Tag Archives: Vice Ganda

drama, entertainment, Philippines, television

Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko and Ika-5 Utos Falter Despite Swapping Timeslots

It’s just another blunder for the much-maligned GMA Afternoon Prime.

Despite a change in timeslots, the performance of ‘Ika-5 Utos’ did not change drastically. The series continues to falter in the ratings, with ‘Ika-5 Utos’ averaging only 12% compared to 17% for ‘Kadenang Ginto’.

Even ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’, the series that took over ‘Ika-5 Utos” previous timeslot, is underachieving as well. Its premiere episode last October 22 managed only an 11.2% rating compared to 16.7% for ‘It’s Showtime’.

‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko”s first foray into Saturday afternoons was somewhat respectable, as it came within 2.1% of ‘It’s Showtime”s rating last October 28. However, the following Saturday’s episode felt like a repeat of the weekday episodes performance-wise as ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ fell to 10.7% whereas ‘It’s Showtime’ rose to 18.1%.

So far, ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ averages only 11% while ‘It’s Showtime’ scores at around 17%. To their credit, though, the ratings disparity between the weekday and Saturday episodes is not as drastic compared to its previous occupant ‘Ika-5 Utos’.

Still, it did not change the fact that GMA continues to wear its viewers down with a six-a-week teleserye. They tried it successfully with ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, but after that, it grew stale.

Let’s face it, pitting a teleserye against Vice Ganda and company is an exercise in futility. And considering how strong ‘It’s Showtime’ is right now, GMA is making themselves pay for this risk-or-reward move.

While it’s still too early to judge ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’, its poor start may have set the tone for yet another underachieving GMA Afternoon Prime drama. Unless it turns things around like what happened to ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, GMA may as well cut short ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ if it continues that way.

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entertainment, Philippines, talk show, television

No Longer Trending: Has Gandang Gabi Vice Reached the Twilight?

Seems like ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ has gone past its prime.

Once one of ABS-CBN’s most popular programs on Sundays, ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ is now merely fighting to stay relevant. Recent episodes showed that ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ only averages an 8% rating in Kantar, a far cry from its highest-rated episode on May 6, 2013 when it scored 23.7%.

Much of ‘Gandang Gabi Vice”s sudden decline is blamed on its exceedingly late timeslot. In the past, the show aired at around 10:00 or 10:15 p.m., but nowadays it is seen at around 10:50 or 11:00 p.m.

A late timeslot like that can take a toll on the viewers, especially if they have work or school for tomorrow. So much for sticking around.

‘Gandang Gabi Vice”s later-than-usual broadcast has something to do with ABS-CBN’s insistence to air a second talent/reality show on weekend primetime. Unfortunately, such an unforgiving formula is too much to take for the average viewer, as the current program ‘I Can See Your Voice’ is not even an impact player at this point.

Making matters worse for ABS-CBN is the fact that rival GMA program ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’ is becoming more ‘trending’ than ever with unusual stories that would leave the audience astonished. And it helped that GMA allowed the show to air for two hours to keep viewers invested.

GMA’s extension of ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’ is not by accident. Mainly due to Vice Ganda’s constant torment of its rivals to the point that GMA cancelled said shows without warning, the network decided to let Jessica Soho occupy that additional hour instead.

So far, it has worked. Not only did ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’ lured a chunk of ABS-CBN’s audience away, it also unintentionally led to the ratings decline that ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ faces to this day.

This Sunday, ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ will feature newly-signed Kapamilya Regine Velasquez as its guest. But it remains to be seen if the show will recapture its glory days.

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drama, entertainment, Philippines, television

GMA’s Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko Looks to Make Saturdays Relevant Anew

As stubborn as they come.

Even in a losing cause GMA continues to defy the norm. Their insistence comes in the form of one afternoon drama that airs from Monday to Saturday.

Initially they only used this formula for ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, by far their most successful afternoon drama in the recent past. But later dramas such as ‘Contessa’ and ‘Ika-5 Utos’ proved to be flukes as neither show was able to keep viewers tuned in six times a week.

And after only 36 episodes, GMA demoted ‘Ika-5 Utos’ to a later timeslot to make way for yet another ‘kabitserye’. As far as the new series ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ is concerned, there is no need to explain, not even the story itself.

(Spoiler alert: one of the lead characters is a gay man who underwent sexual reassignment surgery ala Jake Zyrus to become a woman)

For those who still want to check in on the plot, just click this link. Enough said.

Anyway, ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ will be led by Kris Bernal, Rayver Cruz, Thea Tolentino and Jason Abalos. The supporting cast will include Lotlot de Leon, Devon Seron, Annalyn Barro, Caprice Cayetano, Jean Saburit, Ricardo Cepeda, Maricris Garcia, Matthias Rhoads, and Phil Noble.

While ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ has some recognizable names and an intriguing yet familiar storyline, the challenge now for the show is its ability to keep viewers glued to their seats from Monday to Saturday. Considering its opponent is ‘It’s Showtime’, it is not going to be an easy task, especially on Saturdays.

That said, GMA can only hope that ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ will give Vice Ganda and company a lot more than they can chew. If not, then it will not be a surprise to see GMA demote this series and try a new strategy every Saturday.

Directed by Mark Sicat dela Cruz, ‘Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko’ airs every Monday to Saturday after ‘Eat Bulaga’ on GMA.

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drama, entertainment, Philippines, television

Demoted: Ika-5 Utos to Move to Second Slot of Afternoon Prime

After only 36 episodes, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ will move to a new timeslot next week and will no longer air on Saturdays as it continues to underachieve in the ratings. (Photo credit: GMA Network)

Talk about ending a relationship before it even started.

Starting Monday, October 23, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ will air in the second slot of GMA’s Afternoon Prime to make way for the upcoming series ‘Karibal Ko ang Asawa Ko’ (more on that later this week). The series will take over the timeslot that will be vacated by ‘The Stepdaughters’.

‘Ika-5 Utos’ was initially placed in the leadoff slot of Afternoon Prime when it first premiered last September 10. The spiritual successor of the successful ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, many expected ‘Ika-5 Utos’ to be as competitive and as formidable as its sister series.

Instead, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ never lived up to the hype. Its premiere episode only scored 10% while ‘It’s Showtime’ managed 16.2%.

From that point forward, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ barely hit the 10% mark in some of its episodes while ‘It’s Showtime’ scored around 15% or better. However, things only got worse once Saturday arrived.

On average, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ only scored 6% less than ‘It’s Showtime’ every Saturday; in contrast, its weekday episodes average 4-5% less. Considering these factors, it is clear that viewer fatigue is starting to set in and they grew disinterested with another episode on Saturdays.

Overall, ‘Ika-5 Utos’ will have aired 36 episodes by the time the show moves to a new timeslot next week. The good news for the series moving forward is that there will be no more Saturday episodes, a day in which ‘Ika-5 Utos’ tends to underachieve more.

It will also mean a new opponent for ‘Ika-5 Utos’. Instead of getting humiliated by Vice Ganda, the series will now have to face Beauty Gonzalez, Dimples Romana, Adrian Alandy and Albert Martinez of ‘Kadenang Ginto’.

But this does not mean the end of ‘Ika-5 Utos” troubles. If the pilot episode is of any indication, then ‘Kadenang Ginto’ could become a difficult hurdle for ‘Ika-5 Utos’ to overcome.

Next week will be a new place and a new time scenario for ‘Ika-5 Utos’. But can a change of scenery help ‘Ika-5 Utos’ reverse its fortunes?

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drama, entertainment, Philippines, television

The Stepdaughters, One Last Time

‘Asintado”s chief rival will call it a day.

On Friday, GMA’s ‘The Stepdaughters’ will air its final episode. This series, starring Megan Young and Katrina Halili as rivals-turned-stepsisters, enjoyed a long run but was essentially overshadowed by the success of its archrival ‘Asintado’.

‘The Stepdaughters’ first aired on February 12, 2018. The premise of the series was of two women who became rivals via the makeup business: one who is already established in the industry and the other with aspirations of entering said business.

Later on, Mayumi (Megan) and Isabelle (Katrina) became stepsisters when Mayumi’s mother married Isabelle’s father. Mayumi also fell in love with Francis (Mikael Daez), even as Isabelle tried to win his trust.

While ‘The Stepdaughters’ managed to air 178 episodes by the end of its run, the series’ overall performance suggests that it should have been winning on a consistent basis. Instead, ‘The Stepdaughters’ ran into a brick wall in Julia Montes, whose afternoon series ‘Asintado’ won by an average of 4% in the ratings.

But ‘Asintado’ is not the only show that gave ‘The Stepdaughters’ a lot of trouble. In most afternoons, ‘The Stepdaughters’ was aired against ‘It’s Showtime’ and likewise could not keep up with Vice Ganda and company.

‘The Stepdaughters” final two weeks saw the show go up against a new ‘kabitserye’ in ‘Kadenang Ginto’. So far, ‘Kadenang Ginto’ proved to be just as strong an adversary for ‘The Stepdaughters’, as seen by its 4.8% ratings advantage in its pilot episode last week.

Regardless of its shortcomings, ‘The Stepdaughters’ proved that it can keep up with the best that ABS-CBN has to offer. Notwithstanding the lack of victories in the ratings, GMA should be more than pleased with the way ‘The Stepdaughters’ battled until the end.

This week will see the conclusion of one of GMA’s most underrated series. One can only hope that ‘The Stepdaughters’ will exit with a bang and leave a lasting impression to its audience.

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drama, entertainment, Philippines, television

Kadenang Ginto: Golden Opportunity or Golden Letdown?

Welcome to the ‘better late than never’ era of Kapamilya Gold.

Gone are the days when the block starts at 3:20 p.m. as soon as ‘It’s Showtime’ ended. These days, Vice Ganda and his big mouth are the main attraction for over half the afternoon while Kapamilya Gold could only helplessly watch as they were pushed back by 30 minutes.

While the ratings of Kapamilya Gold remain excellent despite the late start time, an upcoming series or two could derail whatever momentum this block had attained. Over the next two weeks, Kapamilya Gold will have two new programs in store, and one of them is already feeling the pressure.

This early, ‘Kadenang Ginto’ is hard-pressed to fill the void left by ‘Asintado’. The series, which will be led by Albert Martinez, Dimples Romana, Adrian Alandy and Beauty Gonzalez, lacked the star power of ‘Asintado’, and while the four are already accomplished actors they are still supporting player material in the eyes of viewers.

‘Kadenang Ginto tells the story of Romina (Beauty), Carlos (Adrian), Robert (Albert) and Daniela (Dimples). Both Romina and Carlos are initially engaged to one another, but after Romina is raped by an unknown man, Carlos breaks up with her and worse, the rape incident results in Romina bearing a child.

Romina then finds refuge and true love in Robert, the owner of the company she works for; Romina’s child Cassandra (Francine Diaz) is then adopted legally by Robert. However, Robert’s daughter Daniela disapproves of their relationship and accuses Romina of being a gold digger.

Eventually Daniela leaves her family behind, falls in love with Carlos and bears a child named Margaret (Andrea Brillantes). This leads to a blood feud between her and Romina for the right to inherit Robert’s wealth.

Also part of ‘Kadenang Ginto’ are Eula Valdez, Ronnie Lazaro, Luke Conde, Nikko Natividad, Adrian Lindayag, Kat Galang, and Savannah Rosales. The series will be directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng.

Come this Monday ‘Kadenang Ginto’ should have its hands full in keeping viewers to their seats. It will be interesting to see how this new series plays out, so good luck.

‘Kadenang Ginto’ airs weekdays after ‘It’s Showtime’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

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