Be Careful’s Rivals Revisited (Part II)

In October 2012, GMA responded to ‘Be Careful with My Heart”s success with ‘Cielo de Angelina’, but it failed to even make a dent in the ratings. (Title card courtesy of GMA Network)

‘Be Careful with My Heart’, ABS-CBN’s long-running ‘kiligserye’ series, ends this Friday, November 28. As a tribute to its unexpected success and longevity, From the Tube will look back at ‘Be Careful”s rivals and their performance against the said late morning drama series.

In just its third month on the air, ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ emerged as the most-watched morning program in the Philippines, with consistent ratings of over 20%. The surprising success of the series left rival GMA, in particular ‘Be Careful”s then-opponent ‘Kusina Master’, stunned.

As a result, GMA decided to counter with a morning drama of their own. Their response came in the form of a drama series starring emerging teen stars Bea Binene and Jake Vargas.

That series became known as ‘Cielo de Angelina’, and it made its debut on October 22, 2012.

On its pilot episode, ‘Cielo de Angelina’ registered a decent 10.2 and 11.8%, according to Kantar and AGB Nielsen, respectively. On the other hand, ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ earned monster ratings of 23.1 and 22.9%.

From the beginning, it was clear that ‘Cielo de Angelina’ would be no match for ‘Be Careful with My Heart. Soon after, single-digit ratings became a regular occurrence for the former, and by November 12, GMA has had enough.

After registering paltry ratings of 8 and 8.8% on the November 9 episode, GMA decided to demote ‘Cielo de Angelina’ to an earlier timeslot in favor of ‘Kusina Master’. However, the change of schedule failed to turn the tide for the struggling show, thanks in large part to the entry of ‘Masterchef Pinoy Edition’.

With ‘Cielo de Angelina”s struggles taking its toll on GMA’s morale, the Kapuso network decided to pull the plug, and on January 4, 2013, the series was finally cancelled.

In fairness to the Kapuso network, ‘Cielo de Angelina’ was not a bad attempt, in a way that it further exposes Bea Binene and Jake Vargas to a more serious type of acting. But it was a series that GMA should have never done in the morning slot, not against a more light-hearted ‘Be Careful with My Heart’.

Meanwhile, ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ continued to dominate its timeslot, leading to another demotion on the part of ‘Kusina Master’. After that, from February 18 to April 5, the series would find itself without an opponent, as GMA aired old movies via its ‘Kapuso Movie Festival’ block.

It didn’t take long for GMA to find another rival for ‘Be Careful with My Heart’. This time around, they enlisted the help of TAPE, Inc. boss Malou Choa-Fagar in creating their latest late-morning program, one that is unlike any other in television history.

Tomorrow on Part III, From the Tube will look back at ‘Be Careful with My Heart”s final, and by far its most formidable rival, ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’.

FTT Year 2013 in Review: ABS-CBN

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2014, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article will focus on ABS-CBN, who dominated television ratings all year.

The Positives

Everything went right for ABS-CBN. And it showed in its weekday offerings. Primetime Bida teleseryes dominated the Kantar ratings, led by the year’s top-rated series ‘Juan dela Cruz’. ‘TV Patrol’ remains the most preferred evening newscast, while ‘Showtime’ introduced the most talked-about ‘That’s My Tomboy’ and ‘Kalokalike’ segments that propelled them atop the noontime pyramid. And thanks to the highly-anticipated November wedding between Maya (Jodi Sta. Maria) and Richard ‘Ser Chief’ (Richard Yap), ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ continued to lord over the late morning slot.

The Kapamilya network continued to rack up ratings victories on weekends, aided by its reality competition shows ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ‘Masterchef Pinoy Edition’, and ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’. Also helping their cause were the long-running anthology ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and game shows such as ‘Bet on Your Baby’ and ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal‘. ‘Gandang Gabi Vice‘ and ‘ASAP’ remain the most talked-about shows on social media.

Even its sports offerings beat the competition. The Miami-San Antonio NBA Finals and the La Salle-UST UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals scored big in the ratings and in the hearts of netizens. The network also continued to showcase top-notch boxing matches such as the ‘Pinoy Pride’ series and fights featuring Nonito Donaire.

The Negatives

While they were able to enjoy high ratings on primetime, there were still some shows that ended up lasting less than half a year. Examples include ‘Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin‘, ‘Apoy sa Dagat‘ and ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’, whose storylines required only at least four months of airing. Also getting the ax were the sitcom ‘Toda Max’, after lead star Robin Padilla reportedly left, and ‘The Buzz’, which was reformatted as ‘Buzz ng Bayan’. ABS-CBN’s programs were likewise not spared from MTRCB’s iron hands, as ‘ASAP’ was reprimanded in February for Anne Curtis’ sensual outfit and performance.

ABS-CBN personalities were also involved in various controversies. ‘Kris TV‘ was nearly cancelled when its host Kris Aquino announced her resignation after getting embroiled in a custody case with then-husband James Yap for their son Bimby. However, a month later, Aquino announced that she would only take a ‘leave of absence’ in June. As of now, ‘Kris TV’ continues to air in the morning slot.

And last November, Korina Sanchez criticized CNN’s Anderson Cooper regarding the latter’s report about the slow delivery of goods to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). As a result of the negative reaction she received from netizens, Sanchez took a ‘leave of absence’ before returning to duty a month later.

Outlook

ABS-CBN capped off the year by showcasing the love team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla on ‘Got to Believe’, young child star Raikko Mateo on ‘Honesto’, and budding star Jessy Mendiola on ‘Maria Mercedes’. For 2014, they are expected to introduce another potential star in Julia Barretto on ‘Mirabella’. Going forward, ABS-CBN is poised for another banner year, and as long as their products continue to entice audiences, ABS-CBN will remain the country’s top network.

Pinoy Big Brother Returns Soon

‘Pinoy Big Brother’ returns to television in a few months, after taking a year off to make way for ABS-CBN’s other franchise outfits.

Last night, during the live results show of ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ABS-CBN aired a teaser for the upcoming season of the successful reality series ‘Pinoy Big Brother‘. The series, which emerged as ABS-CBN’s most profitable and popular reality program, has been off the air for over a year, mainly due to commitments with other franchises (e.g. The X-Factor Philippines, Masterchef Pinoy Edition, Pilipinas Got Talent). However, after a lengthy absence, ‘Kuya’ and his housemates make their long-awaited return to Philippine television.

As seen in the teasers, the upcoming season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will be its fifth as a franchise. This does not include the Celebrity and Teen Editions, thus this season will only include housemates of at least 18 years of age and with various backgrounds not related to the entertainment industry. Details for the upcoming auditions have yet to be revealed as of this writing.

In addition, the ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ house at the Eugenio Lopez Drive in Quezon City has been renovated in preparation for the new season. The gates and parking lot near the PBB house are currently used by the ABS-CBN Foundation as a warehouse for relief goods, and will vacate the premises once the new season begins.

The ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ series has made celebrities out of Gerald Anderson, Kim Chiu, Sam Milby, Matt Evans, Melai Cantiveros, Jason Francisco, Zanjoe Marudo, and Ejay Falcon, among others. The series has been dubbed as the ‘Teleserye ng Totoong Buhay’ (Drama of Real Life), and its popularity depended on the housemates’ interaction, the duties, advices and penalties being given to by ‘Kuya’ (Big Brother), and the unscripted display of emotion among the housemates, whether inside the PBB household or after their eviction. Given PBB’s unscripted nature, it’s no wonder why several housemates went on to become celebrities in their own right.

The fifth season debut of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will be revealed as soon as the auditions conclude. Meanwhile, tune in for more updates regarding the nationwide audition schedules.

The King of Reality Shows

The recent ratings success of ABS-CBN is not only attributed to its teleseryes and news programs, but also from well-produced reality shows. (Logo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

I saw a billboard recently advertising the upcoming ABS-CBN reality singing competition show ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, and I can’t help but wonder why GMA 7 had little effort in acquiring franchises of foreign programs. For as long as I can remember, it is ABS-CBN who had been able to acquire the rights for virtually every reality show franchise and make it their own. So why is GMA 7 not exerting the effort? Here’s why.

In my previous posts I keep emphasizing the lack of resources that GMA 7 has had in terms of developing their programs. They were not born from a conglomerate unlike ABS-CBN and TV5. While the Lopez family and Manny V. Pangilinan have been able to give a little leeway to their respective networks, the braintrust of GMA 7 under Felipe Gozon and Gilberto Duavit have shown lots of restraint in terms of handling their budget. Thus, with the influx of reality show franchises worldwide, GMA 7 is in a disadvantage.

Beginning with ‘Pinoy Big Brother‘, ABS-CBN became relentless in acquiring reality show franchises. In addition to PBB, they have also acquired reality show franchises that eventually became ‘Pinoy Fear Factor‘, ‘Pinoy Dream Academy’, ‘Masterchef Pinoy Edition‘, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent‘, ‘The Biggest Loser: Pinoy Edition‘ and ‘The X-Factor: Philippines’. The Kapamilya network also acquired game show franchises such as ‘Kapamilya: Deal or No Deal’ and ‘Minute to Win It’. All of these programs were able to gain substantial followings, something that its rival from across Timog Avenue couldn’t match.

And how many reality shows were acquired by GMA 7?  Only a few, the most prominent being the ‘Survivor’ and ‘Idol’ franchises that never clicked with audiences. As for TV5, they’re still a long way to go after acquiring a franchise for ‘The Amazing Race’, but with enough resources and time, they could make an impact soon. For now however, the reality show is ABS-CBN’s bread and butter.

Two days from now ‘The Voice of the Philippines’ will make its grand debut. ABS-CBN had been successful in producing reality show franchises, so a lot is expected on the newest reality show offering. Would this program meet the Kapamilya network’s expectations? We’ll see.