BACK FOR GOOD?
On 13 June, ABS-CBN presented its new face via a branded, familiar name and channel, the Kapamilya Channel, seen on cable and satellite TV
As this column predicted earlier this year, ABS-CBN will be back, one way or another. The media giant is, well, too big to be easily obliterated into oblivion.
On 13 June, ABS-CBN presented its new face via a branded, familiar name and channel, the Kapamilya Channel, seen on cable and satellite TV.
As expected, its return trended on social media sites, notably on Twitter with the hashtags #KapamilyaChannel and #ShowtimeMagkaisayahan, the latter referring to the first post-ECQ episode of its flagship noontime variety show.
Many fans of the network helped propel these hashtags to the top of the Twitter trend list, with many smirking and gloating at their supposed common enemies — the National Telecommunications Commission, which issued the network its cease and desist order on 5 May; and the officials whom they alleged are the “marionettes” marching to orders of a powerful and vengeful official.
The newly minted channel is carried by the affiliated SkyCable, as well cable provider Cablelink and most member-cable operators of the Philippine Cable Television Association; direct-to-home satellite service provider GSat Direct TV; and ABS-CBN’s streaming sites iWant and TFC Online (for Filipinos abroad).
In its various social media platforms, ABS-CBN describes Kapamilya Channel as “a 24-hour channel which will air programs produced and acquired by ABS-CBN.”
Return of hit shows
The daytime and nighttime blocks are packed with familiar shows which were either past hits or were fan favorites before the lockdown. Aside from It’s Showtime, the Sunday musical show, ASAP Natin ‘To and the reality singing show, The Voice Teens, are airing in almost the same timeslots where they used to air on free TV. Ditto for the morning talk show, Magandang Buhay.
Two new Korean shows on marriage and relationships are premiering on the channel, the fantasy romance Familiar Wife, and the thrilling infidelity drama The World of a Married Couple.
It’s their roster of dramas, ABS-CBN’s major source of bread and butter, which has seen a jumbling of schedules, except for its unbeatable, long-running cop drama, Ang Probinsyano, which airs at 8 p.m. The revenge-family-romance drama Love Thy Woman and the drama A Soldier’s Heart, which were both airing when lockdown halted productions in mid-March, also return in new time slots, at 2:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, respectively. Only the melodrama-romance Make It With You did not return to TV, much to the dismay of its huge young adult fanbase courtesy of its leads, Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil. But their fans should fret not, as ABS-CBN, the seasoned strategist and moneymaker, is reportedly cooking up a new show for them.
One of its directors, Theodore Boborol, explained on Twitter why the other three shows were able to return.
“The returning dramas have multiple episodes already in the can even before the pandemic hit,” he replied to the fan query on 5 June.
Production resumes
What’s curious to note is how Probinsyano, Love Thy Woman and A Soldier’s Heart will be able to tape their episodes given that most local shows practice the shoot-now-air-later formula. ABS-CBN said that these programs that have resumed production are done “under strict safety protocols.”
In a report by ABS-CBN’s senior entertainment reporter Mario Dumaual, Lorna Tolentino shared that Ang Probinsyano will observe a locked-in taping arrangement for one month in a resort in Batangas. The cast and crew will undergo rapid testing on 14 June before taping resumes the day after.
“Para kaming nasa Pinoy Big Brother, nakakulong sa bahay ni Cardo Dalisay (It’s like we’re all housed inside the Pinoy Big Brother, locked in inside the house of Cardo Dalisay, the show’s protagonist played by Coco Martin). So dapat all the way sa mga siguradong negative (sa COVID-19), ‘di na pwede lumabas! (All those who will test negative will not be allowed to go out),” the actress shared.
Lorna, who plays the cunning antagonist, First Lady Lily Ann Cortez-Hidalgo, told fans that their safety has been “assured” so that their sacrifices will be worth it.
Two new public affairs shows, Paano Kita Pasasalamatan and Iba ‘Yan, will premiere on Saturday and Sunday evening, respectively. These will be hosted by Judy Ann Santos and Angel Locsin, respectively. For now, the line-up is packed with rewinds of past shows like The General’s Daughter and Banana Sundae, and airing of blockbuster foreign and local movies.
ABS-CBN, however, has already started embracing its new “home,” by revealing that the Kapamilya Channel will debut its “first” teleserye titled Cara Y Cruz. This was revealed by the RSB Scripted Format, an ABS-CBN production unit, on 12 June, by posting the Zoom screenshot of the cast meeting on its Twitter account. The show will be headlined by the popular Loinie love team composed of Loisa Andalio and Ronnie Alonte as well as the TV comeback of controversial actress Julia Barretto. Other stars include Tony Labrusca, Barbie Imperial, Heaven Peralejo and Marco Gumabao.
It had been slated to premiere in ABS-CBN prior to the lockdown.
Possibilities
By the looks of it, ABS-CBN continues to grind even amid Senate inquiry on the renewal of its franchise. While it remains off free TV in the meantime, it has obviously thought of ways to make its presence known and remain relevant to its millions of viewers here and abroad, thanks to its diversified investments built through time in the last two decades.
While it remains off free TV in the meantime, it has obviously thought of ways to make its presence known and remain relevant to its millions of viewers here and abroad, thanks to its diversified investments built through time in the last two decades.
There are fresh talks that ABS-CBN has reached out to Manny V. Pangilinan. According to the bilyonaryo.com.ph story published on 13 June, its sources say the network wants to “rent a channel on the latter’s Cignal Cable” in the hopes of recovering its audience share and “stem the P35-million daily losses.” The article said the “talks between the Lopezes and Pangilinan were in the early stages.”
Similar reports surfaced in December of last year when Pangilinan was asked about being open to have ABS-CBN as a blocktimer for his network, which includes the free TV channel, TV5.
Well, if these talks will result in a favorable deal, ABS-CBN still wins over the many adversities it has faced these past few months. What’s even sweeter is if there will be a merging of talents and resources between two former rivals to form an even bigger talent pool and production capacity.
TV5 tried edging out the two leading networks in terms of entertainment content and production in the last 10 years. Will this be the chance for it to finally get back its footing when it used to be one of the top free TV channels in the 90s along with GMA-7, ABS-CBN and RPN-9?
If that happens, ABS-CBN will have the last laugh, and TV fans will be the merriest of them all.