Thoughts on Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show

A filler show to end all filler shows.

With the 2018 remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ set to air right before ‘TV Patrol’ starting this Monday (more on that later this week), ABS-CBN decided to fill the void with a transitional show on the timeslot normally occupied by its Asianovelas. And this is no ordinary show.

Back in April, ABS-CBN announced a worldwide audition tour called ‘Star Hunt: The Kapamilya Grand Auditions’. The tour began in Manila on the weekend of April 20, after which the network hosted further auditions in both the Philippines and abroad.

Their purpose is to find aspirants that will become part of various ABS-CBN talent and reality shows. Examples include ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ‘I Can See Your Voice’, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’, ‘Dance Kids’, ‘Little Big Shots’, ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and the soon-to-be-launched ‘World of Dance Philippines’.

Beginning Monday, ABS-CBN will air highlights from these auditions as part of ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’. Hosted by former ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ alums Kim Chiu, Robi Domingo, Alex Gonzaga and Melai Cantiveros, the program will take a look at some of the aspirants and their backstories.

This is perhaps a mere short-term solution for ABS-CBN. After all, there are high hopes surrounding the remake of ‘Meteor Garden’ that airing the Asianovela on its normal afternoon timeslot may hinder its viewership due to the ‘TV Patrol’ regional newscasts in the provinces.

Not wanting to risk a loss of viewers, ABS-CBN decided to place ‘Meteor Garden’ on the leadoff slot of Primetime Bida. This leads to ‘Star Hunt: The Grand Audition Show’ taking over the regular Asianovela timeslot of Kapamilya Gold.

Honestly, it makes perfect sense for ABS-CBN to produce a filler show on a timeslot where not all areas will receive it. With regional versions of ‘TV Patrol’ being plugged into this timeslot, ABS-CBN realized that a filler show like ‘Star Hunt’ will be much better than, let’s say a teleserye, because ratings are of no concern to the program and it only serves as a stopgap.

With that, good luck to ABS-CBN for this temporary endeavor. Regardless of how it performed, the most important part is that it served its purpose.

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In 100 Words: Lip-Sync Battle Philippines Season 3 to Conclude This Week

That didn’t take long.

Another 14 episodes have come and gone for ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’, whose season finale will air this Sunday night. But much like the first two seasons, there is not much to cheer about.

Premiering last April 1, ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ season 3 struggled right out of the gate, losing to ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ season 6 and ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ season 2 by wide margins. The show’s lack of hype on social media in comparison to its competitors also did not help.

Sunday’s season finale will see Ai-ai delas Alas take on John Estrada for the belt. But with yet another poor performance, will the curtain fall on ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ for good?

Lip-Sync Battle Philippines Return, But on a New Day and Timeslot

This is not an April Fools’ joke.

Nearly two years after its original run ended, GMA announced the return of ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ to the small screen. This time, however, the program will be aired on a different day and timeslot.

The third season premiere of ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ will take place later tonight, replacing ‘All-Star Videoke’ whose 28-episode run ended last Sunday. Like in the first two seasons, the show will be hosted by Michael V and Iya Villania-Arellano.

In case you missed the general format of ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’, click this highlighted link for more information. But like all reality, talent and game shows, expect some new twists and turns in the program’s format come its third season.

Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ were aired from February 27 to August 27, 2016 on GMA’s Sabado Star Power block. However, the program failed to make an impact in the ratings, losing to the likes of ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’, ‘The Voice Kids’, ‘We Love OPM: The Celebrity Sing-offs’ and ‘Pinoy Big Brother’.

It also didn’t help that concerns regarding Michael V’s overexposure on television affected the performance of ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’. This was because the program’s entire first season and part of the second was aired after ‘Pepito Manaloto’, another one of Bitoy’s long-running shows.

Good thing GMA addressed this concern and placed ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ to an early Sunday night slot. The bad news, however, is that it will have to contend once more with the highly popular ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ which is currently on its sixth season.

Notwithstanding these concerns, it is still great to see ‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ grace the small screen once again. The third season may have been delayed due to Iya’s maternity break, but for viewers who tuned in to the show every week the first time around, it should be worth the wait.

‘Lip-Sync Battle Philippines’ airs every Sunday after ‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’ on GMA.

New Season of Pilipinas Got Talent Premieres This Weekend

Another season of ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ awaits.

Now on its sixth season, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ will once again welcome some of the Philippines’ most unique and breathtaking talents. Whether they can sing, dance or perform spectacular and unusual feats of strength and skill, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ has them all covered.

Joining in the fun are hosts Billy Crawford and Toni Gonzaga, along with judges Freddie Garcia, Angel Locsin, Robin Padilla and Vice Ganda. Also making its return will be the coveted Golden Buzzer, which will now be used by the hosts as well as the judges to determine which acts will make it straight to the semifinals.

Live auditions for ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ are currently underway, with the Visayas and Mindanao auditions already finished last month. For its opening salvo this weekend, the Metro Manila auditions will be showcased where the judges evaluate the area’s aspirants.

Last season’s ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ saw Power Duo emerge as champion, marking the first time in the show’s history that a non-singer won the competition. It also proved that ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ is more than just a typical sing and dance show, but rather a series in which all unique talents of various fields are given a chance to shine.

If last season was of any indication, then the upcoming sixth season of ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ should expect more of the same, if not better. That said, it will be interesting to see how this year’s cast will hold their own in front of both the judges and viewers.

Of course, if anyone performs exceptionally well, then the Golden Buzzer will serve as their ultimate ticket to the highest level of competition. With that, good luck to all the up-and-coming acts who will grace the ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ stage.

‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ season 6 airs every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on ABS-CBN.

Overexposed Luis Manzano Finally Gets a Break

Luis Manzano had a three-year stretch of near non-stop hosting commitments which made him overexposed on TV for a long period. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

Thank goodness it’s over.

For much of the last three years, Luis Manzano became a part of every household thanks to a multitude of hosting commitments he accepted during that span. Whether it’s a game show or a talent show, it seems like viewers can’t get enough of this popular Kapamilya host.

Luis’ lengthy run began on October 26, 2014, when he joined Toni Gonzaga to host ‘The Voice of the Philippines’ season 2. The season ran for 36 episodes, concluding on March 1, 2015.

At the tail end of ‘The Voice of the Philippines” run, Luis accepted the job as host of the new season of ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’. Running from February 9, 2015 until March 4, 2016, the fifth season of ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ aired a total of 278 episodes.

Next up for Luis was ‘The Voice Kids’ season 2, which ran from June 6 to August 30, 2015. A total of 26 episodes were aired during that season.

On November 14, 2015, Luis replaced Billy Crawford as host of ‘Celebrity Playtime’, and was present for the game show’s final 41 episodes. Then on January 23, 2016, Luis and Billy joined forces to host the fifth season of ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’, which ran for 35 episodes until May 22, 2016.

By that point, signs of overexposure become more evident for Luis. Unfortunately for the viewers, ABS-CBN is not yet finished with him.

April 9, 2016 saw Luis take over as host of the newly-acquired ‘Family Feud’ franchise, and he presided on all of its 111 episodes. A few months later, on July 18, 2016, Luis returned to host the second season of ‘Minute to Win It’, adding another 208 episodes to his resume.

And if that is not enough, another run as host of ‘The Voice Kids’ awaited Luis. From May 28 to August 28, 2016, Luis was the presenter on all 28 episodes of ‘The Voice Kids” third season.

Finally on April 16, 2017, Luis accepted another hosting stint within ‘The Voice of the Philippines’ franchise. This time, he became the host of ‘The Voice Teens’, which has now aired seven episodes and counting.

This does not include his additional responsibility as one of the hosts of ‘ASAP’. That said, for all intents and purposes, ‘ASAP’ will not be added in this count.

It was clear that ABS-CBN is paying the price for their overreliance on Luis Manzano. Overall, the host accumulated a total of 770 episodes within nine shows (as of May 7, 2017) in a span of 925 days, which speaks of how ABS-CBN became too dependent on this star hosting-wise.

While ratings for Luis’ nine shows were not a problem, it is ABS-CBN’s utilization that became a dilemma. Let’s face it, they have a deep plethora of talent who can be just as proficient in hosting, yet they stuck with Luis for some reason because, he’s the only guy they can depend on to deliver a good show.

Now that Luis is freed of the burden of hosting too many shows on a daily basis, the time is definitely now for ABS-CBN to develop more hosts. After all, there are plenty in the pipeline so why not breed at least one or two of them to relieve some pressure on the veterans.

For now, Luis Manzano can breathe easily. A period of less strenuous activity is all he needs at this point.

FTT Year 2016 in Review: The 20 Stories That Define the Year in Media (Part IV)

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2017, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at the 20 moments that define the Philippine media this year.

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

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

The Death of German Moreno

On January 8, the whole Filipino entertainment industry was stunned with the passing of German Moreno. The veteran host, actor and entertainer was best known for his distinguished work with up-and-coming stars on ‘That’s Entertainment’, as well as a near two-decade run hosting the Saturday late night show ‘Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman’.

The death of Kuya Germs also ended an era for late-night variety shows on Philippine television, as ‘Walang Tulugan’ signed off for good on February 13. Despite that, the legacy of Kuya Germs lives on with the Eastwood City Walk of Fame, which inducted new members late this year.

Other notable showbiz personalities who died this year include directors Wenn Deramas and Francis Pasion, actors Lilia Cuntapay, Joy Viado and Dick Israel, and singer Blakdyak.

Encantadia Returns

On July 18, GMA brought back the popular fantaserye ‘Encantadia’, featuring a rehashed storyline of the original 2005 series. The new iteration stars Glaiza de Castro, Gabbi Garcia, Sanya Lopez and Kylie Padilla, who play the roles of Pirena, Alena, Danaya and Amihan respectively.

Unfortunately, despite the hefty expenses that GMA spent for this version of ‘Encantadia’, the series failed to make an impact. In the national Kantar ratings, ‘Encantadia’ regularly fell by double digits to ‘Ang Probinsyano’, and the high expectations that came with it dissipated.

‘Encantadia’ is not the only primetime problem that GMA faced this year, however, as this next entry shows.

The Alyas Robin Hood-Arrow Controversy

When posters and teasers for ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ were first released, many felt the series was a ripoff of ‘Arrow’, with lead star Stephen Amell even going as far as sharing the clip with a ‘flushed-face’ emoji. However, creative consultant Suzette Doctolero made it clear that ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ and ‘Arrow’ were both based on the Robin Hood folklore.

Despite the controversial issues, ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ was given the go-signal by GMA to air starting September 19. While the series came out flying in its first few weeks, rival series ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’ soon pulled away, with some disgruntled viewers choosing to watch either the Tagalized ‘Arrow’ on TV5, or the English dub on Jack TV.

‘Alyas Robin Hood’ did have a highly publicized scene with the bikini showdown involving Sarri (Megan Young) and Venus (Andrea Torres), which should soften the blow of its controversial start.

The 25th Anniversary of Maalaala Mo Kaya

The first episode of ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ was aired on May 15, 1991. Twenty-five years later, the program continues to touch the lives of others thanks to a letter read by Charo Santos-Concio, and scenes that can make people shed tears with each episode.

This year, as part of its silver anniversary celebration, ABS-CBN launched a commemorative website for ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, a nationwide and worldwide tour, and an initiative for people to send in their life stories via a letter or a short-form video. As for the show’s ratings this year, it continues to thwart the challenges of its long-running rival, GMA’s ‘Magpakailanman’.

One can only hope that ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ will continue to air beyond this year, as its legacy and enduring success stands the test of time.

Ang Probinsyano and Doble Kara Celebrate Their First Anniversary

But perhaps the biggest headline of 2016 belongs to both Coco Martin and Julia Montes. Their respective shows, ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and ‘Doble Kara’, reached the one-year milestone within a month of each other.

Both ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and ‘Doble Kara’ continue to lead the way in their respective timeslots. The former is currently the most-watched primetime show in the country, while the latter is the most-watched post-noontime show.

How much longer will they stay on the air remains to be seen, but as they proceed into 2017, expect ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and ‘Doble Kara’ to remain a dominant force in the primetime and afternoon slots respectively.

Honorable Mentions

1. ‘The World Tonight’ celebrates its 50th year.
2. Power Duo wins ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ season 5.
3. Joshua Oliveros wins ‘The Voice Kids’ season 3.
4. ‘Naku Boss Ko’ mini-series and PiliPinas Debates leading up to the 2016 Philippine Presidential Elections.
5. ANC and DZMM’s respective 20th and 30th anniversaries.

It was indeed an eventful 2016 in the world of Philippine media. Expect bigger things to come this 2017 as From the Tube continues to document the latest events in television and radio in the Philippines.

Until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.