MediaQuest Holdings, the owner of TV5, is currently engaged in discussions with the Lopez family’s ABS-CBN Corp. regarding the potential transfer of It’s Showtime to a different time slot.
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This development comes as Tito, Vic, and Joey’s (TVJ) iconic noontime show, Eat Bulaga, makes its transition to TV5.
According to Manuel V. Pangilinan, the chairman of MediaQuest, the block time arrangement between TV5 and ABS-CBN is set to expire on June 30. The timing of the transfer for Eat Bulaga to TV5 will depend on when Tito, Vic, and Joey are ready with their new format.
Pangilinan emphasized that TV5 is committed to providing the noontime slot to TVJ, and the option of transferring It’s Showtime to another time slot is on the table if ABS-CBN is willing to consider it.
The final decision rests with ABS-CBN, as MediaQuest is prepared to accommodate their schedule preferences.
“Were open to their schedule and we are coordinating with ABS.-CBN I believe that TV5 is committed to TVJ for the noontime slot, so it’s either them or Showtime unless ABS-CBN are willing to move to another time slot which we are prepared to give to them , but it’s up to them not up to us,” Pangilinan told reporters.
In a groundbreaking agreement, TVJ and MediaQuest have joined forces to bring Eat Bulaga, the country’s longest-running noontime show, to TV5. This move follows Eat Bulaga’s departure from GMA, its home network for 28 years, due to a falling out with the Jalosjos family, who owns TAPE Inc.
MediaQuest acquired ABC Development Corp. and its blocktimer MPB Primedia Inc. in 2010 through a joint consortium led by businessman Antonio Cojuangco, Jr. and Malaysia-based broadcaster Media Prima Berhad.