MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ leading broadcasting company GMA Network disclosed on Monday, April 8, the television ratings of rival noon shows It’s Showtime and Eat Bulaga! last Saturday.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), GMA said It’s Showtime’s pilot Saturday episode on its two major television channels plus two others got a rating of 9.6% based on Nielsen Philippines’ overnight National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) while Eat Bulaga! registered 4.4%.

It’s Showtime was shown on GMA’s Channel 7 and GTV, Zoe Network’s A2Z, and Kapamilya Channel on pay cable TV. Eat Bulaga! aired on TV5 and RPTV Channel 9. 

Channel 7 is GMA’s free TV channel with the strongest reach in the Philippines due to its wide transmission. GMA chairman Felipe Gozon had predicted last month that It’s Showtime’s ratings would improve once the show starts on GMA and GTV. Prior to Saturday, It’s Showtime was airing on GMA’s GTV plus A2Z and on cable TV.

“Welcome to the new era of noontime television!” said GMA. “Maraming salamat sa inyong mainit na pagtanggap sa It’s Showtime, Madlang Kapuso! (Many thanks for your warm welcome of It’s Showtime, Kapuso viewers of the show!)”

Meantime, It’s Showtime co-host Teddy Corpuz appealed to netizens to stop destroying each other and to just watch both shows. 

“Yung pinag aaway nyo kami, pero bakit di nalang tangkilikin parehas? Yes may competition… minsan talo, minsan panalo. Parehong gumagawa at nag nanais mapasaya kayo. Kung di ka masaya sa isa, eh di dun ka sa kabila at wag ka na lang manira. Focus ka sa tv mo at wag sa tv ng kalaban mo,” the singer, lead vocalist of Filipino rock band, Rocksteddy, said on X on Sunday.

(You’re making us fight, why not just patronize both? Yes, there’s competition…sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Both shows try to make you happy. If you’re not happy with one show, just watch the other show and stop destroying. Focus on the TV and not on the TV [show] of your competitor.)

Loyal fans of both competing noon shows have aired their respective support for It’s Showtime and Eat Bulaga! on social media. Rappler’s initial Facebook post on the pilot episode, for instance, got over 1,500 comments.

“Let’s just be grateful that these shows entertain us and relieves our stress of daily life,” said commenter Marie Sarmiento Hicaro on Rappler’s Facebook.

Others noted that while GMA and ABS-CBN are battling TV5 in the noon slot, ABS-CBN’s prime time shows air on the Kapatid channel every night. Some fans of Eat Bulaga! said it had to take two companies to beat the country’s longest-running noon show which started in 1979.

It’s Showtime’s Saturday episode was the first co-produced by the two former broadcast rivals after GMA and the Jalosjos family-owned Television and Production Exponents Incorporated (TAPE) agreed last month to end their blocktime deal on airing the short-lived noon show Tahanang Pinakamasaya on Channel 7.

It’s Showtime’s Saturday episode got significantly more commercials for the pilot show and it also won the battle on combined page views. Eat Bulaga! held a “National Barangay Day” last Saturday where several local villages got to participate in the show.

On Monday, comedian Vice Ganda thanked “Madlang Kapuso” viewers for a successful pilot episode, saying they will continue to bring them happiness and love.

Despite the rise of internet viewing, many Filipinos still watch noon shows on television while having lunch, and major companies still find it useful to place commercials that market medicines, laundry soap, fast-food, beer, shampoo, milk, coffee, noodles, bread, diapers, and dog food.

Team Anne vs Team Vice

Meantime, It’s Showtime hosts were the guests for the first time on the popular game show Family Feud Philippines on the Kapuso channel on Monday.

Team Anne, composed of Anne Curtis, Teddy Corpuz, Ogie Alcasid, and Vhong Navarro, battled with Team Vice comprising Vice Ganda, Jhong Hilario, Amy Perez and Jugs Jugueta. 

Team Anne won the first two rounds, but Team Vice won the third round. 

Vice Ganda and Jhong Hilario moved on to the the Fast Money Round but failed to reach the minimum 200 points for the jackpot prize. – Rappler.com