2nd Avenue to Cease Broadcast This Thursday; RJTV-29’s Future Still To Be Determined

2nd Avenue will sign off for good this Thursday, leaving the future of RJTV-29 in doubt. (Logo courtesy of Solar Entertainment)

One of Solar Entertainment’s long-running channels will sign off for good.

On Thursday, May 31, 2nd Avenue will officially end its broadcasts following a 12-year run. The channel’s impending departure was expected as 2nd Avenue was not included in the new EasyTV set-top digital TV box that Solar released earlier this month.

So far, no reason was given behind its shutdown, but it is likely that 2nd Avenue became the odd channel out due to redundancy in terms of programming. Some of its shows also air on sister channels ETC and Jack TV, both of which are included in the EasyTV lineup in addition to other foreign entertainment channels.

It also adds plenty of intrigue with regards to the future of RJTV-29, 2nd Avenue’s home channel on free TV. Some have theorized over the fate of said channel, ranging from the return to its original format pre-2nd Avenue to a possible new tie-up with Solar Entertainment.

2nd Avenue was initially launched as a spinoff channel to ETC in late 2005, before it was shortened to its current name a few years later. Starting in 2008, 2nd Avenue became available to free TV when Solar Entertainment and Rajah Broadcasting Network signed a blocktime deal to allow the channel to air on RJTV-29.

Over the years, 2nd Avenue featured a wide array of American and international action, drama, entertainment and suspense programs, some of which were later aired a few hours after its original stateside broadcast. And since the move to RJTV-29, the latter’s own programs such as ‘RJ Sunday Jam’ and ‘Thank God It’s RJ’ were aired as well.

Like its sister Solar channel ETC, 2nd Avenue aired 24/7 on cable, satellite and digital TV. However, its operating hours on analog TV remained limited as it only aired 19 hours per day.

Regardless of what the future holds, viewers should look forward to a new era in RJTV-29’s history no matter how it turns out. As for 2nd Avenue, its run may be over, but its memories remain.

UPDATE: Solar Entertainment officially announced that 2nd Avenue will cease broadcast on Tuesday, June 5, not June 1 as originally posted.

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Shop TV Now on GMA

GMA enters the world of TV shopping when it joined forces with Solar Entertainment’s Shop TV. (Logo courtesy of Shop TV, Solar Entertainment)

GMA Network is now joining the TV shopping bandwagon.

Last night marked GMA’s first foray into the TV shopping genre, when it joined forces with the Solar Entertainment-owned Shop TV. This brings the total number of free TV stations with at least one TV shopping program to ten, the list of which are as follows (parenthesis indicate the TV shopping programs the channel currently airs):

• ABS-CBN (O Shopping)
• PTV-4 (TV Shop, EZ Shop, Shop Japan)
• TV5 (Shop Japan)
• GMA (Shop TV)
• IBC-13 (TV Shop, EZ Shop)
• ETC/SBN-21 (Shop TV)
• Net 25 (EZ Shop)
• 2nd Avenue/RJTV-29 (Shop TV)
• BEAM-31 (O Shopping, Shop Japan, TV Shop)
• AksyonTV (Shop Japan)

Shop TV features products that are advertised on the Home Shopping Network in the United States. The network airs as a standalone cable channel on SkyCable, Cignal and various other outlets, while also acting as a program block on all of its Solar Entertainment sister channels, save for CT.

With the new collaboration, GMA now hopes to compete against its fellow Big Three networks and their TV shopping affiliates. The alliance should also attract a more sizable audience for Shop TV, who look to use GMA as a tool to further promote and advertise its products.

The Shop TV on GMA block currently airs every weekday from 12:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

1995 Flashback: The Rise and Fall of Citynet 27

Citynet 27 was the first UHF station owned by a major broadcast network. Sadly, the station lasted only six years and endured three major rebrands during that span. (Logo courtesy of GMA Network)

1995 was a memorable year in Philippine television. As part of a year-long special, From the Tube will look back at a year full of historical debuts, unforgettable moments, and celebrated feats in the history of television in the country.

ABS-CBN’s UHF TV network (currently ABS-CBN Sports+Action) has been on the air since 1996, but they’re not the first major network to have a sister UHF channel.

That distinction belonged to GMA Network’s original sister TV station, Citynet 27.  Established on August 27, 1995, the station became the fifth UHF TV network in the country, after SBN-21, DZEE-23 (the predecessor to ABS-CBN’s UHF channel), RJTV-29 and CTV-31.

Citynet 27’s initial focus was on canned programming (mostly from the U.S.), ranging from sitcoms, dramas and action series to sporting events. These programs were moved from GMA-7 in order for the latter to add more local programming.

The channel soon faced intense competition with the launch of Studio 23. While Citynet remained the premiere source for upscale-laden programs, it became clear that GMA is losing money from this venture, and by 1999, Studio 23’s continued emergence and popularity prove to be too much for Citynet to handle.

As a result, GMA had no choice but to reformat Citynet 27 into a music video channel. Initially known as EMC (Entertainment Music Channel), GMA soon joined forces with STAR TV to carry Channel V Philippines, and the rebranded station was launched near the end of 1999.

However, the partial acquisition of GMA’s stake by PLDT (later re-sold to Felipe Gozon, etc.) forced Channel V Philippines to sign off in mid-2001. Among the primary reasons include conflict of interest (PLDT owned MTV Philippines through Nation Broadcasting Company) and increasing competition with MTVPH and the newly-launched MYX.

GMA was left without a sister channel for the next four years. Then in 2005, they entered into a lease agreement with ZOE-TV and launched QTV (later rebranded as GMA News TV), with Channel 27 briefly serving as a repeater.

Today, DWDB 27 is currently inactive, possibly for future use as a digital TV outlet. The station would have turned 20 this year had GMA kept it active.

To this day, GMA continues to regret its failed experiment of Citynet 27. With the network now enduring some financial issues, they can only hope that the lessons of Citynet 27 will be applied to whatever decisions they will make moving forward.

With Jack City Now Cable-Exclusive, Jack TV’s Future Becomes Uncertain

Jack City became a cable-exclusive network on September 1, ending Solar Entertainment’s affiliation with BEAM Channel 31. (Logo courtesy of Solar Entertainment Corporation)

It was another loss for Solar Entertainment.

A week after selling the Solar News Channel (now 9TV) and part of the Radio Philippines Network (RPN-9) to Aliw Broadcasting’s Antonio Cabangon Chua, Solar’s Jack City channel decided to part ways with affiliate Radio Mindanao Network (BEAM Channel 31). As a result, Jack City became a cable-only entity while BEAM freelanced with other blocktimers.

That left Solar Entertainment with just two free TV channel affiliates: ETC on the Southern Broadcasting Network (SBN-21), and 2nd Avenue on the Rajah Broadcasting Network (RJTV-29).

With Jack City becoming an exclusive cable channel, what will the future hold for Jack TV?

Let’s face it. Jack TV is becoming a shell of its former self. Instead of capitalizing on the funny and breathtaking side of television, as Jack TV had emphasized in their early years, they have reverted back to where they were a decade ago: a mashup of Solar USA’s old format and Jack TV’s own.

Jack TV’s identity crisis is starting to become a cause of concern for Solar, and yet they insist that the network will be fine. But it is clear that the name Jack TV (and its red and yellow motif in particular) no longer fits the type of programming they have now.

The same cannot be said of Jack TV’s sister channel, Jack City. Their black and white motif is more fitting to their darker and more mature set of programs, which in essence pay tribute to their predecessors Solar USA, C/S and CHASE.

Simply put, Jack City is an even more superior channel than that of Jack TV. And while Jack TV can still put up a strong set of programs on a daily basis, it is obvious that the said channel is starting to become a liability with the presence of its sister channel.

That said, a merger between the two channels needs to be considered, if not implemented soon. Should this happen, the old format of Jack TV will have to be integrated into one of Solar’s existing channels, while Jack City will be retained, both in name and in format.

Merging the two networks will greatly benefit Solar Entertainment, since they will only lose one of their channels. Revenue issues have become well-documented for the Solar group, especially in the aftermath of their sale of SNC and RPN to Aliw, and a possible merger between Jack TV and Jack City will help alleviate such stress.

Still, it will be up to the company’s management for that to make it happen. For now, Jack TV and Jack City will remain separate entities, at least for the foreseeable future.