GMA Shakes Up Weekday Morning Lineup Anew

A teleneovela and a long-overdue Koreanovela makes its way to GMA this Monday morning.

First on the menu is ‘Corazon Indomable’, otherwise known as ‘Wild at Heart’. The telenovela stars Ana Brenda Contreras and Daniel Arenas as lovers with contrasting roots.

‘Corazon Indomable’ first aired in 2013 throughout Mexico, and was a remake of the hit telenovela ‘Marimar’. The latter, first shown on RPN-9 and later re-aired and locally remade on GMA, took Philippine television by storm in the mid-1990s.

The entry of ‘Corazon Indomable’ will mark the latest attempt to rekindle the fading popularity of the telenovela. The genre has endured tremendous amount of abuse from the rightsholder in the last few years, as telenovelas like GMA’s ‘Lola’, ABS-CBN’s ‘Ana Manuela’, and IBC-13/ATC’s ‘The Two Sides of Ana’ and ‘La Teniente’ were either cancelled or shortened for various reasons.

It will be foolish for GMA to once again cut short another telenovela, considering the backlash that they endured upon cancelling ‘Lola’ due to low ratings. If they keep their heads calm, then ‘Corazon Indomable’ will be able to finish in full.

Immediately following ‘Corazon Indomable’ will be the Koreanovela ‘Women in the Sun’. It will star Kim Ji-soo, Lee Ha-na, Han Jae-suk, and Jung Gyu-woon.

‘Women in the Sun’ premieres in Philippine shores nearly seven years after it first aired in its native South Korea. In its original airing, the Koreanovela received an average rating of nearly 14% and won four KBS Drama Awards.

The long gap is uncharacteristic for any Koreanovela in the country, as GMA and ABS-CBN usually air their Koreanovelas within one or two years from its original Korean broadcast. Still, for any devoted follower of Asianovelas, ‘Women in the Sun’ should be worth the wait.

Now the question is, will they have a chance to make an impact against ‘The Singing Bee’? It is highly doubtful, since ‘The Singing Bee’ has had GMA’s number for the past few months, and not even the extended running time of the Astig Authority block can rattle its confidence.

That said, the onus is on GMA to make the two series as good as advertised. This is a make or break situation for them as far as their morning lineup is concerned, so good luck.

‘Corazon Indomable’ and ‘Women in the Sun’ airs starting February 2, right after Astig Authority and before ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’.

Note: The trailer for ‘Corazon Indomable’, which is now shown on GMA, is unavailable on YouTube as of this writing.

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The Return of the Telenovela to Philippine Free TV

Telenovelas, or the more distinguishable term Latinovelas, are making a comeback to free TV in the Philippines.

The genre, once dominant in the afternoon and evening drama blocks of the major networks, were essentially an endangered species once ‘Meteor Garden’ and other Asianovelas began to invade the small screen. Then in late 2011, the Telenovela Channel was introduced, giving dramas from Latin America a new lease on life.

Since the creation of the Telenovela Channel, several free TV networks have attempted to resuscitate the fading popularity of the telenovela. In 2013, GMA aired the Colombian series ‘Lola’ (or ‘Bella Calamidades’) . Unfortunately for the Kapuso network, low ratings forced the management to stop airing the telenovela before it can be finished.

Also that same year, Studio 23 (now ABS-CBN Sports+Action) aired the original version of the hit ABS-CBN teleserye ‘Nasaan Ka, Elisa?’. Titled ‘Donde Esta Elisa?’, the original series aired during the first half of 2013.

Then in June of this year, IBC-13 and Asian Television Content Corporation aired ‘The Two Sides of Ana’ and ‘La Teniente’ on the ‘ATC @ IBC’ block. Unlike GMA’s unexpected pullout of ‘Lola’, both IBC and ATC were more than willing to finish both series, despite their low ratings in a competitive primetime environment.

Two months later, ABS-CBN decided to bring the telenovela back to their lineup. The Brazilian drama ‘Ana Manuela’, scheduled to air starting August 18, will be the network’s first telenovela since ‘Frijolito’ in 2011.

While ABS-CBN has enjoyed ratings success over the past couple of years, the reintroduction of the telenovela is considered to be their biggest gamble yet. Nevertheless, the network hopes that ‘Ana Manuela’, like the other programs on ‘Kapamilya Gold’, will perform very well in the ratings.

The telenovela, once considered endangered on free TV thanks to Asianovelas, are relevant once again. Now the question is, how long will they remain in the minds of the viewers? Only time will tell.

PBA D-League Has a New (or Old) Partner

The PBA D-League will return to IBC-13, this time under the deal forged by blocktimer Asian Television Content Corporation. (Photo credit: Interaksyon.com)

The PBA Developmental League will have a new partner to cover their games this upcoming season.

It was announced that the PBA D-League and Asian Television Content Corporation will join forces to air the said league’s games on IBC-13, beginning next season. The league’s games will be aired on a delayed basis from 8-11 p.m.

Last season, the PBA D-League was practically shut out of television coverage. Although Sports5, by way of AksyonTV, aired the finals of the two conferences, they were unable to air the elimination and playoff matches due to their prior commitments with other sports events.

A possible broadcast deal with GMA News TV also fell through, mainly because the parent network lacked the necessary resources to cover the games.

The new broadcast agreement will mark the PBA D-League’s return to its original coveror. IBC-13 previously covered the D-League from 2011-13, as part of the future Sports5 blocktime deal.

The ATC on IBC started last June, and featured a mix of new and old programs. Among their new programs are telenovelas ‘The Two Sides of Ana’ and ‘La Teniente’, and documentary programs ‘Animalia’ and ‘Confidential’. Classic programs such as ‘Retro TV’, ‘Cooltura’ and ‘Stoplight TV’ are also included.

The addition of the PBA D-League further establishes ATC as an emerging force in the media industry, one that is expected to bolster its current lineup in the future. But it remains to be seen if their new investment will result in some revenue for both ATC and IBC-13.

Nevertheless, this should be a welcome development for the PBA D-League, who needed some exposure for their teams and its upcoming players.