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| Photo credits: facebook.com/itsShowtimena |
It was totally devastating. Not just for those who are directly involved with the mounting of a grand event dubbed as the “
Showtime Kapamilya Day”, but also for fans like us who, at some point in our lives, have been an ardent follower of the show. To realize that after pulling out all stops to make sure It’s Showtime regains its noontime glory, the reality bit back and delivered a shocking result.
Not only did Eat Bulaga won the Twitter war (a record-setting 25.6 million tweets vs It’s Showtime’s 6.3 million) that day, it also fared much better in the ratings game. According to AGB Nielsen, ratings for Mega Manila on Sept 26, 2015 – the great showdown between #ShowtimeKapamilyaDay and #AlDubEBforLOVE – was at 11.9 for It’s Showtime and 45.7 for Eat Bulaga. Even Ben 10 did better at 12.1!
What’s this? Is It’s Showtime that bad that viewers are deserting it in droves? Is Eat Bulaga that good that its legions of followers multiply faster than we ever thought possible? A little bit of both?
Whatever it is, we don’t want to see It’s Showtime go. It still has a lot of potential to be the show that people love, once more. Moreover, having a credible competition will ensure that Eat Bulaga keeps churning out high-value noontime entertainment every day and not slide into complacency.
BUT first, some changes must be done. As the famous cliché goes: You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. Even Madam Bertud will agree to that.
For you, my friends at It’s Showtime, here are a couple of suggestions:
1. Stay true to your tagline. Make it all about the ‘madlang people’ again.
As your famous tagline goes: This is YOUR show, this is YOUR time, It’s Showtime! Whatever happened to the ‘your’ part of it? Looking at your segments now, we can’t help but wonder whether you still know the meaning of your own tagline. You have a segment called
Lip Swak where famous celebrities compete with each other in a lip synching contest. Never mind the innuendos that this idea smacks of Dubsmash, which we all know a certain
yaya is very famous for. Lip Swak is putting a spotlight on celebrities and not the regular folks you’re supposed to cast a spotlight on. There’s another segment called
COC (Clash of Celebrities) but as you can tell from the name, it’s one and the same thing.
Then there’s this segment called
adVICE Ganda, (emphasis on the word ‘VICE’), where, supposedly, it’s about the story of a regular folk seeking an advice and how by watching it, we could all relate to it and learn a thing or two from it. As it turns out in many instances, not only has the regular folk been made a butt of joke by Madam Bertud (Vice Ganda), the lion’s share of airtime was also given to the host rather than the regular folk. This is YOUR show, this is YOUR time.
Weh? ‘Di nga?
And of course, the much talked about
Nasaan ka Mr. Pastillas, where Pastillas Girl, with the help of the entire It’s Showtime gang, has made it a mission to find one true love…on Twitter. Never mind that it sounds absurd, we’re not here to judge. Our main beef about this segment is the fact that, again, if the segment is about regular folks (Pastillas Girl and her legion of suitors) then our expectation is that we will hear them more, see them more, and know them more. But no. It’s still the same host that we get to hear over and over and over again.
Ano ‘to? Magbigay ka naman uuyyyy! (Lola Nidora’s voice)
It’s Showtime should keep its promise of making the show all about the madlang people. There was a time not too long ago when you have your
Magpasikat segment where people from all over the Philippines showcase their talents in one pasabog number after another. There’s your
Kalokalike segment where we get to see Hollywood and local celebrity look-alikes sharing the same glorious stage. This segment is so successful that finalists get invited to act or sing or dance in various ABS-CBN shows as if they’re the real deal and people tune in to watch their guesting as if, indeed, they’re the real deal. Then the recent
Funny Juan where ‘Rock n Roll to the World…Wooh!’ became a very popular national catch phrase that veritably any Filipino who whips up a joke will always punctuate it with the famous ‘Rock n Roll to the World…Wooh!’ punch line, regardless of whether the joke was actually rocking or not.
It’s Showtime has a lot of good ideas in its arsenal. The past successful segments (Magpasikat, Kalokalike, Funny Juan, etc.) are proof of that. Showtime’s concept from the very beginning is indeed noble that’s why people supported it. And loved it. It should keep true to its promise and make it all about the ‘Madlang People’ again.
I have a question to Vhong, Anne, Vice, Jugs, Teddy, Karylle, Billy, Coleen, Eruption and Kuya Kim. Every time you say:
This is YOUR show. This is YOUR time. – do you still honestly believe it’s true?
2. Vice Ganda the Host? Fire him! Vice Ganda the Hurado? Hire him!
Real talk. We’ve never seen anyone on Philippine TV judge a reality/talent competition as intelligently, as constructively and as entertainingly as Vice Ganda. Vice is just so damn good at it! Back in the day when Vice was still an ‘un-evictable’ hurado at Showtime, he can single-handedly lift the show’s energy, push the contestants to deliver mind-blowing performances because of his witty yet constructive criticisms (XB GENSAN would attest to this) and make the people glued to their TV sets because of his funny punch lines.
Once, he appeared as guest judge for ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ and his comments on the performances are so good and so balanced that it made us think that having a 4th jury for YFSF makes a lot of sense. It’s gotta be Vice, of course.
But as a host for It’s Showtime? We’re at the other end of the spectrum. He’s not a bad host. Not at all. But seeing how he does his thing lately, Vice is now the anathema to what the show stands for. If It’s Showtime wants to make it about the madlang people, then a fella with supersized personality who loves the microphone so much may not be the best option for a host, much less, a main host.
Bring Vice Ganda the Hurado back. We love him. Then that Vice Ganda who gobbles up airtime so much, ditch him.
3. Make the show more fun, real and relatable. Add Melason.
'Reality’ is in. That’s why viral videos are not typically those big-budget, well-produced, shot-in-some-breathtaking-location type of videos. Those that get millions of views are typically the ones where you see a teenager eating ‘mamon’ in a mall, a singer using hair brush as a microphone, and yes, a bored lady doing funny Kris Aquino impersonations impeccably using an app called Dubsmash. What do they all have in common? They’re real people, real situations. This type of content is magnetic.
So for It’s Showtime, our suggestion is to create a segment where the ‘reality’ bit comes into play. Then add fun, real, relatable and highly entertaining people into your roster of hosts. Easily, the MELASON tandem comes to mind. Melai and Jason need no hosting workshop. They just need to be themselves and act naturally. That’s why people love them. And that’s why people will also love It’s Showtime.
4. Keep Billy. Keep Coleen. But don’t keep both.
Billy Crawford is great singer. An outstanding dancer. A one-of-a-kind international performer. A good host. Coleen Garcia is hot. A good actress. An impressive total package. A good host. Keep Billy. Keep Coleen. But don’t keep them both. It just doesn’t work. Now that they’re officially a couple, they’re just too damn awkward to watch. There are real-life couple who register well on a variety show format (Melason is a great example) but not Billy and Coleen.
5. Utilize Pastillas Girl – the right way.
Aah, the much talked about #PastillasGirl segment. Let’s be honest to ourselves, shall we? This segment, while it injected some much needed buzz to the show, did not succeed in closing the gap between Eat Bulaga and It’s Showtime. Yes, it’s trending daily on Twitter. Yes, #PastillasGirl gets mentioned on social and mainstream media. But really, is that all there is to it? The competition is still miles away, ratings-wise, and the kind of backlash that this segment invites makes you want to think whether it’s all worth it. It’s not fair for #PastillasGirl (aka Angelica Jane Yap) to be called names online. It’s not fair for the hosts, who have achieved quite a great deal in their careers, to be relegated to the sidelines and keep their talents underutilized while they play a supporting role to this so-called ‘dating game’. And most of all, it’s not fair for the Kapamilya network to just throw in the towel and settle for a distant 2nd (sometimes 3rd, behind Ben 10) in the noontime slot.
We say end the Pastillas segment soon. Give it a soft landing if you wish. But end it, you must. And then, since #PastillasGirl (aka Angelica Jane Yap) may have some fans supporting her already, utilize her. Maybe she could be a regular of your online show with Darla Sauler. Maybe she could make more ‘hugot’ videos reminiscent of her Pastillas fame. Maybe she could be with Kuya Kim asking the madlang people, “Score mo, Show mo!”. #PastillasGirl could still be an asset, but not in its current format.
6. Make content available on social media.
Here’s what we don’t understand. You have a Facebook page that’s got millions of engaged followers. You have a great video content that you want to share. And then, you make it difficult to watch this video when you share this on Facebook. Do not post a link to the video. Instead, upload the video directly on Facebook so that people can watch it right there and then. If you do otherwise,
people tend to veer away. They will instead, visit a Facebook page where they could easily watch, share, like and comment (yes, that page is your competitor’s).
In the age where millions of Filipinos are abroad and their primary source of entertainment is their favorite TV shows back home; in the age where almost everyone owns a mobile phone and is always logged on 24x7; in the age where buzz online could translate to ratings, and therefore, advertising revenue, offline, social media is your best friend. So you need to make your content available, easily viewable and shareable.
Your competition is already doing this.
Brod Pete is also doing this. Why are you not?
7. Bonus: Drop the “It’s”. Just call it “Showtime”
It’s a minor annoyance but still an annoyance just the same. Why do we have to call it “It’s Showtime” while “Showtime” works perfectly well and is much easier to say? Let’s drop the “It’s”, shall we?
Do you have other suggestions to add? Sound off in the comments section below.
Photo credits:
facebook.com/itsShowtimena /
facebook.com/OfficialMelason /
YouTube screengrab /
facebook.com/iBrodPete /
YouTube screengrab
