The biggest event on Philippine television history gets underway tomorrow morning. Here is Timow’s Turf’s look at the coverage of the 2016 Miss Universe which will take place in the Philippines.
This Timow’s Turf special report will be dedicated on the 65th Miss Universe where the Philippines will host the grand coronation this Monday, January 30. The views and opinions expressed in this second and concluding installment of two-part special do not reflect those of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).
President Rodrigo Duterte posed with Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and the fourth batch of the 65th Miss Universe candidates Monday during the courtesy call in Malacanang. Maxine Medina, the Philippine contingent, is on the far right.
Just like the Papal Visit and the APEC Summit back in 2015, the first major event of 2017 involving high-profile foreign dignitaries must need a high profile…
A new Koreanovela will kick things off for GMA Telebabad.
Tonight will be the premiere of ‘The Producers’, a recently-aired Korean drama series starring Kim Soo-hyun, Cha Tae-hyun, Gong Hyo-jin and IU. The series is produced by the same group who created another hit Korean drama in ‘My Love from the Star’.
This brings the total number of current Asianovelas on GMA to three. Two of them (‘Someone Like You’, ‘Ice Adonis’) form part of the network’s Heart of Asia Mornings block.
Unfortunately for GMA, ‘The Producers’ will be up against ‘Pasion de Amor’, the ABS-CBN teleserye that continues to heat up the ratings with each intense scene. Combined with waning interest in the Koreanovela genre, and a programming mismatch ensues between the two shows.
That said, it will be a very tough challenge for GMA and ‘The Producers’ to rekindle the once-popular Koreanovela genre. Whether or not they will accomplish that remains to be seen.
‘The Producers’ airs weeknights at 5:50 p.m., before ’24 Oras’ on GMA Telebabad.
No Televised Broadcast of Miss World
The 2015 Miss World was held last Saturday, with Spain’s Mireia Lalaguna winning the crown. The Philippines’ Miss World representative, Hillarie Parungao, finished in the top ten.
Unfortunately, despite the presence of ‘MariMar’ star and 2013 winner Megan Young as one of the pageant’s hosts, this year’s Miss World was not televised at all in the Philippines. The reason: GMA’s concurrent live broadcast of ‘StarStruck: The Final Judgment’, won by Migo Adecer and Klea Pineda.
There was also no delayed broadcast of the said pageant the following day, as GMA realized it was not worth it given the country’s Miss World bet only made the top ten. News reports were also absent on GMA News programs within days of the event; the only Miss World-related report is of Parungao’s return to the country.
With GMA unable to air this year’s Miss World (even though they aired the Miss World Philippines pageant two months earlier), it may be a better idea for the organizers to find a new network for subsequent Miss World and Miss World Philippines pageants. GMA’s non-commitment to a Miss World broadcast is not a good sign for their relationship, and worse, a black eye for the embattled network.
That said, next year’s Miss World will provide a lot of questions to prospective coverors. Will there ever be another broadcast of Miss World in the Philippines? Only time will tell.
Postscript: Speaking of beauty pageants, congratulations to Pia Wurtzbach for winning the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, albeit with the help of a premature announcement of Miss Colombia’s victory by host Steve Harvey. The victory of the Philippines’ Wurtzbach should help spike the event’s ratings on ABS-CBN this week.
President Rodrigo Duterte posed with Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and the fourth batch of the 65th Miss Universe candidates Monday during the courtesy call in Malacanang. Maxine Medina, the Philippine contingent, is on the far right. 
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