With the recent shift brought by the pandemic and the shutdown of one of its major players, media giants in the country are now seemingly keeping artists who add value to their programming.
Recently, GMA Network announced over 100 shows lined up for 2021. However, one glaring detail on this announcement was that several big guns of the network like Sunshine Dizon, Bea Binene, and others did not receive any assignment from this year’s programming lineup.
It led to speculations among the showbiz community that many of these artists got the short end of the stick, resulting in their network contracts left unrenewed.
Now, keep in mind that networks deciding against contract renewals of their talents aren’t really all that new in the entertainment industry.
Networks are still businesses that need to profit from the programs they air on their channels. Understandably, these networks are cutting their losses from artists who do not pull in viewership and ratings.
However, these significant network decisions do not usually happen to numerous artists at the same time. Not if it’s ABS-CBN, who suffered an evident financial loss after its shutdown in 2020.
Another sign of change among network practices is the network’s indifference to artists bluffing to get better deals in their contracts through a network transfer.
According to reports, some artists would allegedly start rumors and PR campaigns hinting at their “inevitable” transfer because of a “better” offer from competing networks.
Nowadays, with the financial impact of the pandemic, if a network gets a whiff that an artist is considering a transfer to another network, they would pay no attention at all.
They might even wish those said artists good fortune with their endeavors. More so if they don’t add value to the network.
With all these shifts happening in the entertainment industry, it makes a person wonder if the media giants such as GMA Network, TV5, and ABS-CBN, have finally changed their tune–in keeping artists on their ward.
Does this mean networks started to weigh an artist’s value, not by their star power but their financial contribution to the company?
