The transfer that wasn’t
NETWORK spokesperson says Kris Aquino (in file photo from the MMFF awards show on Dec. 27) is set to renew contract with ABS-CBN on Tuesday. ARNOLD ALMACEN
As of posting time (Friday, January 10), no one really knows if she’s coming (back to her home network) or going. This is by far the most mystifying contract-renewal watch we’ve been made unwitting participants of. That’s especially because the details are either jolting or vague, and the sources are either unnamed or ambiguous.
Not that we needed to know every twist and turn. But here’s the timeline:
Dec. 24: It is reported that Kris Aquino, whose contract with ABS-CBN expired in October 2013, will transfer to TV5. (Meanwhile, she has wisely used the downtime to promote a movie she produced, “My Little Bossings,” on top rival networks ABS-CBN and GMA 7.)
Dec. 25: Aquino denies the rumor in a tabloid.
Dec. 29: She leaves for London with her sons.
Dec. 30: Another tabloid report, quoting an unnamed source, claims Aquino was “90-percent sure” about moving to TV5 as its president. The report says TV5 plans to buy 40 percent of GMA 7 shares.
Jan. 3: An online report, quoting yet another unnamed source, “confirms” the TV5 offer and says Aquino and TV5 boss Manny V. Pangilinan met before the former left.
Aquino posts a cryptic Instagram message that invariably fuels the speculation. The post says, in part: “It’s time to ask for guidance and wisdom.” The message is accompanied by a photo of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Jan. 5: The Inquirer Biz Buzz reports that the acquisition of GMA network by the PLDT group (also owned by Pangilinan) is “nearing completion.”
Aquino posts two messages on Instagram, again fueling the scuttlebutt. In the first entry, which comes with a photo of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Aquino quotes the late UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld: “For everything that has been, thank you. For everything that will happen, yes.”
An hour later, she posts another message: “No decision has been made, negotiations are ongoing. I simply explained what’s in my heart.”
Jan. 6: GMA network and PLDT both deny the rumored acquisition deal. GMA 7 says it would rather not comment on “a speculative article based on an unnamed source.”
Inquirer Entertainment calls one of Aquino’s publicists, who clarifies that Aquino was offered by TV5 to be a business unit head and not its president, as earlier “reported.” The source says Aquino has long wanted to produce her own show and that she will go with the network that will allow her to do so.
A very close friend of Aquino’s, who doesn’t want to be quoted, tells Inquirer Entertainment that Aquino is not likely to transfer “because she is in a good place now.”
Aquino, through her manager Deo Endrinal, announces that she is renewing her contract with ABS-CBN.
She issues another statement on Instagram, where she says she met with Pangilinan in October and “again on December 23.” But, as pointed out in online reports, she declines to divulge the reason for the meeting or if an offer was indeed made.
Jan. 10: Aquino is scheduled to arrive from London, but no one can confirm this.
She is set to sign a contract with ABS-CBN on Jan. 14, says the network’s corporate communications department. Reports compiled by Marinel R. Cruz
