Where in the world do we not know the exact time-slots of our favorite TV shows?
Only in the Philippines. Only here do viewers get told to watch such-and-such a program after such-and-such a program, or during an unseen program (which is really a “block”) called telebabad. I remember when I first heard of that word a few years ago during a Magpakailanman advertisement: “Watch Magpakailanman after Telebabad.” I remember asking myself, “Telebabad? What show is that? How come I never see it?”
Or what about the daytime soap, Leya? I do not get to watch at noontime often, but I decided to take a look one time to see the premiere telecast. What did the advertisement tell me? “Watch for it after DaisySiyete (or whatever show that was).” What? I didn’t even know the time-slot of that one. How was I supposed to know?
Where in the world do supposedly 30 minute shows run for 45 minutes or even more? Where else are news programs capable of extending themselves to 2 hours just to pester the rival network?
Only in the Philippines. Only here has the Goddess of Discipline and Good Sense totally gone and taken all her blessings with her. You cannot tell when exactly a show will start. You cannot tell when it will end. To make sure you catch a specific program, you have to sit through two others before it, it seems. You can’t look at the clock and say, “Oh, Darna na!” I remember ONCE I turned on the TV late since usually, at that time, Extra Challenge was still on. But it turned out that Mulawin aired early that time to give way for a New Year’s Eve special. Just like that. No word, no warning.
And remember when both TV Patrol and 24 Oras went super, mega overtime when they interviewed Mrs. Susan Roces-Poe during FPJ’s wake? That was really the latter show’s fault, if I recall, because they were supposed to “share” the interview with the other networks but since they were first, they decided to make life miserable for the rival news program by making them wait for an hour. I think their interview of Roces ate up ¾ of their airtime that night. Of course, TV Patrol was not to be outdone. I think Mulawin and other shows were delayed by about 2 hours because of that.
And where in the Philippines do the networks jumble their programs faster than a gambler shuffles cards?
One week it is this, next week it is that. For once, ABS-CBN did something I liked: those guys moved their primetime news show to the 6 o’clock slot. I was impressed because their shows always finished in time---for a week. Then next week, it went back to 6:30 and so on. And don’t blink! The show you watch at such and such a time can be gone the next day! No joke!
It’s this kind of undisciplined programming that needs to change. It’s as if the AGB Overnight Ratings were Holy Writ. A lightning that strikes from heaven bringing tele-damnation if you don’t act fast enough. Look at what happened to NAKS and Bubble Gang Jr. If my memory serves me well, the former was only slightly behind Goin’ Bulilit when GMA 7 sacked the show and replaced it with its own hastily and ill- prepared child sitcom. Everyone is in such a hurry to demolish everyone else. The TV Ratings have become to the networks what the stock market is to businessmen.
Of course, the ratings matter. That’s how you tell what the viewers want. But does that give them a license to drive us crazy and ruin our day while still making us pay in the process? They can’t even tell us when exactly a particular show is going to air, and for how long. Who are they making a fool of? I really wish that there’d be more superpower TV networks. Maybe then these two giants would come to their senses.
And by the way, it’s such a stupid move to insert Attic Cat before the telefantasya series. What a joke. And they told us once that they moved the two shows to an earlier time-slot for the sake of young viewers who need to go to school. Yeah right. Then why did they do this in the middle of the school season?