FTT Year 2014 in Review: ABS-CBN

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2015, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article will focus on ABS-CBN, who continued to dominate television ratings this year.

The Positives

High ratings, top trending topics, and a slew of awards. Just another impressive year on Mother Ignacia.

Primetime Bida remained ABS-CBN’s strongest suit in its weekday arsenal, led by the block’s top-rated program of the year, ‘The Legal Wife’. Meanwhile, the Kapamilya network’s reality and talent shows continued to overwhelm the opposition, led by top-raters ‘The Voice Kids’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’ and the second season of ‘The Voice of the Philippines’.

Long-running programs ‘TV Patrol’, ‘ASAP’, ‘The Buzz’ and ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ remained at the top of their game, while ‘It’s Showtime’, ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’, and even the returning ‘Ipaglaban Mo’ became a force to be reckoned with.

ABS-CBN Sports also enjoyed an extremely successful year, starting with the launch of ABS-CBN Sports+Action in late January. High ratings during this year’s NBA Finals and the UAAP men’s basketball and women’s volleyball finals eventually led to the two leagues’ renewal of broadcast rights later this year.

The Kapamilya network’s award closet continued to grow, particularly in November’s Star Awards for Television, where ABS-CBN received a total of 34 awards. They also scored big in the Anak TV and Catholic Mass Media Awards, among other bodies.

The Negatives

Not all news is good, however. ABS-CBN also endured some missteps throughout the year, all of which made a significant impact on the network’s performance.

While Primetime Bida dominated primetime, they also had a fair share of busts. Julia Barretto’s acting debut as ‘Mirabella’ failed to impress, while the reboot of ‘Dyesebel’ and ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ never lived up to expectations.

‘Be Careful with My Heart’ may have dominated the headlines in 2013, but it was a different story in 2014. The show’s ratings declined for much of the year, before rebounding on the show’s final episode on November 28.

The last two quarters of 2014 saw the decline in quality of Kapamilya Gold. The network’s last two afternoon soaps, ‘Galema: Anak ni Zuma’ and ‘Moon of Desire’, were replaced by a combination of Asianovela reruns, ‘Bet on Your Baby’, the ill-fated ‘Ana Manuela’, and ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’, a sign that ABS-CBN is letting GMA dominate the afternoon slot.

Speaking of reruns, ABS-CBN brought back the highly successful ‘Meteor Garden’ to rave reviews. Later reruns of Asianovelas and even classic Japanese cartoons such as ‘Princess Sarah’ proved unsuccessful, however.

Controversy hounded ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’ from the moment the mostly celebrity cast was selected all the way to late-coming housemate Daniel Matsunaga’s victory. It also spelled doom for ‘It’s Showtime’ hosts Vhong Navarro (beaten by Cedric Lee’s group) and Billy Crawford (post-Star Magic Ball fiasco), thus continuing the infamous curse.

And finally, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs had its own share of problems. February saw a questionable report on ‘Bandila’ regarding a ‘flesh-eating disease’ in Pangasinan, and then several months later, ‘TV Patrol’ anchor Korina Sanchez made an unnecessary remark about Typhoon Hagupit (Ruby), praying that the storm would swerve to Japan.

Outlook

Fortunately for the Kapamilya network, Marc Logan kept things light and loose when his show, ‘Mga Kwento ni Marc Logan’, premiered last August. But seriously, this was another successful year for ABS-CBN, even with the problems and controversies surrounding it.

Looking ahead, a reunion between Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin looms in ‘Flordeliza’, even as ‘Pangako sa ‘Yo’ will have its own reboot with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. This and a lot more will come as the calendar turns to 2015.

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Disappointing Run for ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’

‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ is ending with a whimper.

The drama series starring Bea Alonzo and Paulo Avelino will officially conclude their run later tonight. ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ will be replaced by the Filipino adaptation of the Korean series ‘Two Wives’.

Premiering on June 16 amid high expectations, ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ failed to replicate or even surpass the success of its predecessor ‘The Legal Wife’. This despite the fact that the show is a constant trending topic on Twitter, and a ratings winner according to Kantar.

The high point of the series came on the September 19 episode. The kissing scene between Emmanuelle (Alonzo) and Patrick (Avelino) not only became a top trending topic on Twitter nationally, but also globally.

The momentum continued on the September 24 episode, where Emmanuelle finally confessed to Patrick that she is indeed his ‘dead’ wife Rose. Like the September 19 episode, it trended both nationally and globally on Twitter.

Still, despite its social media success, ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ only managed to score a 15-20% rating in every episode, a far cry from the 25-30% that ‘The Legal Wife’ managed during its run.

Making matters worse, rival ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ began to turn things around. The recently concluded GMA series gave ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ a scare, both on Kantar and AGB Nielsen.

Even though they recaptured the momentum with the entry of ‘Hiram na Alaala’, the damage has been done. ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ proved to be a letdown from the success of ‘The Legal Wife’.

Now ABS-CBN hopes that ‘Two Wives’, starring Erich Gonzales, Jason Abalos and Kaye Abad, will be a huge improvement over ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’. The upcoming teleserye, as mentioned earlier, is an adaptation of a Korean series that aired in 2012.

As for ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’, it was a good series, but not a great one that would rank among the Kapamilya network’s greatest teleseryes. Indeed, they are a disappointment.

‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ Ends Tomorrow

GMA’s controversial teleserye ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ will end on September 19. (Photo credit: GMA Network)

The book will officially close on ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’.

The controversial drama series, starring Dingdong Dantes, Lovi Poe and Maricel Soriano, will air its final episode tomorrow night. ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ will finish its run with a total of 80 episodes in 16 weeks.

Replacing the equally controversial but low-rated ‘Rhodora X’ on June 2, ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ had a slow start to its four-month run. The series premiered just as ABS-CBN’s blockbuster series ‘The Legal Wife’ was about to finish.

The ratings for ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ had a 20% or better ratings disadvantage against ‘The Legal Wife’, causing a whole lot of concern on the GMA camp.

Things would turn around for the series, however. After ‘The Legal Wife’ was replaced by ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’, ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ slowly gained ground, and on July 28, the show made some headlines.

The said date’s episode saw Millet (Soriano) slap Anthony (Dantes) 23 times. Even before the episode was aired, however, behind-the-scenes snippets of the confrontation began to circulate on social media, creating a huge buzz that culminated with the highly-publicized airing of the said scene.

That episode proved to be the high point of ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real”s run, as it not only trended on Twitter, but also gave ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ a scare in the ratings. And while they fell short in Kantar’s count, they managed to earn a victory in AGB Nielsen.

But despite giving ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ a good fight, ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ lacked advertising support to remain viable, airing only 10 ads or better compared to over 30 for their rivals. Still, the series continued to defy all odds up until the series finale.

Overall, ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ enjoyed a good run. While it will never earn a place among GMA’s most successful teleseryes, the series’ tense moments and the aforementioned slapping spree of Millet on Anthony will always be etched in teleserye lore, not to mention the bigamy storyline that is novel to the small screen.

‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ will be replaced by ‘Hiram na Alaala’, starring Dennis Trillo, Kris Bernal, Lauren Young and Rocco Nacino. The upcoming teleserye will air starting September 22.

GMA Tries to Take Advantage with My BFF

 

‘My BFF’ hopes to sustain the momentum that its predecessor ‘My Love from the Star’ generated during its run.

The last time GMA aired a local teleserye before ’24 Oras’, they were rocked in the ratings. But with ABS-CBN’s ‘Mirabella’ not living up to expectations, GMA has decided to take advantage.

Starting June 30, ‘My BFF’ will take on ‘Mirabella’ on the timeslot preceding the news. The series, starring Jillian Ward, Mona Louise Rey, Janno Gibbs and Manilyn Reynes, will replace the highly successful and competitive ‘My Love from the Star’.

This will be GMA’s first local teleserye in the 5:45-6:30 p.m. slot since ‘Paraiso Ko’y Ikaw’. The series, starring Kristoffer Martin and Kim Rodriguez, performed poorly in the midst of ‘Annaliza”s dominance. As a result, GMA shied away from producing a local series in that timeslot for over two months.

During that span, two programs were aired: ‘GMA Sinebabad’ and ‘My Love from the Star’. The latter series was a success, outplaying ‘Mirabella’ in the AGB Nielsen ratings while staying competitive in the TNS Kantar ratings. The popularity of ‘My Love from the Star’ prompted the network to re-air the program every Sunday.

Meanwhile, ‘Mirabella’ is struggling to sustain the momentum that ‘Annaliza’ gained throughout its run. The 20% rating of ‘Mirabella’ is less than the 25-30% ratings that ‘Annaliza’ managed in its 10 months on air. The low ratings of ‘Mirabella’ is uncharacteristic of ABS-CBN’s recent string of dominance on primetime, where ‘Dyesebel’, ‘Ikaw Lamang’ and ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ became their strongest suits.

Simply put, ‘My Love from the Star”s success gave GMA some momentum, and now they hope to capitalize with ‘My BFF’. The latter, with its light-hearted story and emphasis on family and friendship, should give ‘Mirabella’ a difficult time attracting viewers. And if ‘My BFF’ wins, it will be a huge victory for the Kapuso network.

‘Mrs. Real’ Has a New Rival

‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ replaced the highly-rated series ‘The Legal Wife’ last Monday. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ is off to a poor start, but fortunately for them, their erstwhile rival ended its run the previous week. However, a new challenger awaits.

‘The Legal Wife’ finished its run last Friday to the tune of a 36.2% rating. That stat, according to Kantar, was more than quadruple than that of ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’, which finished a paltry 8.8%. In addition, topics related to the program were among the most trended on Twitter.

‘The Legal Wife’ also beat ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ in the AGB Nielsen ratings. The former drew a 32.3% while the latter managed a 12.8% nationally.

The finale saw Monica (Angel Locsin) and Adrian (Jericho Rosales) separate and enter a new chapter of their lives. Their separation came after several tumultuous years of marriage, which only intensified after Nicole (Maja Salvador), Monica’s friend, got into an affair with Adrian.

With ‘The Legal Wife’ now a thing of the past, ABS-CBN is now banking on its replacement to deliver similar, if not higher, numbers that the former achieved throughout its run. Enter ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’, which premiered on the vacated timeslot of ‘The Legal Wife’ last night.

The new series marked the return of Bea Alonzo into the primetime spotlight. In her first television series since ‘A Beautiful Affair’ over a year ago, Alonzo will be playing two different roles in the series. First, she is Rose, a woman who was accused for a crime she did not commit. Then as the series go on, she undergoes plastic surgery in order to assume the role of Emmanuelle, a feisty lawyer with a mission for revenge.

Joining Alonzo will be Paulo Avelino, Albert Martinez, Dina Bonnevie, Maricar Reyes, Tonton Gutierrez, Eddie Garcia, Anita Linda, and Susan Roces. Jerome Pobocan and Trina Dayrit will direct the series.

While it is still early to predict the amount of viewers that the program will receive, it is expected that the series will become a highly-rated one, although not as highly-rated as its predecessor ‘The Legal Wife’. And based on ABS-CBN’s recent track record of airing highly-rated series, ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ is assured to be a ratings winner.

On the other hand, ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’ is facing an uphill battle. After an unimpressive 8.8% performance last Friday, the the directors of the series will now have to devise some strategies in hopes of not repeating this performance again. Otherwise, an easy victory for ‘Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon’ will await the former.