Three months after its historic return to free TV via A2Z, ABS-CBN forged another block-time partnership with another media network.
This time, it was TV5, now GMA Network’s closest competitor. To say that this partnership helped ABS-CBN a lot is an understatement, but that’s also true to TV5, whose viewership share dramatically increased.
Three days after ABS-CBN and TV5’s joint announcement of their agreement, Kapamilya musical variety program, ASAP Natin ‘To, and movie block, FPJ The King, started airing on TV5’s Sunday line-up.
The longest-running musical variety show replaced the time slot vacated by Brightlight Productions-produced, Sunday Noontime Live, which featured former ASAP stars Piolo Pascual, Donny Pangilinan, Catriona Gray, Jake Ejercito, and Maja Salvador.
Except for Salvador, all these stars have already returned to ABS-CBN. FPJ The King, on the other hand, featured the classic and timeless cinema gems of the late Fernando Poe Jr.
From that point onward, TV5 bosses eluded the suggestion of seeing the partnership further expand, although the possibility was never really dismissed.
In two months, the rumors were proven true. Four more Kapamilya-produced programs made their way to TV5’s most-important time block—the primetime.
ABS-CBN Entertainment TV series, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin, Walang Hanggang Paalam, and the reality show, PBB Connect, began airing on TV5, on March 8, 2021.
More Kapamilya programs subsequently aired over TV5’s primetime block in the following months.
Huwag Kang Mangamba led by The Gold Squad original members–Francine Diaz, Andrea Brillantes, Seth Fedelin, and Kyle Echarri debuted on March 22. Init Sa Magdamag with Gerald Anderson, JM de Guzman, and Yam Concepcion as stars, began airing on April 19. The Erich Gonzales-led La Vida Lena, premiered two months later on June 28. Then series Marry Me, Marry You and Viral Scandal joined the block on September 13 and November 15, respectively.
Ratings-wise, the impact of the partnership on ABS-CBN programs can not be missed.
FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, for example, saw its AGB NUTAM People rating hit a double-digit figure, just three days after it aired on TV5.
In terms of viewership share, TV5 registered an 89% growth in its total viewership, in six months. Its primetime block’s audience share, more than doubled, from 5.3% in January 2021 to 12.9% in June, of the same year, proving the boost the network received from the block time agreement. Audience shares in Visayas and the Mindano also recorded 150% and 134% uptick, respectively, according to the data provided by AGB Nielsen Philippines.
TV5 bosses have hinted at the possibility of expanding again its partnership with ABS-CBN, which may see more Kapamilya shows premiering on the network’s most important time blocks. The Filipino adaptation of the worldwide sensation, Dr. Foster, is set to become the first new ABS-CBN show to air on TV5’s primetime line-up, in 2022.
Starring Jodi Sta. Maria, Zanjoe Marudo, Sue Ramirez, and Zaijian Jaranilla, The Broken Marriage Vow, will make its debut on January 24, 2022.
Upcoming Kapamilya programs, including ABS-CBN’s first adaptation of Mars Ravelo’s Darna, the KathNiel-starrer, 2 Good 2 be True, and the Filipino TV adaptation of Korean series, Flower of Evil, are all slated to pilot on the network’s primetime slate.
