It’s one historic Saturday, July 1, for noontime shows in the country as It’s Showtime and TVJ’s (Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon) E.A.T., and GMA’s Eat Bulaga marked their important milestones, respectively.
As it ignited a new noontime war, these milestones also served as a celebration of a new era for the entertainment industry.
It’s Showtime has expanded its viewership as it has begun airing on GMA Network Inc.’s free-to-air channel, GTV. Meanwhile, the iconic trio TVJ has returned to national television with their new program, E.A.T., finding its new home on TV5.
The “greatest plot twist” that no one had expected became a hot topic on Twitter. It’s Showtime secured the top spot on the worldwide trending list with the hashtag #GnaGsaShowtime.
Online, according to a popular ABS-CBN fan site, the show garnered over three million views within five hours after it was broadcast and had more than 361,000 concurrent viewers (referring to the number of live viewers watching online at the same time). Meanwhile, E.A.T. had over 230,000 according to the same source.
“Ito na ang inaabangan ng lahat. Ang trending na usap-usapan at inaabangan sa social media. Ang hindi natin inakalang mangyayari, heto na, it is really happening, right now, right here,” It’s Showtime host Vice Ganda said during the opening of the noontime show.
“Buong bansa at buong mundo ang saksi dito sa makasaysayang selebrasyon natin. Wala nang hihigit dito sa pinakamatinding plot twist ng taon, dahil ang Kapamilya at Kapuso, ngayon ay pinag-isa,” he added.
In an Instagram post E.A.T. host Joey de Leon shared that their program had more than 10 million total online views on Facebook and YouTube, while their concurrent viewers peaked at 500,000.
Meanwhile, according to DRPS Philippine Commercial Archives, the Kapamilya noontime show had shown 122 ads that aired during the commercial gaps on GTV. The figure does not include the ads placed on the channels and platforms where the program also aired.
On the other hand, the premiere of TVJ’s E.A.T had 112 total advertisements. It also trended on Twitter with the hashtags #LegitDabarkads and #TVJonTV5.
In comparison, Eat Bulaga!, with its new hosts commemorating their first month on the show, featured a total of 42 advertisements.
“Sama-sama kaming nagbabalik. Welcome sa bagong tahanan ng mga legit Dabarkads—TV5! Moving on, moving forward tayong lahat,” Bossing Vic said.
The trio’s comeback was also supported by their family who also served as their audience during its pilot episode.