MARTIN Nievera
Singer/TV host Martin Nievera turned to social networking site Twitter last week to express his “sadness” over ABS-CBN’s alleged lack of support for his Friday talk show, “Martin Late @ Night.” Slated for 13 episodes, the show, which started airing on March 1, had reportedly not been extended.
On his account, @4eversinging4u, on April 30, Martin said: “You can’t blame me if I’m not rating like the prime-time shows if you don’t support me like you support them. No band, no live audience? How?”
He continued in another tweet: “I know I am no ‘teleserye’ or noontime show. But if I had [that much] support I would last longer. [I] can’t stay in the fight alone. So sad.”
Asked why he felt so dejected, Martin told the Inquirer via e-mail that he wasn’t receiving feedback from the network bosses regarding his concerns about the show. “I blame no one… but I wasn’t getting any reaction from the people upstairs.”
Another reason that he ranted about “Martin Late @ Night’s” looming end, he said, was he had high hopes for it: “I wanted it to be the station’s ‘good night’ show… My ultimate goal was to guest fellow Kapamilyas. I wanted to give each of them their own special.”
His pointing out the lack of a live band and audience on the set, he continued, was not a complaint. “It was just my way of saying that, even without all those perks, we were doing fine,” insisted Martin, who hosted similar shows in the past, including “Martin Late @ Nite,” “Martin After Dark” and “Penthouse Live!”
Martin said he now knew that making his feelings public was a mistake. A friend, acting as a middleman, told him that he had ruffled some feathers in the network’s management.
“In my poor attempt to make sure that everyone watches the show’s last episodes and impress my bosses, I instead hurt their feelings,” Martin lamented. “I honor every friendship I make, especially in this unfriendly business. So, if I hurt feelings… during my ‘open-heart surgery,’ I apologize.”
Was he worried that his outburst might jeopardize his prospects for more ABS-CBN projects in the future? “Of course,” he said. “In show biz, everything matters… I just hope this won’t affect anything, especially our precious friendship.”
Martin said he was very happy to have hosted the show despite the limited time given it. He said he looked forward to getting the script every taping day.
“This feels more natural than anything else that I do on television,” he said. “I will forever be grateful to ABS-CBN for giving me this show.”