ABS-CBN, GMA Cancel Each Other’s No. 1 Claims

Once again, ABS-CBN and GMA one-up each other when it comes to television ratings.

For the month of January, both stations staked their own claims as the No. 1 television network in the country. Based on Kantar’s figures, ABS-CBN earned a 42% share over GMA’s 36%, while Nielsen’s figures say that GMA attained a 35% over ABS-CBN’s 33%.

While ABS-CBN claimed to have won the ratings battle in Balance Luzon (45% over GMA’s 36%), Visayas (56% over GMA’s 26%) and Mindanao (48% over GMA’s 31%), GMA’s regional figures showed that the station only won in Urban Luzon (39% over ABS-CBN’s 29%) and Mega Manila (41% over ABS-CBN’s 26%). GMA failed to report on the figures for Visayas and Mindanao because both areas remain a weak point for the network.

On the other hand, ABS-CBN did not report on the figures for the morning and afternoon blocks because of the network’s low ratings in both categories. ABS-CBN claimed victory in the primetime block, while in a separate statement, GMA won in the morning, afternoon and primetime blocks.

As it has been the case for the past several years, the one-upmanship between the two stations continue to be a subject of debate among television fans. But the truth is, even with their claims as the No. 1 station, that doesn’t mean they are better than the other, especially when facilities, revenue, talent and programming quality are considered.

That said, expect the game of wits between ABS-CBN and GMA to continue. At the end of the day, only one can lay claim to being the undisputed No. 1 station in the country.

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Inauspicious Start for Revamped Kapamilya Gold

Despite tremendous hype surrounding the return of Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin to ABS-CBN, ‘Flordeliza’ failed to make an impact against its counterpart ‘The Half-Sisters’ on its first week. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)

ABS-CBN’s new-look Kapamilya Gold is off to a slow start.

Ratings from the network’s trusted source Kantar Media showed that last Monday’s pilot episodes of ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ registered a paltry 9.7 and 8.9% figures, respectively. On the other hand, GMA Afternoon Prime counterparts ‘The Half-Sisters’ and ‘Yagit’ earned better marks of 14.9% and 11.6%.

The two shows’ ratings also failed to improve following last Tuesday’s episodes. ‘Flordeliza’ earned an 8.2% mark against ‘The Half-Sisters” 15.5%, while ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ managed a 7.9% rating opposite ‘Yagit”s 11.9%.

And following last Wednesday’s episodes, ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ garnered ratings of 9% and 8.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, ‘The Half-Sisters’ and ‘Yagit’ fared much better with 14.8% and 12.3%.

The struggle has been all too real for Kapamilya Gold. Since ‘Moon of Desire’ ended its run in August, the afternoon block has been on the decline, both in terms of quality and in viewership.

From mid-August to mid-January, ABS-CBN did not produce any local teleseryes for the said block. The vacant slot in between ‘It’s Showtime’ and the News and Current Affairs programs was first filled in by the ill-fated telenovela ‘Ana Manuela’, followed by the movie block ‘Kapamilya Blockbusters’.

The lack of local teleseryes clearly took its toll on Kapamilya Gold. As a result, Afternoon Prime retook control in the ratings, led by the top-rated ‘The Half-Sisters’, and never looked back.

It is clear that both ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ have a lot more work to do in order to match, let alone surpass the ratings of their rivals. The hype surrounding the two shows is undeniable, but unless they back it up with an improved ratings performance, all that hype will go to waste.

That said, it is up to the executives at ABS-CBN to make some improvements for Kapamilya Gold. They are undoubtedly the No. 1 television network today, but it doesn’t mean they are invincible with this weakness.

Note: ‘Flordeliza’ and ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’ will be bumped to earlier timeslots in order to make way for the Koreanovela ‘Fated to Love You’, starting today.

Last Minute Change for ‘Once Upon a Kiss’; GMA’s Need for a ‘Second Chance’

GMA management is once again at the forefront of last-minute changes.

The latest of these moves took place Monday night, as ‘Once Upon a Kiss’ was placed after ‘More Than Words’ on GMA’s Telebabad block. Prior to the late switch, ‘Once Upon a Kiss’ was scheduled to premiere after ’24 Oras’.

Despite the last-minute change in schedule, the pilot episode of ‘Once Upon a Kiss’ still failed to impress viewers. The teleserye only managed a 15.2% rating against the 23.6 % of ABS-CBN’s ‘Forevermore’, according to Kantar.

That said, the series starring Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix will have a lot more work to do if they want to get past the increasingly popular tandem of Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano. Considering the momentum that ‘Forevermore’ generated from day one, it will be a daunting task for the former to overcome.

Meanwhile, the long-overdue premiere of ‘Second Chances’ will take place this Monday. The series had been scheduled to air back in November, but GMA postponed its premiere in hopes of making a splash for the new year.

As seen in the teasers released by the network, the series tells the story of four different individuals whose lives will change by way of a traumatizing event. Portraying these life-changing characters are Jennylyn Mercado, Camille Prats, Raymart Santiago and Rafael Rosell.

‘Second Chances’ has been in production since early August, and was intended to replace ‘Ilustrado’ on Telebabad back in November. But due to some last minute programming changes, the series premiere was postponed until the early part of 2015.

Now that ‘Second Chances’ finally gets its due, it will be interesting to see how a story of inspiration and determination fare against one featuring infidelity and jealousy. Its pilot week will be against the hot-as-lava ‘Two Wives’, who has thoroughly dominated the former’s predecessor ‘Hiram na Alaala’ for the most part.

That said, GMA now hopes to have a second chance of their own. A traumatizing event like low ratings, declining revenue and front office mismanagement are definitely worth overcoming, but unless GMA finds a way to make a second chance, they will again find themselves on the losing end of ABS-CBN’s dominance.

‘Second Chances’ premieres this Monday after ‘Once Upon a Kiss’ on GMA Telebabad.

‘More Than Words’ Demoted with Premiere of ‘Once Upon a Kiss’

GMA Telebabad’s first salvo of the year comes with yet another timeslot change for one of their current teleseryes.

‘More Than Words’, starring Janine Gutierrez and Elmo Magalona, will have a new timeslot later tonight. This will give way to a new drama series starring another young love team in Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali.

Titled ‘Once Upon a Kiss’, the series revolves around a young girl’s unexpected kiss from a coma-stricken boy. From then on, the two would try to forge their love for each other amid their families’ constant quarrels.

‘Once Upon a Kiss’ will replace ‘Strawberry Lane’ on Telebabad’s lineup, but it will not be placed on the latter’s most recent timeslot. Instead, it will be placed on ‘Strawberry Lane”s original timeslot, one that was later taken over by ‘More Than Words’ until last Friday’s episode.

For ‘More Than Words’, the timeslot change had something to do with its performance. In both Kantar and AGB Nielsen, ‘More Than Words’ was thoroughly outclassed by ABS-CBN’s ‘Dream Dad’, which ironically featured Elmo’s older sister Maxene Magalona.

A new timeslot for ‘More Than Words’ would have breathed new life and a sense of relief for the struggling series. However, the series’ newest opponent is no slouch either, as ‘Forevermore’, starring Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano, has been on a roll since premiering in October.

That said, ‘More Than Words’ will have a huge mountain to climb, considering the unexpected success of ‘Forevermore’ and the Liza-Quen love team.

As for ‘Once Upon a Kiss’, their first hurdle won’t be easy either. ‘Dream Dad’, led by Zanjoe Marudo and Jana Agoncillo, is also very successful in its own right, and it will be a daunting task to see how far Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix will take their partnership to new heights.

‘Once Upon a Kiss’ premieres tonight after ’24 Oras’, followed by ‘More Than Words’ on GMA Telebabad.

Be Careful’s Rivals Revisited (Part III)

Since debuting in April 2013, ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ gave ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ an even tougher challenge. (Photo credit: Eat Bulaga official Twitter)

‘Be Careful with My Heart’, ABS-CBN’s long-running ‘kiligserye’ series, ends this Friday, November 28. As a tribute to its unexpected success and longevity, From the Tube will look back at ‘Be Careful”s rivals and their performance against the said late morning drama series.

After vanquishing rivals ‘Kusina Master’ and ‘Cielo de Angelina’, it seems like no one can stop the reign of ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ in the late-morning slot.

And for much of February and March 2013, it appeared that GMA has already given up facing ‘Be Careful’, as old movies via the ‘Kapuso Movie Festival’ took over the timeslot opposite the aforementioned ‘kilig-serye’.

But on April 1, an episode of ‘Eat Bulaga’ gave GMA some glimmer of hope.

On that episode, host Vic Sotto gave child star Ryzza Mae Dizon a memorable and extremely special gift. That reward came in the form of a microphone and a new show called ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’.

A week later, then seven-year-old Ryzza and her eponymous talk show would make its much-awaited debut on the Kapuso network, opposite none other than ‘Be Careful with My Heart’.

As expected, the pilot episode of ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ had a shaky start, posting ratings of 11.7 and 17.5% according to Kantar and AGB Nielsen, respectively. On the other hand, ‘Be Careful’ posted numbers of 24.4 and 23.4%.

Despite the slow start, it was clear that ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ was holding its own against ‘Be Careful with My Heart’. Even though ratings of 10% or better remain a regular occurrence, the show was able to last longer than either ‘Kusina Master’ or ‘Cielo de Angelina’, simply because GMA and producer TAPE, Inc. kept its faith on Ryzza and her growing talents.

With ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ providing a tougher-than-expected challenge, ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ tried to find new ways to increase their ratings. In November 2013, the wedding of Maya (Jodi Sta. Maria) and Ser Chief (Richard Yap) gave ‘Be Careful’ an impressive 27.2% rating, but the show’s ratings soon declined below 20% as audiences grew tired of its slow and dragging storyline.

While ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ was unable to beat ‘Be Careful with My Heart’, it did give the latter fits. The fact that viewers grew uninterested on the latter may have provided a bit of a spark on the former, as evidenced by the shrinking gap in the ratings of both programs.

Having said that, it was a big achievement for ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ to last over a year. The talk show may have not been victorious, but at least it gave audiences a new reason to watch.

As for ‘Be Careful with My Heart’, the two-year ride ends this Friday. With that, From the Tube wishes the show the best of luck.

‘Give Love on Christmas’, a three-week Christmas special, premieres on December 1 on the soon-to-be vacated timeslot of ‘Be Careful with My Heart’.

Be Careful’s Rivals Revisited (Part II)

In October 2012, GMA responded to ‘Be Careful with My Heart”s success with ‘Cielo de Angelina’, but it failed to even make a dent in the ratings. (Title card courtesy of GMA Network)

‘Be Careful with My Heart’, ABS-CBN’s long-running ‘kiligserye’ series, ends this Friday, November 28. As a tribute to its unexpected success and longevity, From the Tube will look back at ‘Be Careful”s rivals and their performance against the said late morning drama series.

In just its third month on the air, ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ emerged as the most-watched morning program in the Philippines, with consistent ratings of over 20%. The surprising success of the series left rival GMA, in particular ‘Be Careful”s then-opponent ‘Kusina Master’, stunned.

As a result, GMA decided to counter with a morning drama of their own. Their response came in the form of a drama series starring emerging teen stars Bea Binene and Jake Vargas.

That series became known as ‘Cielo de Angelina’, and it made its debut on October 22, 2012.

On its pilot episode, ‘Cielo de Angelina’ registered a decent 10.2 and 11.8%, according to Kantar and AGB Nielsen, respectively. On the other hand, ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ earned monster ratings of 23.1 and 22.9%.

From the beginning, it was clear that ‘Cielo de Angelina’ would be no match for ‘Be Careful with My Heart. Soon after, single-digit ratings became a regular occurrence for the former, and by November 12, GMA has had enough.

After registering paltry ratings of 8 and 8.8% on the November 9 episode, GMA decided to demote ‘Cielo de Angelina’ to an earlier timeslot in favor of ‘Kusina Master’. However, the change of schedule failed to turn the tide for the struggling show, thanks in large part to the entry of ‘Masterchef Pinoy Edition’.

With ‘Cielo de Angelina”s struggles taking its toll on GMA’s morale, the Kapuso network decided to pull the plug, and on January 4, 2013, the series was finally cancelled.

In fairness to the Kapuso network, ‘Cielo de Angelina’ was not a bad attempt, in a way that it further exposes Bea Binene and Jake Vargas to a more serious type of acting. But it was a series that GMA should have never done in the morning slot, not against a more light-hearted ‘Be Careful with My Heart’.

Meanwhile, ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ continued to dominate its timeslot, leading to another demotion on the part of ‘Kusina Master’. After that, from February 18 to April 5, the series would find itself without an opponent, as GMA aired old movies via its ‘Kapuso Movie Festival’ block.

It didn’t take long for GMA to find another rival for ‘Be Careful with My Heart’. This time around, they enlisted the help of TAPE, Inc. boss Malou Choa-Fagar in creating their latest late-morning program, one that is unlike any other in television history.

Tomorrow on Part III, From the Tube will look back at ‘Be Careful with My Heart”s final, and by far its most formidable rival, ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’.