On July 27, Kapamilya Channel reformatted their lineup by including two flagship newscasts: TV Patrol and The World Tonight. The inclusion of both shows signal a new start for the channel, which was initially programmed as a mere interim replacement for the mothership ABS-CBN.

In this new installment of the Schedule Suggestions series, we’ll try to deconstruct the current one and construct what we think is the best possible lineup of shows for the station.

Background

Having been launched more than a month ago, Kapamilya Channel was first envisioned to be home to ABS-CBN properties and shows that were affected by the May 5 shutdown. Then, it primarily screened only affected entertainment shows like It’s Showtime, ASAP Natin ‘To, and Ang Probinsyano. For its news component, it only had TeleRadyo and a special 30-minute edition News Patrol which only aired exclusively on weekdays.

However, with the new schedule effective July 27, TV Patrol and TV Patrol Weekend were ‘transferred’ from CineMo (well, that’s basically because CM aired TVP for the last time on the channel last Friday before its move to KC). That’s outside the fact that it still remains to be on simulcast at TeleRadyo and ANC.

Another shocker in this new lineup is the addition of a replay of The World Tonight every 10pm. For the ‘batang ’90s’, it certainly is a nod to the pre-2000s schedule that ABS-CBN had, where TWT is a cornerstone every 10 o’clock before it was moved to ANC when the network shifted to the now traditional Filipino-language late night newscasts.

The new sched also is trailblazing in its own right by including Thai BL (boy love) series 2gether every weeknight after TWT. The show has now officially become the very first TBL drama on Philippine TV when it started airing on July 27.

Now, we shall take a look at the current weekday lineup of Kapamilya Channel

Weekdays

2:00am – Movie Central Presents

5:30am – Kapamilya Daily Mass

6:00am – TeleRadyo

8:00am – Magandang Buhay

9:30am – Familiar Wife

10:00am – Kapamilya Blockbusters

12:00nn – It’s Showtime

2:30pm – Love Thy Woman

3:15pm – The General’s Daughter

4:00pm – Kapamilya Gold Hits

5:45pm – Meteor Garden (2018)

6:30pm – TV Patrol

8:00pm – FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano

8:40pm – The World of a Married Couple

9:20pm – A Soldier’s Heart

10:00pm – The World Tonight

10:30pm – 2gether: The Series

11:30pm – PBB Balikbahay

12:30am – O Shopping (Tue-Sat)

1:30am – The King is in Love (Tue-Sat)

In this lineup, it would be considered nitpicking (even a downright unpopular opinion) to say that the primetime entertainment shows after TV Patrol should’ve at least extended until 11pm or even 12mn. But to set things straight, it should have become like that. No offense, but by putting TWT to its spiritual time of 10 on what is now considered to be the mothership of all ABS-CBN channels, is like breaking the momentum. Instead, like the usual Primetime Bida, it could be pushed further into the night or late-night, considering that it is only a replay of the 9pm bulletin at ANC, which in turn is also a pay TV channel like Kapamilya.

This is how the weekday lineup could be reimagined:

2:00am – Movie Central Presents

5:30am – Kapamilya Daily Mass

6:00am – TeleRadyo

8:00am – Magandang Buhay

9:30am – Kapamilya Blockbusters

11:30am – Familiar Wife

12:00nn – It’s Showtime

2:30pm – Love Thy Woman

3:15pm – The General’s Daughter

4:00pm – Kapamilya Gold Hits

5:45pm – Meteor Garden (2018)

6:30pm – TV Patrol

8:00pm – FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano

8:45pm – The World of a Married Couple

9:30pm – A Soldier’s Heart

10:15pm – 2gether: The Series

11:00pm – PBB Balikbahay

12:00mn – The World Tonight (replay) (Tue-Sat)

12:30am – The King is in Love (Tue-Sat)

1:00am – O Shopping (Tue-Sat)

In this reimagined lineup, a rather simple realignment of shows. TWT’s replay on Kapamilya Channel can now be mirrored on the allotted recap timeslot of the show over at ANC. Furthermore, putting O Shopping before an entertainment show again is like breaking the momentum, which turns out to be the same vibe that we’re getting with TWT at 10. Though we understand that this could be some sort of an experiment for the cabler.

Weekends

The weekend lineup posted on the Kapamilya Channel’s main website remains largely unchanged since launch, except that it’s waiting to be updated to include TV Patrol Weekend which will only begin airing on the channel this weekend.

With that, we have to wait and see first on what they have to offer. Which means that it is a topic for another opinion piece.