GAME
SHOW FEVER!
By: Melissa Laurel
October 2001
If you're expecting
to see some Filipino drama show from 8-10 PM in local TV channels
here in the Philippines, then you'll be quite disappointed. Nowadays,
turning on the tube during the prime-time hours would likely lead
to a game show.
From IBC-13's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
and The Weakest Link, to ABS-CBN's Game K N B?
to the up-coming Korek na Korek Ka Dyan on GMA7 to the
Family Feud (or "The Feud" abroad) and The Price
is Right on ABC5. Game shows are sprouting everywhere like
mushrooms.
Just how did this game show mania spread to the
islands?
The First Mushroom
It all started with IBC-13's Who Wants To
Be A Millionaire?, the first Filipino TV-show franchised from
a British production company with Philippine rights secured by Viva-TV.
Hosted by veteran actor Christopher de Leon, contestants from all
over the country vie to get on the "hot seat" opposite the
host, where they will begin their climb to the 2-million peso prize
by answering 15 multiple-choice questions correctly.
Contestants coming from as far as Mindanao are
provided "Lifelines" in the form of Ask the Audience (the
audience keys in their answers ), 50/50 (two wrong answers eliminated
from the choices) and Phone a Friend (literally phone a friend).
The show became a hit in its first season, garnering
a high 25-percent average rating on the primetime slot, according
to the TV survey of AGB Philippines last September. "At one point,
'Millionaire' posted an all-time high of 38 percent audience
share, besting primetime shows from ABS-CBN and GMA 7," according
to an article entitled "Millionaire" Lives Up to Its
Name by Leah Salterio published last month on the Philippine Daily
Inquirer.
"This is one television show that has busted
the niche-marketing concept," adds Salterio. "It is watched
from the hovels of Payatas to the mansions of Ayala Alabang."
Realizing their success, IBC-13 added yet another
franchised game show, The Weakest Link which airs right after
Millionaire, this time hosted by a "serious" Edu
Manzano.
In his article Who Wants To Be The Weakest
Link on
Getasia.com.ph, Jayson Brizuela describes the new game as "Survivor
meets Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" -- the show's Millionaire-like
objective is to answer as many correct answers quickly to get the
1 million prize, "but it's a lot like Survivor, since contestants
are pitted against each other," and the "weakest link"
is voted off at the end of each round of play, Brizuela explains.
All Together, Now!
Naturally, major networks switched to panic
mode, reformatting their programming from drama shows to game shows.
ABS-CBN produced its own version of an interactive
show, Game K N B?, this time hosted by talk show host, Kris
Aquino. It "responds to the needs of Filipinos for a game show
that reflects on the Filipino passion for emotion, intelligence and
fast-paced action,"
as described by their website,
abs-cbn.com.
Here, eight studio contestants compete to the
million-peso round where they are given a chance to win P1 million
in cold cash, plus a variety of showcases per game (such as a Family
Entertainment showcase, Kitchen showcase, etc), which they will be
allowed to give to a loved one.
The show also boasts of its interactivity, introducing
the "text-partner," similar to the traditional "home
partner," but this time, the potential text-partner sends a letter-combination-entry.
If the entry corresponds to the winning combination revealed gradually
during the program, Kris explains, "then you will have the chance
to share in the million-peso round."
Meanwhile, ABC 5 already acquired the rights
to The Family Feud and The Price Is Right, now calling
on potential contestants through their daily campaign, at the same
time as GMA7 is on the process of promoting their own game show, Korek
na Korek Ka Dyan.
The
game shows in my mind...
(More)
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