Sharon bumped off by Willie from Delta Studio

She used to be dubbed ‘megastar’, owing to her unparalleled popularity both as an actress and singer, with TV networks fighting over her and every product desperately seeking her endorsement.

 

But now, Sharon Cuneta has been reduced to a mere casualty in what seemed like a fight between TV5 and GMA Network for an audience attention every noontime.

 

Cuneta, formerly wife to erstwhile heartthrob Gabby Concepcion and now the missus of Senator Francisco ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan, has been bumped off from TV5’s Delta Studio, where she used to tape her show, ‘Sharon: Kasama Mo Kapatid?’ (Sharon: With You, Brother?). She will now do her show at the smaller Broadway Studio.

 

The reason: the network being chaired by businessman Manuel V Pangilinan is making way for its alleged cash-cow, Willie Revillame, who will now use the Delta Studio for his new noontime show. He is also the host of ‘Will Time, Big Time’, a variety show shown on the same network every early evening. This show will fold up once the new one gets aired.

 

Slated for daily airing starting from January 26, Revillame’s new show, titled ‘Wowillie’, is being touted by its home network to give GMA-7’s ‘Eat Bulaga!’, the country’s longest-running and most successful noontime variety show, a run for its money.

 

TV5 is banking on Mr Revillame’s popularity among the Filipino masses to dislodge from the top ratings Tito, Vic, and Joey, the popular hosts of ‘Eat Bulaga!’ Tito is Senator Vicente Sotto while Vic is his brother, and Joey is a good friend of them.

 

They have been together at the show for more than three decades, save perhaps every time Senator Sotto took leave to focus on his senatorial duties.

 

The senator has been observed going back to TV hosting every time that an election is coming.

 

‘Eat Bulaga!’ ’s triumvirate, meanwhile, said they are not intimidated by Revillame’s alleged mass appeal, adding they already had shows competing against each other at the same timeslot in the past.