Advertisement

Noontime surprise overtakes ‘Eat Bulaga’

Who would have expected it?

Not even the show’s main stars thought it would ever happen. But it did.

Who would think that a romantic dramedy or what people now call a “kilig-serye” would beat the formula used by the variety and game show that has dominated the noontime airwaves for decades?

By George, they’ve got it!

For ABS-CBN, it was a puzzle solver, a code breaker that it would now use to the hilt in its attempt to pull the rug from under GMA Network’s “Eat Bulaga.”

The Kapamilya network finally realized, as I’ve pointed out in a past blog post, that the competitor must always offer something different. ABS-CBN can’t just copy the formula the longest-running show has upheld for the past 35 years. It needs to innovate for a chance to compete in the noontime ratings.

READ AND VIEW PHOTOS: Are you a breast buy or butt guy? LJ Reyes gives you both

Proof: the Kapamilya network failed with such shows as “Magandang Tanghali Bayan,” “Wowowee,” “Pilipinas Win na Win,” and lately, with “It’s Showtime,” which was doing so well before it went directly against “Eat Bulaga.”

ABS-CBN’s killer move

Though ABS-CBN originally planned “Be Careful with My Heart” as a lead-in to “It’s Showtime,” the network decided to push the dramedy to “airspace,” where no other show had ever survived against the Tito, Vic and Joey top rater.

Sensing blood because “Be Careful with My Heart” delivered consistently high ratings since it began, the network thought, why not? Have the kilig- serye compete with the Dabarkads.

Now, ABS-CBN is reaping the rewards of this killer move.

‘Kilig-serye’ clobbers the Dabarkads

After going to neck-to-neck with “Eat Bulaga,” and sometimes overtaking the show by a few percentage points, “Be Careful with My Heart” has made history by pulling away from its competitor with more than twice its overnight rating.

CHECK OUT: The naked Solenn is the sexiest woman alive?

Kantar Media reported that the kilig-serye on January 25 had posted a nationwide rating of 31.3% as against the noontime variety show’s 14.8%.

Kantar Media boasts of a wider nationwide panel size than rival AGB Nielsen.

Fresh alternative

While the storyline is nothing new, it’s the kind of fresh alternative programming that noontime viewers have been searching for ages.

Add to that the charm of the cast, led by the popular Richard “Papa Chen” Yap and Jodi Sta. Maria, and a story so delightfully identifiable and appealing to the majority of viewers on that slot, the show is set to change the game in the noontime race.

Your move, 'Eat Bulaga'

Will “Eat Bulaga” do something about it or will it just ignore the surge as mere hype and fad, just as it has always done with other competing shows?

After all, no show that went head-to-head with “Eat Bulaga” has ever survived.

OMG! EXCLUSIVE! Hosting lessons from King of Talk Boy Abunda

But can our Dabarkads really afford to ignore its new competitor? Or the other shows ABS-CBN may have in line to replace “Be Careful with My Heart” when it completes its run?

While few things are certain, one thing definitely is: that “Eat Bulaga” can’t rest on its laurels forever.