In 2020, amid the pandemic, ABS-CBN lost its franchise to operate, leaving most of its talents and employees with no choice, but to seek for greener pastures to survive.
The government, after rejecting the franchise application of the Network, revoked its license to operate. As a result, more than 11,000 employees lost their job during the height of Covid-19 in the country.
Inevitably, Kapamilya talents transferred to rival networks, but the King of Talk, Boy Abunda has something to say about them.
During the virtual press conference for the second season of his talk show The Best Talk, which was on the digital platform KUMU, Abunda shared his two-cents about Kapamilya artists accepting work outside their home network.
Abunda pointed that artists who opted to work outside of ABS-CBN must have talked with the Network nicely to avoid any misunderstanding after they left.
“Makipag-usap lang ng maayos. Paalam ka ng maayos. But to those artists for economic reasons, emotional, spiritual, makipag-usap lang ng maayos.
“Lahat nakukuha sa mabuting pag-uusap.”
Most of the Kapamilya network’s biggest stars have transferred to continue surviving during the pandemic. Billy Crawford, Piolo Pascual, Maja Salvador, and many more have gone to TV5 to acquire projects.
However, he doesn’t take it against them. The King of Talk understood the reason why they left, despite their loyalty being tested due to the shutdown, and should not be taken against them.
“But for anybody to go for something decently because he wants to survive, should not be taken against the person,” stressed Abunda.
The removal of ABS-CBN in free TV also impacted information dissemination in the Philippines during a crisis.
When Supertyphoon Rolly devastated the country, ABS-CBN, the largest broadcast network in the country, made the public and lawmakers realize the importance of the network in spreading crucial information to all parts of the nation.
Fortunately, ABS-CBN took a giant step forward by making a deal with A2Z and now TV5 to air its programs on free TV. With the Kapamilya network joining forces with its former rivals, Abunda said that it’s a wise choice to do.
“It’s wise that at a certain point, the only way to survive is for us to get together.”
