2021’s most-watched comedy: Pepito Manaloto
GMA NETWORK’s long-running Saturday family sitcom Pepito Manaloto is the No. 1 comedy program based on Nielsen Philippines’ official data for 2021. The sitcom recorded an average people rating of 13.2% in National Urban Philippines for the full year of 2021. Since 2010, it has entertained viewers with inspiring and relatable content. Pepito Manaloto is the brainchild of concept creator, creative director, and three-time Asian TV Awards Best Comedy Actor Michael V. It follows the rags-to-riches journey of an ordinary person, Pepito (Michael V.), who was blessed with extraordinary luck after winning the lottery. Last year, a prequel to its story started airing, Ang Unang Kuwento, chronicling the love story of young Elsa and Pepito in their teenage years from how and where it all began as teens. It airs every Saturday at 6:15 p.m. on GMA.
Marry Me in PHL cinemas on Feb. 9
TWO TOTAL strangers agree to marry and get to know each other in the film Marry Me, starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. Pop superstar Kat Valdez (Lopez) is about to get married before an audience of her loyal fans. However, seconds before the ceremony, she learns about her fiance’s (Maluma) cheating ways and has a meltdown on stage. In a moment of inspired insanity, Kat locks eyes with a total stranger in the crowd (Wilson) and marries him on the spot. As forces conspire to separate the unlikely newlyweds, they must soon decide if two people from such different worlds can find true love together. Marry Me opens in local cinemas on Feb. 9.
ABS-CBN shows go global
MORE ABS-CBN shows are going international this year, including New Beginnings and Asintado, which are showing in African territories, and, La Vida Lena and Mirabilia in Myanmar. New Beginnings, known locally as Bagong Umaga, is the latest ABS-CBN show to be shown in Africa, airing in over 41 countries including Kenya, Ghana, and Madagascar via the StarTimes channel. Following positive reviews and good ratings in La Réunion via ART for its French-dubbed version, the show also began airing in one of Ivory Coast’s best-known French language stations, RTI 2. In Myanmar, ABS-CBN’s series Deceptive Revenge (known in Burma as Maya Galeisar; known in the Philippines as La Vida Lena) premiered on Jan. 31 on Fortune TV. Meanwhile, the hit inspirational series Mirabilia (Burmese title Sann Kyae Thaww Kan Kyamar; known locally as Huwag Kang Mangamba) made its final run on Fortune TV, after debuting in Nov. 2021. Aside from African and Asian countries, ABS-CBN programs have also made waves in Latin America where the 2015 version of Pangako Sa ‘Yo aired in Ecuador, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. ABS-CBN has been a source of Filipino programming in over 50 territories worldwide and has sold over 50,000 hours of content worldwide.
2021 MMFF titles now on KTX.ph
THREE of the 2021 METRO Manila Film Festival (MMFF) films premiere on KTX.ph this February. Carlo Matatad’s film Whether The Weather is Fine, starring MMFF Best Actress Charo Santos and Daniel Padilla, will be available on KTX.ph from Feb. 9 to 13. Set in Tacloban after it was hit by typhoon Yolanda, Miguel (Padilla), his mother Norma (Santos), and his friend Andrea (Rans Rifol) struggle for survival. Love at First Stream, which streams on Feb. 8 to 13, follows four teenagers explore love and friendships online to escape their realities offline. Huwag Kang Lalabas is a horror anthology whose three stories have a common theme: Do not leave or go outside. It streams from Feb. 9 to 12. The three movies are priced at P249 each. Aside from the films, the fan conference of PBB Kumunity Season 10 celebrity housemates KD Estrada and Alexa Ilacad will also air on KTX.ph. The digital fan conference, called Closer, will stream on Feb. 26. SVIP and VIP tickets are sold out but regular tickets, priced at P199, are still available. Finally, the re-run of One Dream: The BINI X BGYO concert will stream on Feb. 12 and 13. For more information on the programs and to book tickets, visit www.ktx.ph.
GMA Network wins silver at Singapore awards
IN a virtual awarding ceremony of the Singapore-based Marketing Excellence Awards 2021 on Jan. 28, GMA Network’s DepEd TV on GMA bagged the Silver Award in the Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility category. The network provided nationwide airtime via one of its digital channels to the Department of Education (DepEd). This aimed to support DepEd’s initiatives on blended learning in view of the ongoing pandemic. DepEd TV on GMA enabled students from kindergarten to Grade 10 to attend classes at home via their TV sets, reaching as many students as possible through GMA’s extensive coverage all over the country. The DepEd TV channel can be accessed via GMA’s digital TV receivers GMA Affordabox and GMA Now. GMA’s GMAsk Campaign was also shortlisted in the same category while GMA Makulay ang Buhay, a campaign in partnership with Knorr-Unilever Philippines, made it to the finalists under the Excellence in Content Marketing category.
