IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Philippine noontime TV landscape with ‘EAT,’ ‘It’s Showtime,’ ‘Eat Bulaga’

It is definitely a time to be alive for the avid noontime television viewers with three local shows—“EAT,” “It’s Showtime,” and revamped “Eat Bulaga”— to watch out for, each committed to liven up the Filipino audience’s afternoon. 

Although having gone through quite a shake-up—from internal conflicts, trademark battle, getting bumped off timeslot, to network transfers — these shows strove to keep their vows to their supporters, exhausting any means necessary to continue being their audiences’ noontime companion. 

The restructure in the Philippine noontime TV landscape stemmed from the controversial disengagement of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon (TVJ) and their fellow “Eat Bulaga” hosts from TAPE, the production company behind the 43-year noontime program. Left with no one to continue the show, TAPE introduced its new set of hosts which has been leading the revamped “Eat Bulaga” in GMA network.

TVJ then found a new home on TV5 network, whose noontime slot at the time was allotted to ABS-CBN’s “It’s Showtime.” TVJ’s move prompted the Kapamilya show—which respectfully declined the 4:30 p.m. time slot offered by TV5— to seal a deal with GMA and air through the network’s GTV channel. 

Now that these two noontime shows once again have their respective free-TV platforms, and with the revamped “Eat Bulaga” also airing in the noontime slot, the question stands: what should the viewers expect from these programs?

‘EAT’

While awaiting to reclaim their “Eat Bulaga” title, TVJ made their noontime comeback as they launched their TV5 show “EAT,” which apparently stands for several meanings including “Eto Ang Tunay,” “Eto Ang True,” “Eto Ang Title” and “Everyday, Always Together!”

The trio and their fellow “legit Dabarkads” Jose Manalo, Maine Mendoza, Allan K, Paolo Ballesteros, Ryan Agoncillo, Wally Bayola, Ryzza Mae Dizon and Carren Eistrup were warmly welcomed on July 1 by hundreds of thousands concurrent viewers from the noontime show’s several platforms. 

Such support, as noted by the TV hosts, has been keeping them on their feet despite their ongoing legal battle with TAPE over the trademark ownership of the “Eat Bulaga” brand. 

In their new home, the hosts brought with them new segments to cater a variety of audiences. Some of which, announced during the show’s pilot episode, are enumerated below.

• “WALA KA SA APO KO” – This portion is an apparent competition of young contestants to showcase their talents. As show host Ryan Agoncillo presented it: “Talented Dabarkads—meron kami n’yan, wala kayo n’yan!”
• “THAT’S MY BOYFRIEND” – A segment that includes male participants to show off their looks, talent and charisma.
• “GIMME 5” – While no further details were immediately given about the portion, Agoncillo hinted, “Everyday is a lucky day dahil punong-puno ng papremyo—Gimme 5!”
• “BABALA! WAG KAYONG GANUUUN” – A seemingly similar segment to original “Eat Bulaga’s” “Bawal Judgemental,” Agoncillo introduced the portion by saying, “Iba-iba tayo ng istorya. Iba ang kwento ko, kwento mo, kaya ang pagiging judgemental ay iwasan. Wag kayong gano’n!”
• “VORTAS 5” – Described as the “only built and body dance competition in Philippine television,” this segment includes musclemen who possess “laki at lambot ng katawan in one.”

‘It’s Showtime’

Moving from TV5 to GMA’s GTV channel, “It’s Showtime” made history as it united big stars from then-long-standing-rivals-turned-content-partners ABS-CBN and GMA network. 

The noontime show’s debut on the Kapuso network, also held on the first of July, received raves from viewers who commended the hosts for their “pasabog” performances, one of which was Vice Ganda’s production number in front of GMA Network Center building. 

While “It’s Showtime” has yet to announce whether or not new segments will emerge from their move to GTV, the show hosts have been carrying on with the usual flow of their program.

• “RAMPANALO” – The studio audience passes a ball around and those who are holding it when the music stops, will have the chance to play and win a cash prize. The player, which initially has P50,000, gets to choose boxes containing either an addition to or deduction from the cash prize.

• “ISIP BATA” – Contestants will be asked several questions and they will choose the answer that they think children will pick from the given choices. Those who choose the wrong answers will be eliminated from the game. The last man standing will be given another set of questions and his/her answers should be similar to the answers of his/her chosen young hosts. 

• “MINI MISS U” – A competition wherein young girls show off their wit and talent to win the title, which is apparently inspired from the established beauty pageant Miss Universe.

• “TAWAG NG TANGHALAN” – A singing competition that caters to amateur Filipino singers all over the country. 

Rebranded ‘Eat Bulaga’

While “EAT” and “It’s Showtime” welcomed July with their launch on their respective networks, the revamped “Eat Bulaga” marked the beginning of the month with a celebration of its first month on air.

Show hosts Paolo Contis, Isko Moreno, twins Cassy and Mavy Legaspi, Buboy Villar, Betong Sumaya, alongside guest co-hosts Winwyn Marquez, Glaiza de Castro and Dasuri Choi, marked the occasion with greetings to TVJ and “neighbor” show “It’s Showtime,” with Contis noting how they consider their noontime counterparts as an “inspiration” and not as competition.

Although it has been only airing for a month, the revamped “Eat Bulaga” already put in place several segments in the show, which are as follows:

• “HEY! MR. RIDER” – A competition for those who ride motorcycles for a living, this portion requires contestants to undergo “challenges” to win the title. 

• “WORD OF THE RINGS” – Similar to the popular game “Pinoy Henyo,” two celebrity players will be given a word; one will be the guesser, while the other is tasked to answer the questions of the former to guess the word. There will be two pairs of players and whichever pair guesses the word faster will be the winner. The players only have two minutes to guess the word. 

• “ANG PINAKA!” – Three contestants, who were picked from the studio audience, will be tasked to do a certain challenge and whoever achieves the best result, wins the cash prize. 

• “QRQR” –  A QR code will be flashed on the screen for viewers to register, and those who will be chosen from the registered viewers list will win a cash prize. 

• “G SA GEDLI” – The TV hosts roam around a certain area outside the studio to interview and give away cash to random individuals. EDV

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