturday after ’24 Oras Weekend’ on GMA’s Sabado Star Power.

FTT Year 2014 in Review: ABS-CBN

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2015, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article will focus on ABS-CBN, who continued to dominate television ratings this year.

The Positives

High ratings, top trending topics, and a slew of awards. Just another impressive year on Mother Ignacia.

Primetime Bida remained ABS-CBN’s strongest suit in its weekday arsenal, led by the block’s top-rated program of the year, ‘The Legal Wife’. Meanwhile, the Kapamilya network’s reality and talent shows continued to overwhelm the opposition, led by top-raters ‘The Voice Kids’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’ and the second season of ‘The Voice of the Philippines’.

Long-running programs ‘TV Patrol’, ‘ASAP’, ‘The Buzz’ and ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ remained at the top of their game, while ‘It’s Showtime’, ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’, and even the returning ‘Ipaglaban Mo’ became a force to be reckoned with.

ABS-CBN Sports also enjoyed an extremely successful year, starting with the launch of ABS-CBN Sports+Action in late January. High ratings during this year’s NBA Finals and the UAAP men’s basketball and women’s volleyball finals eventually led to the two leagues’ renewal of broadcast rights later this year.

The Kapamilya network’s award closet continued to grow, particularly in November’s Star Awards for Television, where ABS-CBN received a total of 34 awards. They also scored big in the Anak TV and Catholic Mass Media Awards, among other bodies.

The Negatives

Not all news is good, however. ABS-CBN also endured some missteps throughout the year, all of which made a significant impact on the network’s performance.

While Primetime Bida dominated primetime, they also had a fair share of busts. Julia Barretto’s acting debut as ‘Mirabella’ failed to impress, while the reboot of ‘Dyesebel’ and ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ never lived up to expectations.

‘Be Careful with My Heart’ may have dominated the headlines in 2013, but it was a different story in 2014. The show’s ratings declined for much of the year, before rebounding on the show’s final episode on November 28.

The last two quarters of 2014 saw the decline in quality of Kapamilya Gold. The network’s last two afternoon soaps, ‘Galema: Anak ni Zuma’ and ‘Moon of Desire’, were replaced by a combination of Asianovela reruns, ‘Bet on Your Baby’, the ill-fated ‘Ana Manuela’, and ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’, a sign that ABS-CBN is letting GMA dominate the afternoon slot.

Speaking of reruns, ABS-CBN brought back the highly successful ‘Meteor Garden’ to rave reviews. Later reruns of Asianovelas and even classic Japanese cartoons such as ‘Princess Sarah’ proved unsuccessful, however.

Controversy hounded ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’ from the moment the mostly celebrity cast was selected all the way to late-coming housemate Daniel Matsunaga’s victory. It also spelled doom for ‘It’s Showtime’ hosts Vhong Navarro (beaten by Cedric Lee’s group) and Billy Crawford (post-Star Magic Ball fiasco), thus continuing the infamous curse.

And finally, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs had its own share of problems. February saw a questionable report on ‘Bandila’ regarding a ‘flesh-eating disease’ in Pangasinan, and then several months later, ‘TV Patrol’ anchor Korina Sanchez made an unnecessary remark about Typhoon Hagupit (Ruby), praying that the storm would swerve to Japan.

Outlook

Fortunately for the Kapamilya network, Marc Logan kept things light and loose when his show, ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’, premiered last August. But seriously, this was another successful year for ABS-CBN, even with the problems and controversies surrounding it.

Looking ahead, a reunion between Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin looms in ‘Flordeliza’, even as ‘Pangako sa ‘Yo’ will have its own reboot with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. This and a lot more will come as the calendar turns to 2015.