It’s back to square one for the Kapamilya afternoon block.
On Friday, January 19, ABS-CBN finally announced their upcoming plans for their Kapamilya Gold afternoon block.
This, as their ongoing co-produced serials with TV5 ‘Pira-Pirasong Paraiso’ and ‘Nag-aapoy na Damdamin’ are scheduled to broadcast their respective finale episodes next week.
Taking their slots will be a pair of recent dramas produced by ABS-CBN.
Top-rating revenge drama series of 2023 ‘Dirty Linen’ will make its way back to screens through Kapamilya Gold.
Starring a powerhouse ensemble led by Tessie Tomas, John Arcilla, Janice de Belen, Angel Aquino, Epy Quizon, Janine Gutierrez, and Zanjoe Marudo, their filthy secrets and lies will be unraveled again starting January 29.
‘Dirty Linen’ will air at 2:30 pm from Monday to Friday and at 3:00 pm every Saturday.
Meanwhile, the 2022 TV adaptation of ‘Mars Ravelo’s Darna’ starring Jane de Leon, Joshua Garcia, and Janella Salvador will return for action-packed weekday afternoons.
The rerun of ‘Darna’ will be aired Mondays through Fridays at 3:15 pm.
Both programs will only air on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, and A2Z.
TV5 is expected to broadcast their own afternoon programming line-up on the same day, which they have yet to announce.
The return of both Kapamilya programs mark the end of what could still be the first joint venture of both ABS-CBN and TV5 in making afternoon shows.
It was in May 2023 when the Kapamilya-Kapatid alliance extended to the afternoons after the announcement of both ‘Pira-Piraso’ and ‘Nag-aapoy,’ which then made their premiere last July.
The revitalized block then began on an inauspicious note against the high-rating GMA Afternoon Prime block, as both shows averaged between 1.5% to 2.0% as per Nielsen.
An important note is that prior to the collaboration, both networks have opted to air alternative programming, composed of archived shows and movies.
The block reached its peak last December 2023, ‘Pira-Piraso’ garnered 3%, which is meager compared to the 9.1% registered by its rival series, the long-running Kapuso drama ‘Abot-Kamay na Pangarap’ on GMA.
In contrast, online viewership for both programs have steadily increased these past few months, which is around 60,000 for both ‘PPP’ and ‘NAND’.
With both networks reverting to their old ways, it remains to be seen whether both ABS-CBN and TV5 will revisit the strategy anytime soon, considering that they have begun building momentum in recent weeks, if not months.
For now, Kapamilya viewers in the afternoon will have to surmount with the second look of programs from the recent past.