After airing ‘ASAP,’ is an expanded partnership with ABS-CBN possible? TV5’s MVP answers
Is an expanded TV5-ABS-CBN partnership possible? Is it only a matter of time before we see other ABS-CBN programs on TV5?
These are the questions many fans and followers of the Kapamilya Network are asking, after ABS-CBN’s variety show “ASAP Natin ‘To” aired on TV5 on Sunday, Jan. 24.
Stars of other ABS-CBN shows such as Vice Ganda of “It’s Showtime” and the hosts of the morning show “Magandang Buhay” also made appearances on the Jan. 24 episode of “ASAP Natin “To.” Could that be a sign that these shows will also be seen on TV5 in the near future?
It’s too soon to say, said TV5 Network Inc. and Cignal TV chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.
Before a more expansive partnership could happen between the two networks, there are still many things to consider, said Pangilinan in an interview with The Philippine Star.
“Hence too early to give a clear picture,” Pangilinan was quoted as saying.
The partnership between the two networks happened after Brightlight Productions announced that it was halting the production of three Sunday shows it was airing on TV5—the variety show "Sunday Noontime Live" with Piolo Pascual and Maja Salvador, the drama "I Got You" with RK Bagatsing and Beauty Gonzales, and the gag show "Sunday Kada."
“ASAP Natin To” replaced “Sunday Noontime Live” on the timeslot it vacated.
Brightlight Productions is a blocktimer on TV5, which means it bought air time to independently produce programs for the network.
It is currently producing three more shows on TV5: the comedy "Oh My Dad" starring Ian Veneracion, the newsmagazine program "Rated K" with Korina Sanchez, and the daily noontime show “Lunch Out Loud.”
Will these shows remain on air or will they follow the fate of "Sunday Noontime Live" and its ilk?
In an interview with The Philippine Star’s Ricky Lo, published on Tuesday, Jan. 26, Albee Benitez, chairman and CEO of Brightlight Production, said that his existing programs on TV5, at the very least, should be on air until March.
This is because their contract with TV5 is valid until March. Hence, they own the airtime until then. The three programs, Benitez told Lo, also have a budget that is “three times lower than that of Sunday Noontime Live.”
“Let’s wait and see,” Benitez said when asked if he will “sustain” Brightlight Productions when their contract with TV5 expires in March.
Benitez admitted that "Sunday Noontime Live" was losing money, which was the reason why he pulled the plug on it.
“Every week, they would update me on the rating. The premiere episode was okay, mataas ang rating but it started to go down. They told me that it was a fluke, that it usually takes six months to make a profit. They saw the revenue, they saw the ratings, they saw everything. Ang hirap naman that we would continue and keep on losing money. Masakit naman ‘yon! You are spending big money and it’s not earning anything, and you are paying everybody pa,” he said.
Benitez added: “I followed everything in the contract. The natural provision in any contract is that if a business enterprise is losing money, kapag nalulugi na and it will not recover, you try to cut the losses and save it.”