Love in the Moonlight Marks Return of Asianovelas to ABS-CBN Primetime Bida

For the first time in nearly two years, a Koreanovela will occupy the penultimate slot on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

Tonight will mark the premiere of the popular Korean series ‘Love in the Moonlight’, starring Park Bo Gum and Kim Yoo Jung. The series enjoyed an impressive run in its native Korea, and it won a number of awards such as Best Couple, Best Excellent Actress, and Best Actor awards in the 2016 KBS Drama Awards.

Prior to ‘Love in the Moonlight’, Primetime Bida has not had a Korean drama since ‘My Lovely Girl’, whose last episode was aired in June 2015. In between, two seasons of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ (737, Lucky 7), the teleserye ‘You’re My Home’, and the American series ‘Jane the Virgin’ were aired on that slot.

‘Love in the Moonlight’ is just one of several Korean dramas whose rights were acquired by ABS-CBN a few weeks ago. Others in the pipeline include  ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’, ‘Hwarang’, ‘Goblin’, ‘Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo’, ‘W’ and ‘Doctors’.

In premiering ‘Love in the Moonlight’, ABS-CBN crushed the notion that Asianovelas on Channel 2 were essentially extinct. Their last Korean drama was ‘My Love Donna’ last year, and many thought the network finally moved on from the genre once sister channel CineMo began to import its own set of Koreanovelas later that year.

Instead, ABS-CBN surprised many, including Koreanovela fans, by acquiring the aforementioned hit Korean dramas. And considering how rival GMA loaded themselves up with more Asianovelas (including those airing on sister station GMA News TV), ABS-CBN made it clear that they are still indeed the ‘First and True Home of Asianovelas’.

The question now is whether or not ‘Love in the Moonlight”s success in Korea will translate over to the Philippines. With ABS-CBN having not aired a Koreanovela on primetime in nearly two years, this will be a huge test to see if their decision to bring them back is all worth it.

‘Love in the Moonlight’ airs weeknights after ‘A Love to Last’ on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.

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FTT Year 2015 in Review: Television’s Worst

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2016, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at the 10 worst moments in Philippine television this year.

GMA Scraps Sunday TV Mass

On January 4, GMA decided to cease its broadcast of the Family TV Mass organized by the Society of Divine Word – Mission Communications Foundation, Inc. (SVD-MCFI), replacing it with the movie block ‘Kapuso Sine Klasika’. The Sunday Mass of SVD-MCFI returned to its old home in IBC-13 a week later.

Poor ratings of the Sunday Mass was among the reasons behind the cancellation. Despite the claims of many that GMA is promoting apathy and not favoring the Catholic religion, they still managed to cover (albeit not as dedicated as other stations) the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines, as well as produce a religiously-themed teleserye ‘Pari ‘Koy’ starring Dingdong Dantes.

Gone Too Soon for KISPinoy and Misterless Misis

‘KISPinoy’ and ‘Misterless Misis’ aired for only three episodes each during the third quarter of 2015. The former was axed in late July, while the latter received a postponement (or possibly a cancellation) notice the following month.

Both events paved the way for VIVA to take over TV5’s entertainment department, with Vic del Rosario replacing Wilma Galvante.

PBB, It’s Showtime Summoned by MTRCB

‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ and ‘It’s Showtime’ were each summoned by the MTRCB for offending viewer sensibilities. The former was for the so-called ‘bromance’ involving teen housemates Bailey May and Kenzo Gutierrez, while the latter was for the alleged ‘pimping’ of ‘Pastillas Girl’ Angelica Yap in the ‘Nasaan Ka Mr. Pastillas’ skit.

Both shows eventually complied by imposing self-regulatory measures, among other rulings. MTRCB also summoned GMA’s ‘The Rich Man’s Daughter’ for strong language inappropriate to viewers.

GMA’s Finances Put Into Question

Despite an increase in revenue, GMA’s financial capabilities were on the hot seat anew this year. The increased revenue was done at the expense of the network’s ‘streamlining’ efforts which featured, among others, the closure of regional networks and programs, and the termination of long-time employees.

Felipe Gozon’s reluctance to sell a part of the network’s shares was also a major issue. Talks between him and Ramon Ang collapsed in August (with the latter later accusing Gozon of estafa), and a few months later, Gozon rejected offers from Chavit Singson and Manny Pacquiao to purchase a part of the network.

Pope Francis, SONA and APEC Coverage Issues

Not all news networks were able to cover the three biggest news events of the year. GMA News TV received major heat for their lack of coverage in both the visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines and the State of the Nation Address, while AksyonTV was criticized for their non-coverage of the APEC Summit.

The two embattled news networks deserved a lot of blame this year. Speaking of AksyonTV,…

AksyonTV’s Identity Crisis Continues

Admit it or not, AksyonTV really needs a makeover. No longer the 24/7 all-Filipino free TV news channel of years past, the network is now increasingly littered with sports coverage, ranging from major leagues like the PSL to more low-scale ones like the PCBL.

Perhaps the time is now for the network to bring back the AKTV name it once used as a blocktimer on IBC-13. After all, AksyonTV’s glory days are behind them.

StarStruck’s Disaster

The return of ‘StarStruck’ proved to be a glorified failure, as ratings and a questionable timeslot doomed the reality show’s sixth season. It was also long overdue, and it would have made a big difference for the network had it been placed opposite ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’.

That said, there may never be another season of ‘StarStruck’ after this. So much for hype gone wrong.

Goodbye Showbiz Talk Shows As We Know It

Easter Sunday of this year marked the final episode of the 16-year-old ‘The Buzz’. Seven months later, ‘Startalk’ took a bow as well after 20 years on air.

A change in viewer’s taste was a key reason behind the demise of both shows. Although ‘CelebriTV’ replaced ‘Startalk’, and ABS-CBN planned to revive ‘The Buzz’ in the future, it won’t be easy adapting to a new audience.

CNN Philippines Not Living Up to Expectations

Launched last March 15, CNN Philippines was supposed to be a local version of its parent network. However, a lot of issues surfaced from the beginning.

Whether it’s due to the revolving door of anchors and reporters, an overemphasis on Nancy Grace or the lack of round-the-clock news coverage, it is clear that CNN Philippines is still a work in progress. That said, Nine Media will need to make a lot of changes to ensure that this venture between them and CNN won’t end quickly.

NBA on ABS-CBN Demoted to the Studio

Since February, NBA coverage on ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Sports+Action has been purely local, handled in-studio by Boom Gonzalez, TJ Manotoc, Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras. But to the surprise of many, only Manotoc traveled to the United States to cover the NBA Finals, and ABS-CBN opted to call the games in-studio rather than on location.

Delayed broadcast of the NBA games were a primary reason behind ABS-CBN’s questionable decision. Still, with digitization looming, and the migration to HD underway, it seems like this is a more logical solution for the network to save costs.

In tomorrow’s year-end special, From the Tube will look back at the 10 best moments in Philippine television this 2015.

StarStruck Ends This Saturday

The Ultimate Male and Female Survivor will be crowned this Saturday, as ‘StarStruck’ presents ‘The Final Judgment’. (Photo credit: GMA Network/StarStruck Official Facebook)

The most forgettable season in ‘StarStruck’ history is finally coming to a close.

On Saturday, December 19, ‘StarStruck”s Final Four, consisting of Klea Pineda, Migo Adecer, Elyson de Dios, and Ayra Mariano, will vie for the Ultimate Male and Female Survivor crowns in front of a nationwide audience. As it has been the case in past seasons, ‘StarStruck”s season finale will be dubbed ‘The Final Judgment’.

The season finale of ‘StarStruck’ will also feature a special guest. Former ‘StarStruck’ reject-turned-rising star Alden Richards will make a special appearance on the show, joining hosts Dingdong Dantes and Megan Young alongside ‘StarStruck’ segment hosts and judges.

Saturday’s finale will mark the only time that the sixth season of ‘StarStruck’ aired an episode on a weekend. This is surprising for the reality show, considering that past seasons always featured a weekend edition (typically elimination nights that lead up to the coronation of that season’s male, female and sole survivors).

But not this year, as elimination nights took place on a Friday.

Overall, the sixth season of ‘StarStruck’ failed to recapture the aura of past seasons, thanks to a poor choice of timeslot and the lack of a weekend edition. Losing to ‘Pasion de Amor’ and avoiding ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’ proved to be two sins that this season’s ‘StarStruck’ were not able to avoid.

With ‘StarStruck’ not performing up to expectations, an uncertain path awaits this season’s survivors and avengers. Staying with GMA may be a risky course for some, but moving over to ABS-CBN or other outfits may still help them enhance their skills.

It remains to be seen whether or not the ‘StarStruck’ finale will finish strong. But one thing’s for sure: it’s make or break for ‘StarStruck’ this Saturday.

In 150 Words: Banana Sundae Impressive, But Not Enough

The move to Sunday afternoons somewhat benefited ‘Banana Sundae’.

The final airing of ‘Banana Split: Extra Scoop’ last November 7 only garnered a 3.9% rating in Kantar, which is clearly affected by the presence of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ and ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’. Upon moving to Sunday afternoons, however, the newly-rebranded ‘Banana Sundae’ showed some improvement, as they managed ratings of 14.4 and 12.7% in its first two weeks.

This was not enough to beat GMA’s ‘Wowowin’, though, as Willie Revillame’s game show earned ratings of 14.9 and 14.1%. The same can be said for AGB Nielsen in Mega Manila, as ‘Wowowin’ defeated ‘Banana Sundae’ in each of those weeks (20% and 16.6% vs. 9.8% and 8.3%, respectively).

Despite the defeat, ABS-CBN seems impressed with ‘Banana Sundae’. Nevertheless, Martin Nievera and a few other netizens did not approve of the network’s decision to move ‘Banana Split’ and cut ‘ASAP”s airtime, but let’s face it, it’s clear ABS-CBN needed something to perk things up since ‘ASAP’ is losing big time to ‘Sunday PinaSaya’.

Change is clearly in the offing for ABS-CBN on Sunday afternoons, and ‘Banana Sundae’ is one of them.

Slow Start for You’re My Home

‘You’re My Home’ is off to a slow start, losing to its Kapuso rivals during its first week. (Photo credit: PhilStar.com, ABS-CBN)

It seems that ABS-CBN is not used to airing a fifth primetime teleserye at 10:10 p.m.

This was the case when ‘You’re My Home’ premiered last week to replace the top-rated ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’. So far, the series is off to a slow start, mainly because viewers are still trying to get used to watching another teleserye at night.

The maiden episode of ‘You’re My Home’ last November 9 earned an 8.8% rating in Kantar. In contrast, ‘My Big Bossing’ on ‘Kapuso Primetime Cinema’ garnered a 10.6% rating.

The same held true in AGB Nielsen, although they only counted Mega Manila ratings. ‘You’re My Home’ finished with a 10.2% rating, compared to ‘My Big Bossing”s mark of 15.3%.

For the week, ‘You’re My Home’ only managed around 9% ratings in Kantar, compared to the average combined rating of 10.5% for ‘Kapuso Primetime Cinema’ and ‘Bubble Gang’. In AGB Nielsen, ‘You’re My Home’ averaged 5% less than its competitors on the Kapuso network.

Although ABS-CBN is starting to divert away from imported programs with this move, airing too many teleseryes on primetime appear to take its toll on viewers. Predecessor ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’, for example, performed well in the ratings, and that’s only because it aired as a reality show, thus providing a bit of a break for viewers.

Even the Asianovelas that preceded PBB performed well for the same reasons. That said, it’s hard to see why the Kapamilya network decided to gamble on yet another teleserye on Primetime Bida, despite the fact that it may create the possibility of a viewer’s burnout.

Nevertheless, it’s too early to tell how ‘You’re My Home’ will perform as the weeks wear on. Yes, it’s been only two weeks since it premiered, but ABS-CBN can only hope that the ratings will improve as the story intensifies.

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.