Manila, Philippines – Nagpaliwanag ang mga executive ng Mediaquest Holdings Inc., producer ng “legit” na Eat Bulaga nina Tito and Vic Sotto at Joey de Leon tungkol sa sinasabing na-bump off ang It’s Showtime sa kanilang time slot para mabigyan daw ng daan ang airing ng noontime show ng TVJ, through their newly formed production outfit.
Of late kasi ay nagbigay din ng statement ang ABS-CBN at nagsabing iiwan na ng IS ang Kapatid network at lilipat na sila sa GTV starting July 1.
Sa media conference ng official contract signing ng TVJ at ng Dabarkads ay sinabi ni TV5 president at CEO Guido R. Zaballero na nirerespeto nila ang desisyon ng ABS-CBN.
“They continue to be our partners and we respect the decision that they’ve made. Ang pinakaimportante is that panalo pa rin ang Filipino viewer,” sabi ni Zaballero.
Dagdag pa ni Zaballero, ang broadcast contract ng ABS-CBN with TV5 will end by June 30, ngunit nag-offer naman ang Kapatid Network ng 4:30 pm slot for It’s Showtime which they declined.
Paliwanag naman ng Mediaquest president and CEO Jane Basas na ang relationship between It’s Showtime and TV5 was that of a “blocktime relationship.” Ang 4:30 PM timeslot na sina-suggest suits the noontime show’s viewership more.
“It’s a blocktime relationship… It just makes sense to put in a timeslot that is best for it. We did offer an alternative timeslot, I believe that 4:30 to 6:30 timeslot is best for it because it has has a younger viewership,” she said.
Binanggit din ni Basas na ang Mediaquest ay co-owner at co-investor ng newly created TVJ Productions of the Sotto brothers and de Leon, and it was to the best of their interests to put it at a timeslot that would benefit them all.
“This time, we are co-owners and co-investors in TVJ Productions. Kung ano mang title, mas invested kami kasi produkto na namin,” sabi pa niya.
Aminado ang Mediaquest at ang TV5 top honcho na si Manny V. Pangilinan na they had to make a tough choice between It’s Showtime and the still-unnamed TVJ show, but they had to go with a purely “business decision.”
“It was a purely business decision that we arrived at. The format is different, it was a blocktime arrangement, and we had an expiry date of June 30. Nagkataon lang that it was a matter of serendipity, and hindi kami nagkulang sa pagtulong sa ABS-CBN.
“We are proud of what we’ve done with them. We continue to have arrangements with them in terms of content, and they are not forsaken. Our duty to them, what was done to them, we felt that we have to give them a platform to provide what Filipinos love,” sabi ni Sir Manny.
Dagdag pa niya, “We are an inclusive group, hindi kami namimili kung ano ang nararapat ipakita sa plataporma namin. We will do that. We will provide content platforms to what the group possess.”
Nagsalita na rin si Joey sa isyu.
“Hindi na-bump off. Alive ang TV ngayon. Kaya masaya. Dapat magpasalamat sa’min ‘yung ibang TV shows, nabuhay sila. Ang daming nabuhay. Ang daming hanapbuhay,” hirot ni Joey.
Pahabol naman ni Tito Sen, “With due respect to TV5, I don’t think [the term] ‘bump off’ should be used. Hindi naman sila na-bump off. Natapos ang kontrata nila. In fairness to TV5, hindi na-bump off. Natapos ang kontrata.” Joey Sarmiento
