TV5 Must Revamp Primetime Lineup

Odd one out: TV5’s primetime revamp may require ‘Aksyon Prime’ to merge with ‘Aksyon Tonite’. (Logo courtesy of TV5)

It is clear that TV5’s primetime lineup is going nowhere.

Questions abound the said lineup once Chot Reyes made it clear that he envisioned a more ‘alternative’ approach for the network. For instance, ‘Aksyon Prime’ and ‘Aksyon Tonite’ now seem out of place in Chot’s new approach, due to its ‘masa’-fied format and competition with ABS-CBN and GMA newscasts.

To make matters worse, ‘Aksyon Tonite’ recently added unproven journos in Lia Cruz and Marga Vargas, both of whom seem more suited to sports than news. And finally, PBA’s overall poor showing last season leave a lot to be desired.

With all problems considered, here is a to-do list that TV5 must do to revamp its primetime lineup.

1. Merge and Reformat Aksyon Prime and Aksyon Tonite

Two evening newscasts were too much for News5, considering the plight it endured of late. Thus, merging both ‘Aksyon Prime’ and ‘Aksyon Tonite’ into one nightly newscast is a necessity.

If that’s not enough, this merged newscast will employ a more hard news approach, and will air at 9:00 p.m. Hence, it will compete against CNN Philippines’ ‘Newsroom’, GMA News TV’s ‘State of the Nation’, ANC’s ‘The World Tonight’, and other similar newscasts.

As for the anchors and title, look no further. The newscast will carry the ‘Aksyon Tonite’ name, and Ed Lingao and Luchi Cruz-Valdes will be the anchors.

2. Replace Aksyon Prime with Sports360

The PBA games are a regular fixture on TV5 during weeknights, but the presence of ‘Aksyon Prime’ became a bane to viewers and game attendants. Placing ‘Sports360’ instead should alleviate this burden.

The format of ‘Sports360’ will remain the same. It will air for 15 minutes, and will focus mostly on viewer interaction and game analysis.

3. Foreign Canned Shows from 6 to 9 on Non-PBA Game Days

Finally, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on a non-PBA game day will be dominated by TV5’s American action, suspense and fantasy shows. Doesn’t get more alternative than this.

Chot Reyes’ vision of a more ‘alternative’ TV5 may take time getting used to. But as far as the primetime lineup goes, solving this dilemma should be the first step, provided that management is smart enough to realize its flaws.

However, it doesn’t mean that this proposal will be achieved. Still, one can only hope that Chot Reyes will make the soundest of decisions in order to restore TV5’s fortunes, even if it means no more local entertainment fare.

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With Rainy Season Underway, TV5 Still Needs Improvement and Continuity

Tagalized American shows such as ‘Smallville’ will take over TV5’s weeknight programming for now, as they prepare for the 2016 Rio Olympics coverage. (Publicity photo courtesy of TV5)

It’s back to zero for TV5.

As May turned into June, the Kapatid network management decided to make a lot of changes in their programming lineup. Unfortunately, those alterations turned a once-promising network into a troublesome one, full of questionable decisions that are not worthy of its status as a ‘Big Three’ network.

Just imagine this. Would anyone accept a network that airs TV shopping in the morning, cartoons and/or sporting events in the afternoon, and Tagalized American series or movies at night?

Obviously, no one. In essence, this is still TV5 a.k.a. the Kapatid Network, yet its programming is now similar to ABC 5 in its final few years.

The entry of Vic del Rosario’s VIVA group was supposed to rejuvenate TV5’s flagging entertainment group, but it didn’t happen. The first wave of programs came and went, with no replacements whatsoever.

VIVA’s problems were aplenty, such as the presence of the PBA and other sporting events, and TV5’s lack of reach in other areas. Clearly, there is still a lot of work to do, but for the moment, they are no longer involved in the programming.

So what did TV5 do? Click the link to the network’s official website, and one will be very surprised on what the schedules look like now.

But for those not in the mood, here are the lowlights:

• EZ Shop and Shop Japan replaces Boomerang on TV5 block, with the latter now airing on weekday afternoons
• Tagalized American series (e.g. ‘Arrow’, ‘Supernatural’) dominate weeknights
• Tagalized foreign movies remain a constant presence, but on weekends, they now extend to primetime
• ‘Outcast’, a American suspense series, replaces ‘MTV Top 20 Pilipinas’ and will be dubbed in Filipino
• ‘Sports360’ is shelved for now

For many, these moves are not smart, but TV5’s intention is clear. With the 2016 Summer Olympics only two months away, there is little time for VIVA’s programming to make their presence felt, and thus, TV5 needs to air some temporary fill-ins while waiting for their Olympic coverage to begin.

Still, the lack of improvement and continuity remains a problem for TV5. It’s been six years since Manny V. Pangilinan took over, yet the story remains the same.

When will they finally learn? No one knows, but one thing’s for sure: expect the unexpected from TV5.

VIVA-TV5 Partnership a Bust So Far

‘Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?’ will conclude tomorrow night, part of a series of problems that plague the VIVA-TV5 partnership in the initial months of the deal. (Photo credit: Philstar.com)

The VIVA-TV5 deal is off to a slow start.

The partnership which oversaw the premiere of three new series (‘Ang Panday’, ‘Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?’, ‘Tasya Fantasya’), a talent singing search show (‘Born to Be a Star’) and ‘MTV Top 20 Pilipinas’ has not paid dividends for the Kapatid network. In fact, ‘Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?’ will conclude tomorrow night, with low ratings a key factor.

And if that’s not enough, VIVA had to deal with the PBA’s overwhelming presence for much of TV5’s primetime schedule, especially with the Commissioner’s Cup playoffs now well underway. Such a shame.

When VIVA announced their partnership with TV5 a few months ago, many hoped that the deal will revitalize the network’s moribund entertainment department. After all, VIVA had a great reputation for breeding successful talent and producing impactful programs and movies, which showed in prior partnerships with IBC-13, GMA and ABS-CBN.

Unfortunately for VIVA and TV5, that has not bore fruit. VIVA’s new programs made little impact in the ratings, and the supposed comeback of once-popular stars such as Richard Gutierrez and Claudine Barretto failed to deliver the desired results.

Even worse for VIVA is the fact that they are having a hard time scheduling their programs. Both ‘Ang Panday’ and ‘Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?’ aired during non-PBA game days, but as the playoffs got underway, VIVA had no choice but to move the two dramas to a later timeslot.

The same can also be said for ‘Born to Be a Star’. Originally airing every weekend, it now only airs every Sunday, thanks in large part to the timeslot changes for both ‘#ParangNormal Activity’ and ‘Sports360’.

With so many dilemmas to begin with, it seems like the glory days of VIVA Entertainment on television has long deserted them. Still, the partnership has a long way to go, but first, they need to consult with both Sports5 and News5 in order to solve whatever issues they have right now.

Consider this a bump on the road. Hopefully VIVA can work out these problems as soon as possible, so that their partnership will not go down in vain.

Sports360 Needs a Reformat

With the UFC essentially taking over late Sunday nights, TV5 needs to find a way to make ‘Sports360’ useful again. (Logo courtesy of TV5)

The past two months were not kind to TV5’s sports-oriented show ‘Sports360’.

Since the UFC became a property of Sports5 this year, ‘Sports360’ has been preempted regularly in favor of UFC events. With the show close to becoming an afterthought, its future was thrown into question.

As TV5’s sports-oriented talk show, it is the job of ‘Sports360’ to give Kapatid sports fans the latest updates on a variety of sporting events every week. But its constant preemptions made it difficult to stay in tune with the ever-changing sports landscape.

Look at the other sports talk shows in the country (e.g. ANC’s ‘Hardball’, ABS-CBN Sports+Action’s ‘The Score’, and CNN Philippines’ ‘Sports Desk’). While they are not here to provide some entertainment (as ‘Sports360’ usually does), at least they regularly provide updates in the world of sports to the avid fan.

This is a dilemma that the new Sports5 head Patricia Bermudez-Hizon must face. After all, they are the so-called ‘Olympic network’ (they will broadcast the 2016 Summer Olympics later this year), and if they want to live to that billing, they need to make ‘Sports360’ a constant presence on the network.

One thing they would like to see is the conversion of ‘Sports360’ into a daily sports talk show, with less focus on entertainment and more on analysis and news reporting. The current hosts may be experienced on-air talent for various Sports5 programming, but to keep the show running, they need to emulate either Mico Halili or TJ Manotoc to become useful.

Since TV5 is too loaded programming-wise, the best possible channel for ‘Sports360’ would be AksyonTV, whose sports-centric format makes it a perfect fit (signal issues notwithstanding). Another option would be HYPER, but this may not please SkyCable subscribers.

In any case, TV5 must address the fate of ‘Sports360’ as soon as possible. They don’t want to turn the show into a liability, so they need to act accordingly and turn the show into something more reliable to their viewers.

It’s up to TV5 to save ‘Sports360’. Good luck.