GMA’s ‘Bet ng Bayan’ Premieres This Sunday

The schedule for ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is out.

GMA announced this week that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ will start on October 5, replacing ‘Sa Puso ni Dok’ in its timeslot. The talent show will also have a 15-minute ‘daily strand’ show on weeknights.

‘Bet ng Bayan’ was promoted in advance by the network, with auditions running throughout August and September. Initially, the show was to have a Filipino-themed logo featuring the ‘three stars and a sun’ motif, but in mid-September, a new, more futuristic logo was revealed on its Facebook account, and was duly promoted during commercial plugs.

‘Bet ng Bayan’ will also award three different winners instead of one. There will be one winner each in the singing, dancing and extreme talents categories, which will be determined week after week until the grand finals.

Looking ahead to the show’s premiere, things do not look good for the Kapuso network. ‘Bet ng Bayan’ will go up against the successful yet controversial ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’, and based on the show’s overwhelming success against GMA’s other programs, this is a potential disaster waiting to happen.

Had they cut ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’ to an hour (similar to rival ‘Rated K’), ‘Bet ng Bayan’ would have fared better against ‘I Do’. Instead, they are placed on a timeslot that is unfavorable to talent shows.

Also not looking good is ‘Bet ng Bayan”s overall schedule. Instead of airing a Saturday edition, GMA decided to utilize brief 15-minute updates every weeknights.

The aforementioned ‘Bet ng Bayan’ updates will take on the Kapamilya network’s ‘Aquino & Abunda Tonight’, thus giving GMA Telebabad equal footing to ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida. But it remains to be seen if the 15-minute tablet approach will pay off, considering shows like ‘Pinoy Idol’ and ‘Protege’ never became successful when utilizing this format.

‘Bet ng Bayan’ is definitely GMA’s latest attempt towards making a successful talent show. Having seen ABS-CBN and TV5 step up a notch with the likes of ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ and ‘Talentadong Pinoy’, the pressure is now on ‘Bet ng Bayan’ to deliver the same kind of success as the two aforementioned programs. This is a hit or miss situation for GMA, so good luck to them.

 

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The Return of Talentadong Pinoy

‘Talentadong Pinoy’, now hosted by Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez, returns to TV5 this Saturday. (Logo courtesy of ABC Development Corporation)

One of TV5’s most beloved programs returns for a new season.

‘Talentadong Pinoy’, TV5’s premier talent show, will make its much-awaited comeback this Saturday. The program, which was one of the few remnants of TV5’s ‘Shake Mo TV Mo’ era, appeared to have been cancelled after airing the Worldwide Battle Royale last year. But hints of a return began to surface early this year, which was later confirmed by TV5.

The revived ‘Talentadong Pinoy’, however, will not have the services of original host Ryan Agoncillo , who signed a non-exclusive contract with GMA and is currently appearing on ‘Ismol Family’ and TAPE’s ‘Eat Bulaga’. When asked about the return of ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ and the possibility of him returning as host, Agoncillo indicated that he has no intention of returning to ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ anytime soon.

Instead, the hosting duties for ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ now fall into the hands of Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez. The recently married showbiz couple were no strangers to hosting, having been a part of Willie Revillame’s noontime programs in the past.

With a new host comes a new cast of talented individuals who will try to impress the judges and the television audience. Auditions for ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ were held throughout the months of May and June, and the aforementioned talents will be revealed in the coming episodes.

That said, the expectations are high for the new hosts to deliver ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ to the similar, if not higher levels of succees enjoyed in the Ryan Agoncillo era. Whether or not they can take the show to the next level remains to be seen.

‘Talentadong Pinoy’ returns this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. on TV5.

Bet ng Bayan: A Future Flop in the Making?

Auditions for GMA’s upcoming reality talent show ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are currently ongoing. (Logo courtesy of GMA Network)

Despite the clear signs of decline on the part of the GMA Artist Center, the network remains defiant in its attempt to hone new stars.

Thus, another attempt at a reality talent show was conceptualized.

Enter ‘Bet ng Bayan’, GMA’s latest attempt at finding new artists and performers. The upcoming reality program will be hosted by Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Alden Richards, and it will premiere either this August or September.

Auditions for ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are currently ongoing in various parts of the country, and will run until the first week of August.  The show will feature solo, duo, and group singers, dancers, and novelty performers over 15 years old.

Let’s face it, ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is essentially a copycat of ABS-CBN’s ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ and TV5’s ‘Talentadong Pinoy’. While GMA claims that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is an original concept of theirs, it is clear that they borrowed several aspects of ‘PGT’ and ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ into their reality talent program.

It is also clear that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is just another move by GMA to replenish their weekend lineup. Already decimated by numerous lineup changes and four movie blocks, they now hope that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ will be their saving grace to their weekend woes. But with ABS-CBN continuing to impose their will on the opposition, it will be an even tougher task for ‘Bet ng Bayan’ to achieve, considering that GMA’s previous weekend reality talent show ‘Protege’ failed to attract viewers during its two-season run.

The producers of ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are definitely under pressure to make the series work. And with GMA’s current roster of artists struggling to stay relevant, they hope that fresh blood will come with this program. However, it remains to be seen if ‘Bet ng Bayan’ can really deliver ‘the next big star’.

‘It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez’ Heads to TV5

A ratings hit on E!, ‘It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez’ will now cross over to free TV, as TV5 picked up the series starting this July.

The highly-rated E! reality show ‘It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez’ is now headed to a bigger audience.

TV5 has announced that the series starring the Gutierrez family will premiere this July 5. ‘It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez’ will replace ‘Celebrity Dance Battle’, whose final episode will air tomorrow.

The series will showcase the personal, business and family lives of siblings Richard, Raymond and Ruffa Gutierrez, along with their parents Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle Rama. It will also feature guest appearances from the other members of the Gutierrez family, as well as celebrity friends and staff.

‘It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez’ has been a ratings hit for E!. The reality series broke the network’s ratings records, not only in the Philippines, but also in Southeast Asia. It was also a hit in social media, particularly when Richard introduced audiences to Zion, his son with girlfriend Sarah Lahbati.

The free TV premiere of ‘It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez’ is only one of several programming changes that TV5 will implement this July. New seasons of ‘Face the People’, ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ and ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ will also premiere, albeit with new hosts, while new programs ‘Trenderas’ and ‘Quiet Please’ will also join the network’s revamped lineup.

It should be an interesting quarter of change for the Kapatid network, beginning with the clan dubbed as the ‘Asian Kardashians’.

TV5’s First New Shows of 2014

TV5’s ‘Obsession’ follows the same blueprint used in ‘Positive’, this time tackling the issue of cosmetic surgery.

Next week on ‘Everyday All the Way’, TV5 will unveil a new weekly drama series in ‘Obsession’. Like ‘Positive’, ‘Obsession’ will tackle issues concerning the health of the human body. This time, the series divulges into the world of cosmetic surgery, where the main character obsessed with her former lover assumes a new post-surgical identity. The series will be headlined by Bianca King, Neri Naig, Marvin Agustin and Martin Escudero, and will replace ‘For Love or Money’ at the 8:00 p.m. slot.

Cycle 2 of ‘Asia’s Next Top Model’ will also be seen on TV5. The Asian adaptation of ‘America’s Next Top Model’ will have a pair of Filipinos in Jodilly Pendra and Katarina Rodriguez compete against 14 other aspiring models in hopes of becoming the next top model. The series airs starting tonight replacing ‘Positive’ at 9:00 p.m.

In addition, TV5 has also unveiled a mix of new and returning programs that will be seen over the next few months. Returnees include ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ (albeit without original host Ryan Agoncillo), ‘The Amazing Race Philippines’, and ‘The Million Peso Money Drop’. Upcoming titles will include ‘For All the Boys’, ‘My Pirated Family’, ‘Minamahal’, ‘The Baker King’, ‘My Fair Lady’, ‘Pretty Little Liars’, ‘Jasmine’, ‘One Boy’, ‘Beki Boxer’, ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ and ‘Celebrity Dance Battle’. Details of the new shows should arrive once the teasers are revealed.

And even as TV5 unveiled new programs, some existing ones had to go. Both ‘What’s Up Doods?’ and ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’ were presumably cancelled by management for ‘not living up to expectations’. And there is also the uncharacteristically early sign-offs on nights without PBA games, after AksyonTV original programs like ‘Cocktales’, ‘Crime Klasik’, ‘Wasak’ and ‘Chef vs. Mom’ were cancelled. Simply put, the management handled by Noel Lorenzana and Wilma Galvante have a long way to go before stabilizing the network’s programming.

Nevertheless, both ‘Asia’s Next Top Model’ and ‘Obsession’ should give TV5 something to look forward to this year. They may still be in the experimental stage, but with the way viewers have responded, it appears that this experiment is headed in the right direction.

FTT Year 2013 in Review: TV5

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2014, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article will focus on TV5, which enjoyed a slow start before rebounding with a respectable fourth quarter.

The Positives

After it was suspended for a good part of last year because of the you-know-what, T3: Reload rebounded in 2013 with a more toned-down approach, yet maintaining the same ol’ nastiness that the Tulfo brothers constantly address to the bullies and anomalous officials. This year also saw Radyo5 welcome Ben Tulfo and his ‘Bitag sa Radyo’ program after its departure from UNTV, in the process uniting the three brothers on the same umbrella, with Erwin also co-anchoring ‘Punto Asintado’ with Martin Andanar and Raffy hosting ‘Wanted sa Radyo’ with Nina Taduran.

In September, TV5 hired Noel Lorenzana in an effort to overhaul its programming. The end result were three program blocks: ‘Weekend Do It Better’, ‘Everyday All the Way’, and ‘KBO: Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’. This alternative programming approach would bear fruit by the end of the year, as several of its programs finished among the Top 15 in the Nielsen Media Research ratings. In addition, the network’s willingness to reach out to a younger audience also paid dividends, as programs such as ‘SpinNation’ were among the top trending topics on Twitter.

TV5 also scored big in its sports coverage, with the recent airings of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup and Governors’ Cup Finals, and the Gilas Pilipinas games at the FIBA Asia Championship earning high viewership figures. And to cap off a resurgent finish to the year, TV5 officially christened the new TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong City.

The Negatives

Under Perci Intalan, TV5 tried to compete against more established powers GMA and ABS-CBN. However, it only resulted in revenue losses. None of TV5’s own teleseryes (‘Kidlat‘, ‘Undercover’, ‘Cassandra: Warrior Angel’, ‘Misibis Bay’, ‘Enchanted Garden‘, ‘Never Say Goodbye’) even made noise in the teleserye wars, and programs such as ‘Jeepney Jackpot’, ‘Kanta Pilipinas‘, ‘Alabang Housewives’ and ‘Boracay Bodies’ were critical failures.

But perhaps the most crucial reason behind the reformat was ‘Wowowillie‘. The noontime show, a symbol of the Intalan era, finally left the airwaves in October after three years, numerous controversies and massive losses. Host Willie Revillame would ‘retire’ shortly afterwards. In addition, TV5 originals ‘Face to Face’ and ‘Talentadong Pinoy‘ were also cancelled; its hosts Amy Perez and Ryan Agoncillo would secure new contracts with ABS-CBN and GMA respectively after departing.

TV5 also encountered numerous problems with its sports coverage. In May, they cut block-time ties with IBC-13, but were urged to stay until the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations. As a result the NCAA was forced to air its nightly games on AksyonTV; the long-delayed finals was aired on TV5 in the early afternoon. And to cap off, many PBA fans were angered when TV5 decided to air only the ‘marquee’ games of the ongoing Philippine Cup live during weeknights and Saturdays, leaving the signal-deficient AksyonTV to air the rest.

Outlook

The motto for TV5 this 2014 should be ‘There’s nowhere to go but up’. With Noel Lorenzana spearheading the rebuilding project, TV5 will continue its commitment to programs that are favorable to younger and socially active citizens. And as they open the TV5 Media Center, it appears that things are on the upswing.