Change should happen to the afternoon blocks of both Kapamilya Channel and A2Z sooner than later.
In late July this year, ABS-CBN’s noontime variety show It’s Showtime introduced a new game portion in Madlang Pi-poll. Originally, the segment only ran every Saturday, until it was eventually expanded as a daily game during the last enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in August. Alongside that, the program also began the Reina ng Tahanan pageant for mothers, with its grand finals set in late November. Taking over RNT is the long-running singing competition Tawag ng Tanghalan with its sixth season.
The jampacked state of IS has caused the program to be pushed earlier to begin at 11:55am. Despite that, however, the show still goes overtime. In most days, it ends past 3 o’clock, with the longest it’s ever been on a weekday it ended at around 3:20pm. Meanwhile, with regards to its Saturday edition, it once did almost finish at 4:00pm during the TNT season 5 finals, although that is quite understandable as it was considered a special edition.
To offset that, afternoon shows on Kapamilya Channel and A2Z normally cuts down airtime. But with the introduction of an earlier timeslot for Pinoy Big Brother this season, the problem became more evident.
Take the November 9th edition of Kumunity season 10 for example. The program was heavily cut during the initial telecast pre-TV Patrol, primarily due to the Showtime’s live broadcast on the same day ending at around 3:27pm. Meanwhile, the two succeeding shows post-Showtime, which are the reruns of Dolce Amore and Nang Ngumiti Ang Langit, had to cut off their ‘ang nakaraan’ (previous episode highlights). Still, it ultimately resulted to PBB airing at approximately 6:03pm.
Now that It’s Showtime has basically gone back to its old ways, how could ABS restructure their programming in the afternoons?
Option 1: Move It’s Showtime to an earlier slot and make it a permanent three-hour show
With It’s Showtime recent penchant, the management could consider moving it to 11:30am. Not only would that ease out the crowding in the afternoon block, but also breathe life to the ailing late-morning slot. Also, should this happen and IS is still promoted to end still at 2:30pm, an overtime of maximum 30 minutes would not result to much impact on other programming. But with Showtime’s broadcasts in recent months averaging at around 3 hours, the extension should suffice.
- 10:00am – A Love So Beautiful + Kapamilya Blockbusters (KapCha) / Zinema sa Umaga (A2Z)
- 11:30am – It’s Showtime
- 2:30pm – Drama (can be bumped up to 3:00pm)
- 3:15pm – Drama (can be bumped up to 3:30pm)
- 4:00pm – Kapamilya Gold Hits (KapCha) / Kidz Toontime (A2Z)
- 5:45pm – PBB Kumunity
Option 2: Slot one afternoon drama before Showtime instead
With the current set-up of Kapamilya Gold and A2Z carrying two dramas after Showtime no longer working, then another type of move must be considered. Why not slot one of those before the noontime show, while retaining the other in the afternoon instead?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, ABS-CBN used to air dramas in the late-mornings. Ironically, the last originally produced for the slot was Nang Ngumiti Ang Langit, while the Korean series Love in Sadness was technically the last one to ever air on May 5, 2020. With ABS not being a stranger to airing such, then the possibility of doing such can also be entertained.
Currently, both GMA and TV5 air late-morning dramas by way of foreign imports. For ABS, they could consider placing the replay of NNAL before Showtime (aka its original timeslot). Now, if NNAL ends, then ABS could pick an Asianovela from its rack and air on the said slot. Not that it would draw fare back to the network’s pre-noontime slot, but also help create momentum in both the morning and afternoon blocks.
However, for Kapamilya Channel, the rebroadcast of A Love So Beautiful can be moved elsewhere on the schedule or even Jeepney TV to accomodate such move. But it would be more plausible to air the show at 11:30, and be aired as the pre-program on both KapCha and A2Z. For NNAL, it could be the one given the slot on Jeepney TV, especially now that the Yey block on JTV also airs children-led dramas.
As for Showtime, it could be placed back to 12:00nn and permanently be extended to 3:15pm again. After which, one drama would be aired, with Kapamilya Gold Hits (KapCha) and KidZ Toontime (A2Z) taking over at 4:00 and end at 5:45pm. Now, if IS goes beyond the 195 minute airtime still, it would only be around 10-15 minutes at max, based on the approximate runtime November 9 edition. Therefore, minimal impact can be achieved here.
Here’s how it could look like
- 10:00am – Kapamilya Blockbusters (KapCha) / Zinema sa Umaga (A2Z)
- 11:25/11:30am – Drama
- 11:55am/12:00nn – It’s Showtime
- 3:15pm – Drama
- 4:00pm – Kapamilya Gold Hits (KapCha) / Kidz Toontime (A2Z)
- 5:45pm – PBB Kumunity
Option 3: Slight changes to current schedule
An alternative choice is to make Showtime a fixed three-and-half-hour program anew, but with not much changes to how things work in the program as of the moment. Because if the permanent time extension comes with an additional segment, then that would actually defeat the purpose. But the problem with such move lies in the fact that the ample airtime needed as a buffer should IS goes overtime is lost.
- 10:00am – A Love So Beautiful, with Kapamilya Blockbusters (KapCha) at 10:25am / Zinema sa Umaga (A2Z)
- 11:45am – It’s Showtime
- 3:15pm – Drama
- 3:45pm – Drama
- 4:15pm – Kapamilya Gold Hits (KapCha) / Kidz Toontime (A2Z)
- 5:45pm – PBB Kumunity
It’s Showtime can be moved 10 minutes earlier to start at 11:45am and be permanently extended to 3:15pm. By doing so, the program will gain roughly an hour’s worth of official airtime. Basing on today’s episode, that would mean IS ending just in the nick of time. Occurrences of the show going overtime might also be reduced to none.
To accomodate the change, drama programs post-Showtime would also have to be both permanently shortened to 30 minute runs each. Likewise, the Kidz Toontime and Kapamilya Gold Hits blocks could also be reduced to 90 minutes.
For Saturdays
Every Saturday, given that there is not much in the way of It’s Showtime to return to their 11:30am slot, moving the show back to it must be heavily considered. While the subsequent program for both KapCha and A2Z are only movie blocks, it could still be beneficial to give the program ample airtime, so as to not cause disruption into primetime or even the broadcast of the said afternoon movie blocks.
Conclusion
With the recent slew of events, ABS-CBN should act quickly and address the issue once and for all. Especially with the current state of the company as a blocktimer on channel 11, letting programs go overtime for long could pose serious problems for both the host broadcaster and the tenant. Nonetheless, this issue can still be solved by at least giving definite and suitable runtime for each program (not just It’s Showtime). Who knows? Maybe time management would no longer be a major concern for the Kapamilya network in the future if they get it right on this one.