A Full-Time Return to TV5 for the PBA

The defending grand slam champions Purefoods Star Hotshots (formerly San Mig Super Coffee Mixers) and 11 other teams will once again wage war as the PBA kicks off its 40th season on the TV5 family of networks. (Photo credit: Purefoods Star Hotshots official Facebook)

The Philippine Basketball Association is definitely back on TV5.

Starting with the 2014-15 season, all games of the PBA will now be seen on the flagship TV5 network every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Kapatid network last aired a full slate of PBA games during the 2007-08 season, when it was still under the ABC branding.

As a result of the PBA’s full-time return to TV5, here is the new schedule that will be implemented during weekday games:

4:15 p.m. – PBA first game

6:30 p.m. – Aksyon Prime

7:00 p.m. – PBA second game

9:15 p.m. – Wattpad Presents

9:45 p.m. – The Amazing Race Philippines 2

There will be no changes to the schedules on Saturdays and Sundays, as the PBA games usually occupy the more vacant slots.

In addition, Radyo5 92.3 News FM will now air a majority of the PBA games for its radio listeners. As a result, here is the weekday schedule for Radyo5 during PBA game days:

6:00 a.m. – Orly Mercado All Ready

7:30 a.m. – Punto Asintado

9:00 a.m. – Bitag Live

10:00 a.m. – Aksyon Solusyon

11:00 a.m. – Cristy FerMinute

12:30 p.m. – Relasyon

2:00 p.m. – Wanted sa Radyo

4:15 p.m. – PBA first game

6:30 p.m. – Aksyon Prime

7:00 p.m. – PBA second game

9:15 p.m. – Remoto Control

Radyo5 will also air Sunday games in lieu of its all-music program ‘Sunday By Heart’. However, it remains to be seen if they will also carry Saturday playdates, since the majority of these games will be held in the provinces.

In a related development, Sports5 announced that AksyonTV will once again simulcast the PBA games. Last season, AksyonTV carried the bulk of the PBA schedule, which unfortunately, brought not only criticism but also confusion from the viewing public.

This time around, however, the simulcast of the PBA games on AksyonTV seem more like a need rather than an option for the embattled station. Following the demise of AKTV and the integration of Sports5 events to AksyonTV, the station has been criticized for airing too many re-runs whenever there are no sports events to cover, since the ‘AksyonTV originals’ were cancelled just for this move.

For cable subscribers, Fox Sports Asia will continue to air the PBA games on Wednesdays, with English-language commentary from Sports5 announcers. They will also air the cup finals in its entirety.

Hyper will also air replays of the PBA games, albeit exclusive only to Cignal subscribers. And finally, for online subscribers, the PBA can now be seen via livestreaming on the official PBA on Sports5 website.

In two days, the 2014-15 PBA Philippine Cup gets underway. For the 12 teams participating, and to the TV5 family of networks, good luck in giving the fans a whole lot of basketball action all season long.

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New PBA TV Setup for the Season

The PBA will have a new broadcast setup, with most games airing live on TV5 and some on AksyonTV and Fox Sports Asia.

The new PBA season got underway Sunday with a three-city slate. The Manila leg pitted the San Mig Coffee Mixers and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the ‘Manila Clasico‘ rivalry, while at the same time sibling rivals Meralco Bolts and Talk N’ Text Tropang Texters faced off in Cebu. And in Davao, the Alaska Aces took on the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. All of that was preceded by the customary opening ceremonies that kicked off the new season.

This season a majority of the PBA games will be aired on TV5, with some on AksyonTV and cable network Fox Sports Asia. Under the new arrangement, the second or the ‘marquee’ game will be seen live on TV5 during weekdays and Saturdays, with the first game airing live on both AksyonTV and Fox Sports Asia. On Sundays both games of the doubleheader will be seen live on TV5.

This new arrangement was made so that TV5 can still air their weekday news and entertainment programs in the late afternoon/early evening slot. Most importantly, it enables the network to select the matchups that are more compelling and intense for the viewer-rich 8:00 p.m. slot. As such, the San Miguel franchises, Alaska, Talk N’ Text and Rain or Shine will be featured regularly in the evening game.

As for the first game of the weekday doubleheader, it will air live on AksyonTV (and presumably Fox Sports Asia) to satisfy basketball fans’ demands, with the replay airing on TV5 later in the evening. The new setup is considered a test broadcast for the PBA in hopes of bringing a more versatile television coverage in all platforms. Viewers may not agree on this considering the weaker signals on the UHF band and the expenses of cable subscription, but it should benefit the PBA in the long run.

This is already the third season of the PBA’s television contract with TV5, and expectations should rise a bit after the banner season of 2012-13. And with the new broadcast setup, expect great matchups and high-end basketball action in all platforms.

TV5’s Adjusted Weekend Do It Better Schedule This Week

Last week, the Saturday ‘Weekend Do It Better’ lineup on TV5 was moved an hour later due to the final episode of the controversial noontime variety show ‘Wowowillie‘. For this week, ‘Pinoy Explorer‘ will occupy the Saturday night lineup for one night only, while ‘Juan Direction’ makes its debut.

With the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals in progress, ‘Pinoy Explorer’ was preempted last Sunday to make way for Game 2 of that series. For this week, the program will be slotted to the Saturday night lineup, after ‘Showbiz Police’, and before ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’. Meanwhile, the new reality series ‘Juan Direction’ will make its long-awaited debut tonight at 10:00 p.m. The program will feature YouTube sensations and Fil-Brits Henry Edwards, Michael McDonnell, Charlie Sutcliffe, Daniel Marsh and Brian Wilson in a journey around the country, as they attempt to adjust and experience Filipino culture and society.

Here is how TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ will look this week:

Saturday, October 19

6:00 p.m. – ‘Showbiz Police’

7:00 p.m. – ‘Pinoy Explorer’

8:00 p.m. – ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’

9:00 p.m. – ‘Killer Karaoke‘

10:00 p.m. – ‘Juan Direction’

10:30 p.m. – ‘What’s Up, Doods?’

Sunday, October 20

4:30 p.m. – PBA Governors’ Cup Finals Game 5: San Mig Coffee Mixers vs. Petron Blaze Boosters

7:00 p.m. – ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’

8:00 p.m. – ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’

9:00 p.m. – ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’

TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ slot will return to its normal lineup for the week of October 26.

UPDATE: ‘Pinoy Explorer’ will now be seen every Saturday at 7:00 p.m., while ‘Juan Direction’ and ‘What’s Up, Doods?’ air starting at 10:00 p.m. As of now the vacated Sunday afternoon slot has yet to be filled, although it may appear that PBA games will air on this timeslot beginning this 2013-14 Philippine Cup.

Broadcasting Notes for the PBA, UAAP and NBA Global Games

The PBA Governors Cup Finals is set tomorrow, with the San Mig Coffee Mixers and Petron Blaze Boosters fighting for the tournament championship. The Finals will be seen live on TV5, a sign that with the network’s new programming shift comes the possibility of the PBA returning to the Kapatid network.

The start times for the Finals will be at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The earlier Sunday start time was made in order to not clash with TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ block which features ‘Pinoy Explorer‘, ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?‘, ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’, and ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’. The games will be held at either the Mall of Asia Arena or the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Meanwhile, Game 3 of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Final between La Salle and UST will be seen this Saturday on ABS-CBN. The one-week break was initiated by ABS-CBN themselves, who felt that every potential clincher must be seen on the main Channel 2. Had the series ended on Wednesday, it would only be seen on Studio 23 due to Channel 2’s loaded afternoon lineup. And both the UAAP and ABS-CBN feel it’s the right call, after two of the last three clinchers were broadcast by UHF network Studio 23, with the 2011 clincher of Ateneo over FEU the only such game seen on ABS-CBN.

Game 3 will be at the Mall of Asia Arena, and SM management has placed stricter measures regarding ticket sales after the scalping issue that haunted Game 2. SM announced that limited SRO tickets will only be sold on game day at the MOA’s Marina booth, and only one person per ticket will be issued. The other tickets were taken care of by DLSU and UST.

And finally, the NBA Global Games in Manila tonight will be seen live on Basketball TV, NBA Premium TV and Studio 23. Replay times on BTV and NBA Premium TV can be seen on btv.com.ph.