The focus is now on the Kapuso digital subchannel.
In January this year, GMA Network launched a new subchannel on digital terrestrial television (DTT). Effectively replacing DepEd TV that ceased in June 2022, the new channel’s programming consists of all-local programming from GMA and its sister channel GTV. Named ‘Pinoy Hits,’ it quickly became a miss sooner than later.
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Controversially, GMA opted to fill Pinoy Hits’ airtime mostly with simulcasts of ongoing programs from GMA and GTV on the channel. Only a small portion of its schedule on weekdays, for example, have been set aside for archived shows. Original shows exclusively for Pinoy Hits is also non-existent at the moment.
In this Schedule Suggestions, let’s discuss the ways to possibly improve the fate and reputation of GMA’s Pinoy Hits channel.
Weekdays
- 5:30 am – Dobol B TV
- 10:00 am – Regional TV News (move from GTV)
- 10:30 am – EZ Shop Asia
- 11:00 am – Balitanghali (simulcast)
- 12:00 nn – Siesta Fiesta Movies (move from GTV)
- 1:30 pm – Hiram na Alaala (rerun)
- 2:00 pm – Adarna (rerun)
- 2:35 pm – The Borrowed Wife (rerun)
- 3:10 pm – Rhodora X (rerun)
- 3:45 pm – Buena Familia (rerun)
- 4:20 pm – Pyra (rerun)
- 4:55 pm – Because of You (rerun)
- 5:30 pm – Sarap O’Clock (repeats of lifestyle shows)
- > Monday: Pinas Sarap (replay)
- > Tuesday: Farm To Table (replay)
- > Wednesday: Sarap ‘Di Ba? (replay)
- > Thursday: Pera Paraan (replay)
- > Friday: iJuander (replay)
- 6:15 pm – TikToclock
- 7:00 pm – Abot-Kamay na Pangarap
- 7:50 pm – Magandang Dilag
- 8:35 pm – The Seed of Love
- 9:15 pm – Fast Talk with Boy Abunda
- 9:40 pm – Voltes V: Legacy
- 10:30 pm – Royal Blood
- 11:15 pm – Unbreak My Heart
- 12:00 mn – EZ Shop Asia
On weekdays, the change can immediately start with the very first show it airs. Currently, it is the simulcast of GMA’s ‘Unang Hirit’. Rather than doing that, Pinoy Hits should veer towards ‘Dobol B TV’. This, to let GTV cut down the runtime of the said block to say 5:30 am to 8:00 am, and allow GTV to air more entertainment shows or even slot in NCAA when needed. In this suggestion, Dobol B on Pinoy Hits should run on the channel from 5:30 to 10:00 am, from Monday up to Sunday. So that also serves as your first hint of what should happen to weekends as well.
Moving on, the ‘Regional TV News’ program that currently airs on GTV should also be considered to be converted as an exclusive program for Pinoy Hits. Like what has been mentioned above, this is to let GTV have sufficient room in the morning for more entertainment shows or even sports coverages. That is of course in consideration of the fact that is the recent addition of ‘It’s Showtime’ to the channel’s noontime block. Aside from that, ‘RTV News’ could also be the first original program on Pinoy Hits — something that the channel lacks.
Meanwhile, the simulcast of ‘Balitanghali’ can remain on Pinoy Hits. But the trade-off must be that Heart of Asia and I Heart Movies end the practice and revert back to their supposed formats.
Jumping ahead to noon, GTV’s ‘Siesta Fiesta Movies’ block could be revived on Pinoy Hits. While not in the name, but maybe in spirit. This time though, a noontime movie block on Pinoy Hits should focus on classic Filipino flicks, so as to let sister I Heart Movies air foreign films or even recent ones. This also instantly adds option for viewers who are not inclined to watch noontime variety shows on both GMA and GTV.
The 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm stretch would then be dedicated to a slate of archived Kapuso shows. To add a pinch of nostalgia, rather than Telehapon, Pinoy Hits could consider using ‘Dramarama’ or the likes as the block’s title. It also is instantly recognizable and a good descriptor of what’s in for the viewers during those hours.
Anyway, Pinoy Hits must opt-out of the simulcast of ‘Dapat Alam Mo!’ and ’24 Oras’. With GMA and GTV already having a far-better reach than the channel (since the two are also on analog), PH should instead offer a good counter-programming for both channels. Although, simulcasts of GMA Integrated News Bulletin on Pinoy Hits could remain intact for information dissemination’s sake.
Going back, the 5:30 pm slot must be instead used to strip repeats of lifestyle programming from across the network. It could also bear the name ‘Sarap O’Clock,’ which was used by GTV in 2021. Again, to help emphasize the channel’s mission as a repeat and rerun channel for most of the day.
From 6:15 pm, though, Pinoy Hits could offer a catch-up of the local entertainment programs produced by GMA from morning to primetime. It would start with ‘TikToclock’ and naturally end with ‘Unbreak My Heart’.
Let’s now move onto Saturdays.
Saturdays
- 5:30 am – Dobol B TV
- 10:00 am – Regional TV News (move from GTV)
- 10:30 am – EZ Shop Asia
- 11:30 am – iBilib
- 12:00 nn – Day Off (rerun)
- 12:50 pm – Wagas (rerun)
- 1:40 pm – Telesine Presents (rerun)
- 2:35 pm – The Borrowed Wife (rerun)
- 3:10 pm – Rhodora X (rerun)
- 3:45 pm – Buena Familia (rerun)
- 4:20 pm – Sherlock Jr. (rerun)
- 5:00 pm – Reel Time (rerun)
- 5:30 pm – Biyahe ni Drew (replay)
- 6:15 pm – Amazing Earth
- 7:00 pm – Abot-Kamay na Pangarap
- 7:45 pm – Tadhana
- 8:30 pm – Imbestigador
- 9:15 pm – Resibo
- 10:00 pm – Bubble Gang (replay)
- 10:50 pm – Happy ToGetHer (replay)
- 11:40 pm – The Boobay and Tekla Show (replay)
In the similar vein of its weekday programming, Pinoy Hits Saturday daytime should start with an expanded Dobol B TV up to 10:00 am, followed by Regional TV News. Its entire afternoon programming should then be dedicated to reruns of past GMA shows. While replays and delayed telecasts of Kapuso programs would take place on primetime and late-evening.
Similar to weekdays, simulcasts of all news programs other than ‘Dobol B TV,’ ‘Regional TV News,’ and ‘GMA Integrated News Bulletin’ will be dropped from the channel in order to accommodate more repeats or reruns. Ironic as it may be, but GMA and GTV should suffice already for ’24 Oras Weekend’.
Marching forward to Sundays now…
Sundays
- 5:30 am – Dobol B TV
- 10:00 am – EZ Shop Asia
- 11:00 am – AHA!
- 11:30 am – Born To Be Wild
- 12:00 nn – Art Angel (rerun)
- 12:45 pm – Alamat (rerun)
- 1:15 pm – Ang Mahiwagang Baul (rerun)
- 1:45 pm – Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko (rerun)
- 2:30 pm – Beyond Today (replay)
- 3:00 pm – Dear Uge (rerun)
- 4:00 pm – Ismol Family (rerun)
- 5:00 pm – Reel Time / Front Row (rerun)
- 5:30 pm – Good News (replay)
- 6:15 pm – Brigada (replay)
- 7:00 pm – Pepito Manaloto (replay)
- 8:00 pm – I Witness (replay)
- 8:45 pm – Reporter’s Notebook (replay)
- 9:15 pm – Wish Ko Lang!
- 10:00 pm – Regal Studio Presents
- 10:45 pm – Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho / SNBO
On Sundays, the strategy should remain the same as the weekdays and Saturdays. But first, the current Sunday morning children’s-oriented block on Pinoy Hits should be trasferred to a later time to allow for a Sunday Dobol B TV block on the channel. Given that it will run from 5:30 to 10:00 am, the children’s block will have to begin from 11:00 am instead.
A later start for the kids block will also mean that the madness that is the five-channel-simulcast of ‘All Out Sundays’ will go down to four. But a better suggestion would be that practice could further go down to 2 channels only (GMA and GTV), or best if AOS is reverted to being a single-channel affair again. After the kids block, comedies that air on the current line-up should remain where they are.
Anyway, the difference of the Sunday primetime block from the rest of the grid would be its emphasis on public affairs shows. Although, it is better if it is to add variety, like offering a one-day delayed telcast of ‘Pepito Manaloto,’ among others.
In the late-evening, Pinoy Hits could have the option of airing a two-hour-delayed telecast of ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’ or bring back the Sunday Night Box Office or SNBO from the dead. An SNBO block could allow Pinoy Hits air repeats of specials that air elsewhere on GMA and GTV’s schedules.
NCAA on Pinoy Hits?
Remember the previous edition of Schedule Suggestions where the possibility of adding the games of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) to Pinoy Hits. The said move should help ease the burden from GTV, which is going to do a tough balancing act between the league and ‘It’s Showtime’.
Schedule Suggestions: The much-needed changes to GTV as ‘It’s Showtime’ enters the channel
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Then, it was argued that Pinoy Hits’ nearly open schedule could immediately accommodate the games. A bonus for that one is that Pinoy Hits could finally gain audience, especially if it is to air a match or two live first or exclusively on the channel, rather than both on GTV. While there was a sample shared last time around, here now is a clearer visualization of how a ‘NCAA on Pinoy Hits’ situation could unfold.
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Weekdays
- 5:30 am – Dobol B TV
- 10:00 am – Regional TV News (move from GTV)
- 10:30 am – EZ Shop Asia
- 11:00 am – Balitanghali (simulcast)
- 12:00 nn – NCAA (LIVE)
- 2:30 pm – NCAA Game On! (LIVE)
- 3:00 pm – NCAA (LIVE)
- 5:30 pm – Sarap O’Clock (repeats of lifestyle shows)
- > Monday: Pinas Sarap (replay)
- > Tuesday: Farm To Table (replay)
- > Wednesday: Sarap ‘Di Ba? (replay)
- > Thursday: Pera Paraan (replay)
- > Friday: iJuander (replay)
- 6:15 pm – TikToclock
- 7:00 pm – Abot-Kamay na Pangarap
- 7:50 pm – Magandang Dilag
- 8:35 pm – The Seed of Love
- 9:15 pm – Fast Talk with Boy Abunda
- 9:40 pm – Voltes V: Legacy
- 10:30 pm – Royal Blood
- 11:15 pm – Unbreak My Heart
- 12:00 mn – EZ Shop Asia
Saturdays
- 5:30 am – Dobol B TV
- 10:00 am – Regional TV News (move from GTV)
- 10:30 am – EZ Shop Asia
- 11:30 am – iBilib
- 12:00 nn – NCAA (LIVE)
- 2:30 pm – NCAA Game On! (LIVE)
- 3:00 pm – NCAA (LIVE)
- 5:30 pm – Biyahe ni Drew (replay)
- 6:15 pm – Amazing Earth
- 7:00 pm – Abot-Kamay na Pangarap
- 7:45 pm – Tadhana
- 8:30 pm – Imbestigador
- 9:15 pm – Resibo
- 10:00 pm – Bubble Gang (replay)
- 10:50 pm – Happy ToGetHer (replay)
- 11:40 pm – The Boobay and Tekla Show (replay)
Sundays
- 5:30 am – Dobol B TV
- 10:00 am – EZ Shop Asia
- 11:00 am – AHA!
- 11:30 am – Born To Be Wild
- 12:00 nn – NCAA (LIVE)
- 2:30 pm – NCAA Game On! (LIVE)
- 3:00 pm – NCAA (LIVE)
- 5:30 pm – Good News (replay)
- 6:15 pm – Brigada (replay)
- 7:00 pm – Pepito Manaloto (replay)
- 8:00 pm – I Witness (replay)
- 8:45 pm – Reporter’s Notebook (replay)
- 9:15 pm – Wish Ko Lang!
- 10:00 pm – Regal Studio Presents
- 10:45 pm – Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho / SNBO
If you have noticed, the NCAA matches just merely replaced the reruns of past GMA shows, with repeats of current ones intact. This is to let Kapuso viewers catch their current favorites one more time on television, while the classics can remain airing on the channel for a longer period, as they will have to give way most of the time to NCAA games (at least for this idea only).
Pinoy Hits is clearly experiencing an identity crisis (or what this site referred to as the idenDTT crisis back in January) at the moment. Its potential as a quasi-throwback channel was also stunted by the overwhelming amount of simulcasts (dubbed as simulmania). These shows would have made more sense if they were instead placed on a catch-up basis on PH. Hence, cementing the brand as both a haven for rewinding popular programs of the past and a service that gives audiences a peek of their current favorites one more time should be a good prospect for the channel moving forward.
Another possible route for them to explore is by becoming a quasi-overflow channel that will ease the pressure and strain from both GMA and GTV, which are both jam-packed at the moment. It would also help the channel attract viewers, or to a bigger extent, make the public want to shift to DTT — expediting the country’s transition to the technology in the process.
With Pinoy Hits’ first anniversary still less than six months away, there is still ample time for GMA. Time to finally take the channel out of the shadows of its sister channels. Time to give PH a definite format and formidable programming grid. Will it still be a miss or finally become a hit? Only time will tell as well.
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