Revillame won’t keep his promise to make the GMA network his home network forever, as the latter recently announced the termination of their block time agreement.
GMA network recently announced that ‘Wowowin’, Willie Revillame’s variety show, will be airing on the network’s afternoon lineup until February 11, 2022.
The show is three months short of completing its 7th year on air. That said, it’s interesting to note that Wowowin is already Willie Revillame’s longest-running solo-hosted variety show. Wowowee, his former variety show on ABS-CBN, which catapulted him to household superstardom, stayed on the air for five years.
Revillame’s loyalty has shifted from one network to another, in the last two decades.
He was with ABS-CBN, until 2010, with TV5 until 2015, and with GMA Network, until this year, 2022. Incidentally, these shifts of loyalty, coincide with the times his variety shows ended their runs on air.
Wowowee aired from February 5, 2005 to July 30, 2010; Willing Willie aired from October 23, 2010 to April 9, 2011; WilTime BigTime aired from May 14, 2011 to January 5, 2013; Wowowillie aired from January 26 to October 12, 2013; and lastly, Wowowin aired from May 10, 2015 to February 11, this year.
Revillame was at the helm of five top-rated variety shows aired across three major TV networks. It’s safe to say he didn’t lose his charm amid those changes, judging how his shows remained among the top-rated shows on Philippine television. Wowowin, for example, held to its place, as one the most-watched, if not the most-watched variety shows on Philippine television, until its last few days on air. According to AGB Nielsen, Wowowin rated 4.7% on February 3, 2022, beating all other shows on its timeslot.
With Willie Revillame parting ways with GMA Network, the possibility of seeing him on another network again has become a big possibility. Words heard through the grapevine suggest that Revillame has allied with Filipino billionaire and former politician, Manny Villar, whose Allied Media Broadcasting Services Inc. has recently acquired ABS-CBN’s former frequencies.
It should not surprise if Wowowin, or another program hosted by Willie Revillame, debut on the Villar-owned TV network, as a banner show. Will this move mark the end of Revillame’s bountiful career, or is it just the beginning of the end of his era? What comes next after Wowowin’s final airing on February 11 should provide clear answers.
