TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ Revisited

‘Wow Mali’, now under the ‘Lakas ng Tama’ tagline, is one of three ‘Weekend Do It Better’ programs on TV5 that are still on the air today. (Title card courtesy of TV5)

It’s been over a year since TV5 decided to change the network’s programming approach.

Under the leadership of president Noel Lorenzana, the Kapatid network overhauled its programming lineup in a way that it would favor a younger and a more active audience. These initiatives resulted in the ‘Weekend Do It Better’, ‘Everyday All the Way’ and ‘KBO: Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ blocks.

The first of these blocks debuted in September of last year. The first block, ‘Weekend Do It Better’, initially consisted of the following programs:

1. ‘Showbiz Police’
2. ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’
3. ‘Killer Karaoke: Pinoy Naman’
4. ‘What’s Up Doods?’
5. ‘Pinoy Explorer’
6. ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’
7. ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’
8. ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’

Of the eight, only ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’ (now ‘Tropa Mo Ko Nice Di Ba’), ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ and ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’ (now ‘Wow Mali Lakas ng Tama’) remain on the air. The three shows were the only ‘Weekend Do It Better’ stalwarts to survive TV5’s most recent transformation, that of the ‘Happy Ka Dito’ era, and their success and viewer loyalty were a testament to that.

On the other hand, ‘What’s Up Doods?’ and ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’ were cancelled just before the end of last year due to low viewership numbers. Then in the first half of this year, ‘Showbiz Police’, ‘Pinoy Explorer’ and ‘Killer Karaoke: Pinoy Naman’ were also cancelled, with the first two having moved to new timeslots in the middle of their run.

The ‘Weekend Do It Better’ title would be deemphasized by February 2014, but in the minds of the Kapatid network, it was only the beginning of further experimentation and constant rebuilding. New programs would be unveiled within the next few months, with the hope of making TV5’s weekend lineup even more formidable.

Today, the experiment continues, but for TV5, ‘Weekend Do It Better’ marked the start of bigger and brighter things for the still-No. 3 network, one that would carry them for the next few years.

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The Weekend Shuffle on ABS-CBN, GMA and TV5

The return of ABS-CBN’s ‘The Buzz’ last Sunday left Toni Gonzaga (left) with four programs on the same day. As a result of the over-exposure, Toni’s sitcom ‘Home Sweetie Home’ was moved to Saturday nights.

Just in time for the homestretch of summer, the ‘Big Three’ networks made noticeable changes in their weekend lineup. But while GMA and TV5 made a few tweaks, ABS-CBN decided to clean house and revamp theirs.

Last Sunday, ‘The Buzz’ made a grand return to ABS-CBN. However, one of the program’s hosts, Toni Gonzaga, had three other shows on Sundays; namely ‘ASAP’, ‘Home Sweetie Home’, and ‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’.

The addition of ‘The Buzz’ proved to be a case of overexposure for the host, and as a result, ABS-CBN decided to move one of her shows to another day. And ‘Home Sweetie Home’ proved to be the odd one out. However, another of ABS-CBN’s programs needed to move as well.

‘Home Sweetie Home’ was moved to Saturday nights, while ‘Wansapanatym’ was moved to Sunday nights. This is a homecoming of sorts for the latter, as it used to air on Sundays during its initial run in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Meanwhile, instead of facing Michael V’s highly-rated ‘Pepito Manaloto’, ‘Home Sweetie Home’ will now have to compete against Vic Sotto’s ‘Vampire ang Daddy Ko’ in its new timeslot.

On Saturday afternoons, both ‘Failon Ngayon’ and ‘SOCO: Scene of the Crime Operatives’ exchanged timeslots, with the former now airing at 4:00 p.m., and the latter at 4:45 p.m. Also in a few weeks’ time, ABS-CBN will bring back the legal drama series ‘Kapag May Katwiran, Ipaglaban Mo!’, which is expected to be placed on the timeslot preceding ‘Failon Ngayon’. And finally, ‘The Voice Kids’ debuted last night, and will air every weekend thereafter.

Over at GMA, the network started to air classic films via the ‘Kapuso Sine Klasika’ block. Like the old QTV program ‘Ginintuang Telon’, the movie block showcases films made during the 1950s and 1960s. It was placed in the early Sunday morning slot opposite religious programs such as the live Sunday TV Mass.

Meanwhile, GMA also decided to end its broadcast of Dr. Charles Stanley’s ‘In Touch Ministries’ after a six-year run, effective last April. This leaves ‘Jesus the Healer’ of the Jesus is Lord Movement as the network’s sole religious program on Sundays.

And over at TV5, Jasmine Curtis-Smith’s self-titled drama and suspense program will premiere next Sunday. ‘JasMINE’ is a series that revolves around Curtis and her rise to fame being threatened by a stalker named ‘Mascara’, whose role is to make things miserable for the young actress. The series was supposed to premiere in March, but due to the network’s decision to shorten the ongoing PBA season, its premiere was delayed for three months.

In addition to Curtis, Vin Abrenica, Matt Padilla, Carlo Orosa, Gerard Sison, Marvelous Alejo, Nicole Estrada, Cai Cortez, and Alwyn Uytingco will also play key roles in the series. ‘JasMINE’ the series is scheduled to premiere after ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’ this June 1.

To all the parties involved, good luck in trying to keep viewers happy with these programs.

By Popular Demand, More PBA Games on TV5

TV5 will now air at least seven live PBA games per week with the addition of a Monday playdate and the second game of a Saturday doubleheader.

After the highly successful broadcast of the Philippine Cup playoffs, the PBA and TV5 have agreed to make some changes to the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup schedule beginning today.

Mondays will now be a regular part of the PBA schedule, with a special Tuesday playdate scheduled for March 25. Previously the Monday and Tuesday playdates were utilized only when necessary and during the playoffs. But with the PBA already running behind schedule, and with preparation time a must for the Gilas players, the addition of a Monday playdate is an absolute necessity for the league to devote to the national cause.

In addition, TV5 will now air both doubleheaders on Saturdays, as opposed to only one during the Philippine Cup and early in the Commissioner’s Cup. As a result, TV5 will now have at least seven live games per week as opposed to only five in the original setup.

But while the Kapatid network will broadcast two games live on weekends, the original weekday format will remain the same, with only the second game airing live at 8:00 p.m., and the first game airing ‘via satellite’ at 11:10 p.m. AksyonTV will still carry all the games live.

Thanks to the addition of a second Saturday game, TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ schedule will now be as follows:

Saturdays

2:45 – PBA first game

4:45 – Aksyon Weekend

5:15 – PBA second game

7:15 – Tropa Mo Ko Unli

8:15 – Celebrity Dance Battle

9:15 – Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman

10:15 – Kaya

11:15 – SpinNation

Sundays

3:00 – PBA doubleheader

7:15 – Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

8:15 – Wow Mali Pa Rin

9:15 – Sunday Sineplex

10:45 – Juan Direction

11:15 – Pilipinas News

The PBA Commissioner’s Cup will be taking a break from April 3-6 to give way to the All-Star Game, which is expected to bring back the PBA All-Stars vs. Gilas format of the previous year. The single-round nine-game eliminations will end on April 20.

 

TV5’s Adjusted Weekend Do It Better Schedule This Week

Last week, the Saturday ‘Weekend Do It Better’ lineup on TV5 was moved an hour later due to the final episode of the controversial noontime variety show ‘Wowowillie‘. For this week, ‘Pinoy Explorer‘ will occupy the Saturday night lineup for one night only, while ‘Juan Direction’ makes its debut.

With the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals in progress, ‘Pinoy Explorer’ was preempted last Sunday to make way for Game 2 of that series. For this week, the program will be slotted to the Saturday night lineup, after ‘Showbiz Police’, and before ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’. Meanwhile, the new reality series ‘Juan Direction’ will make its long-awaited debut tonight at 10:00 p.m. The program will feature YouTube sensations and Fil-Brits Henry Edwards, Michael McDonnell, Charlie Sutcliffe, Daniel Marsh and Brian Wilson in a journey around the country, as they attempt to adjust and experience Filipino culture and society.

Here is how TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ will look this week:

Saturday, October 19

6:00 p.m. – ‘Showbiz Police’

7:00 p.m. – ‘Pinoy Explorer’

8:00 p.m. – ‘Tropa Mo Ko Unli’

9:00 p.m. – ‘Killer Karaoke‘

10:00 p.m. – ‘Juan Direction’

10:30 p.m. – ‘What’s Up, Doods?’

Sunday, October 20

4:30 p.m. – PBA Governors’ Cup Finals Game 5: San Mig Coffee Mixers vs. Petron Blaze Boosters

7:00 p.m. – ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’

8:00 p.m. – ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’

9:00 p.m. – ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’

TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ slot will return to its normal lineup for the week of October 26.

UPDATE: ‘Pinoy Explorer’ will now be seen every Saturday at 7:00 p.m., while ‘Juan Direction’ and ‘What’s Up, Doods?’ air starting at 10:00 p.m. As of now the vacated Sunday afternoon slot has yet to be filled, although it may appear that PBA games will air on this timeslot beginning this 2013-14 Philippine Cup.

Broadcasting Notes for the PBA, UAAP and NBA Global Games

The PBA Governors Cup Finals is set tomorrow, with the San Mig Coffee Mixers and Petron Blaze Boosters fighting for the tournament championship. The Finals will be seen live on TV5, a sign that with the network’s new programming shift comes the possibility of the PBA returning to the Kapatid network.

The start times for the Finals will be at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The earlier Sunday start time was made in order to not clash with TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ block which features ‘Pinoy Explorer‘, ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?‘, ‘Wow Mali Pa Rin’, and ‘The Mega and the Songwriter’. The games will be held at either the Mall of Asia Arena or the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Meanwhile, Game 3 of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Final between La Salle and UST will be seen this Saturday on ABS-CBN. The one-week break was initiated by ABS-CBN themselves, who felt that every potential clincher must be seen on the main Channel 2. Had the series ended on Wednesday, it would only be seen on Studio 23 due to Channel 2’s loaded afternoon lineup. And both the UAAP and ABS-CBN feel it’s the right call, after two of the last three clinchers were broadcast by UHF network Studio 23, with the 2011 clincher of Ateneo over FEU the only such game seen on ABS-CBN.

Game 3 will be at the Mall of Asia Arena, and SM management has placed stricter measures regarding ticket sales after the scalping issue that haunted Game 2. SM announced that limited SRO tickets will only be sold on game day at the MOA’s Marina booth, and only one person per ticket will be issued. The other tickets were taken care of by DLSU and UST.

And finally, the NBA Global Games in Manila tonight will be seen live on Basketball TV, NBA Premium TV and Studio 23. Replay times on BTV and NBA Premium TV can be seen on btv.com.ph.