Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Repost: Albee Benitez Sheds Light on Changes in Brightlight's Program Lineup in Interview with Ricky Lo

Image courtesy of www.philstar.com

What though the radiance which was once so bright

Be now for ever taken from my sight,

Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower;

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind;

In the primal sympathy

Which having been must ever be...

— William Wordsworth

I’m not so sure if you can find any (even if subtle) link between those immortal lines (reprised in the bittersweet 1961 movie Splendor in the Grass starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty) and the recent showbiz goings-on, but I do.

After that rather “poetic” intro, let’s let the splendor in the grass be and get down to brass tacks.

“I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel...” started Brightlight Productions big boss Albee Benitez, “they were telling me that it takes time to develop. We were really hoping that there would be some light but I never saw that light. Whether you believe that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, at a certain point it becomes a business decision. Ano muna tayo...cut losses. Let’s fight some other time.”

In his characteristic calm, cool and composed demeanor, Albee was reacting to what showbiz observers called the “ranting” of Johnny “Mr. M” Manahan over the untimely demise of his Sunday show Sunday Noontime Live (SNL) which was axed after only three months (starting in October last year, equivalent to one season/cycle). Two other Brightlight shows suffered the same fate, namely I Got You and Sunday Kada.

After The STAR broke the scoop (on Monday last week, Jan. 18) that Cignal/Kapatid TV5 and Kapamilya ABS-CBN were into a partnership (should we now call the tie-up Kamag-anak?), rumors spread that SNL — earlier announced as folding up — was to be replaced by the 25-plus-year-old Kapamilya Sunday show ASAP Natin ‘To which used to be directed by Mr. M. Ouch!!! Masakit ‘yon, ah! It did happen last Sunday, Jan. 24, with a reinvigorated ASAP in top fighting form now directed by Joanne Laygo (empowered women, rejoice!).

Mr. M quit ABS-CBN in September last year after 35 years, serving as head of Star Magic which continued to be manned by his long-time partner Mariole Alberto until last Jan. 1 when Laurenti Dyogi took over. Dyogi is described as “well-liked, well-loved and easy to deal with.” He is in-charge of the PBB (Pinoy Big Brother) show which launched the careers of, among others, Ejay Falcon, Sam Milby, Gerald Anderson, Maymay Entrata, Edward Barber and Kim Chiu.

Asked about the “ranting” of Mr. M in an interview with the Summit Media editors, Albee (former Negros Occidental congressman) simply said, “I didn’t have to read it. Basically, as I have said, at the end of the day, it was a business decision. I told them, ‘Sorry na lang; let’s just fight another day, let’s wait for the signal to be better.’”

Brightlight’s Cignal/TV5 six-month contract (October 2020 to March 2021) is for six shows (the remaining three are the daily show LOL/Lunch Out Loud, Rated K hosted by Korina Sanchez and Oh My Dad).

“Only LOL is directly produced by Brightlight,” explained Albee. “The rest are line-produced.”

The SNL line-producer is Cornerstone headed by Erickson Raymundo.

“I gave them the weekly budget (not revealed) at bahala na sila how to dispose of it,” noted Albee who is not new to the TV business, having produced and co-hosted a show called The Game Changer Philippines (2016) with his son Javi (who has ventured into acting) on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). “Pag kulang, we would make adjustments.”

Did he have any idea how the budget was divided among the stars and other production people?

“No,” replied Albee. “Ask Cornerstone.” (Note: Funfare texted Erickson but he didn’t answer.) Added Albee, “I really don’t know. I’ve been hearing some figures (talent fee) but I am not sure. That’s Cornerstone’s responsibility.

“Every week, they would update me on the rating. The premiere episode was okay, mataas ang rating but it started to go down. They told me that it was a fluke, that it usually takes six months to make a profit. They saw the revenue, they saw the ratings, they saw everything. Ang hirap naman that we would continue and keep on losing money. Masakit naman ‘yon! You are spending big money and it’s not earning anything, and you are paying everybody pa.”

(According to Funfare sources, around 36 employees were recruited from ABS-CBN which reported to have lost some “11,000” employees due to the shutdown. “Albee was generous enough to give Brightlight employees a half-year bonus last December even if they were working for the company for only three months,” adding, “and their salaries were higher than those they were getting from ABS-CBN.” One host, paid P85,000 per appearance, made a six-month advance that amounted to a mind-boggling P1.5 million!)

“During the first season, they call it ‘cycle,’ we had to make adjustment kasi malayo ang difference between the revenue and the cost. I think the pandemic really cut down on the revenue. You cannot be producing a show and expecting that the revenue will be the same as that of the pre-pandemic. After all is said and done, ang diyos ng TV industry ay ratings. If your rating is not good, what would you do?”

Ask any businessman if he would continue financing a losing project while his company is hemorrhaging very badly and you would get the same answer. You have the money and you decide what to do with it.

“I followed everything in the contract,” stressed Albee. “The natural provision in any contract is that if a business enterprise is losing money, kapag nalulugi na and it will not recover, you try to cut the losses and save it.”

That answers Mr. M’s assertion that he was caught unaware by the sudden closure of SNL.

Brightlight will continue with the three remaining shows because, according to Albee, the budget (of each show) is three times lower than that of SNL. In the official TV5 release (about the airing of the Kapamilya shows), Brightlight was prominently mentioned. Asked if he’s partnering (kasosyo) with the joint networks, Albee said, “No, it’s just a collaboration,” since Brightlight owns the airtime until March.

Albee has opted to turn a deaf ear to whatever ranting there is, knowing that he’s the one losing big money. It’s unfair that he’s being blamed for the whole mess.

“Guess who is left holding an empty bag,” rued Albee.

(Your guess is as good as anybody’s. Albee didn’t comment on the rumor that Brightlight has lost a whopping P600 million so far! Wow, that’s big money in any denomination!)

Would he sustain Brightlight after its TV5 contract expires in March?

“Let’s wait and see,” said Albee.

60 comments:

  1. Kilala ko yung host na may advance payment. Clue: hindi SNL host.. spending beyond his means 😂

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    1. It’s one of the SNL hosts dahil yung pagkatsugi ng SNL ang pinakafocus ng interview. Either of the 3 tinutukoy ni Albee dyan..

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    2. 11:11 ay hindi marunong magbasa

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    3. Ganun talaga Pandemic need maglabas ng pera dahil maraming artistang mayayaman ang walang kinikita.

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  2. Poor businessman his shows did not rate. KAPAMILYA FLOP..LOL NEXT

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    1. Tard na tard baks ah

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    2. it is not Albee's problem. Producer yan, yung ABS mismo ang may problema within their management kaya ganyan.

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  3. Reality bites.. who has the empty bag? In this crucial times, i dont think there is any person who in their mind will throw away their hard earned money more so millions.. wishing you the best mr albee

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    1. In bad faith pala siya sa contract na pinirmahan niya. Hindi siya takot pumirma kasi alam miya may way out of it. In the first place he should have done due diligence bakit parang nagulat sa laki ng lumalabas na pera? Papano na yung mga tinangay niyang talent nganga na lang?

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    2. Ang laki pala ng lugi.
      Kung sumunod siya sa show execs na wait another 3 months, baka abutin na ng bilyon ang lugi niya.

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    3. Grabe. Tapos nagagalit pa SNL/TV5 tards kasi nakikipagpartner ang network sa ABS. If ganyan kalaki na 600m loss, tama lang na maghanap na lang muna ng show na may ready audience na

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    4. hindi, nagagalit ang mga tao dahil sa hindi na makabalik sa ABS yung mga SNL na dati naman talagang nandoon sila nagtatrabaho pati si MR M. 1:14 kala ko kasi Kapamilya sila , hindi ganun ang pagtrato sa ka PAMILYA.

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    5. 900 teh sila nagresign. at tsaka anong problema mos kapamilya they are just making sure na yong mga nasa sa kanila pa patuloy na magkayrabaho!

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    6. 12:13 hindi sila nag resign, bakit parte pa rin sila ng Star Magic? magulo di ba. Dapat kung parte sila ng Star Magic, they all move as a team. Nabigyan pa rin sila ng iba pang projects. Same with the other Kapamilya celebs and staff

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  4. Troot. Siya nawalan ng pera pero iba ang ngumangawngaw. Pasalamat dapat sila na nabigyan sila ng work at income even for a short period compared sa losses ni Benitez. Kung nag-aambag sila sa cost doon siguro may karapatan sila magrant.

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    1. O nga. Bayad naman ung mga nasa show. Im sure naka suweldo din si Mr M. Pride na lang siguro ni mr m hindi niya matanggap , hindi siya sanay na hindi tumagal ang show niya.

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    2. naawa lang yung mr M doon sa mga taong dala dala nila. Wala na kasi silang work after this.

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  5. He is handling it so well by not making patol to rants, considering his financial hemorrhage.

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    1. he is an investor , yung mga yan hindi talaga nagpapapatol sa issue. Its too pathetic for them.

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  6. Blah blah blah....straight to the point na dapat ang sagot yes u lost a big million of pesos

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  7. He shouldn't give the budget to Cornerstone without fully knowing the breakdown of how and where would the money be spent to and for.

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  8. Basa Mr. M, rant pa more!

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  9. So it seems na si Cornerstone pala dapat ang sisihin. Mukhang si Cornerstone kumita pa (w/ their commission on talent fees) while si Benitez lugi. Kapal naman ng mukha na magdemand ng masmataas na sahod compared to their ABS salaries. Most artists are taking paycuts na.

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    1. Kaya sila umalis ng ABS kasi mas malaki talent fee ang offer sa Brightlight.

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    2. 11:44 wag ka umimbento ng kwento bilang respeto kay MR M. Umalis sila ng ABS dahil irrelevant na sila doon. May nagtayo ng shadow talent management na lumalaban sa Star Magic. Biro mo sa sarili nilang bakuran.

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  10. hindi pala sya handang mawalan nang kapital dapat di sya pumasok sa producing

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    1. Baks isip isip din. Lahat yan may risk at may tolerable amount of risk siya. Malamang nasagad na yung tolerable level dahil madaming losses. Mahina ang return of investment kasi matumal ang pasok ng ads as revenue.

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    2. Correct. Ang dating kasi nanguha siya ng talents tapos nung hindi pala kumita hindi niya mapanindigan at iniwan sa ere ang mga pinirate niya. Sabihin na nating siya ang nawalan ng pera, pero kasalanan niya din ksi desisyon niya na pasukin yan ng hindi pinag aralan mabuti ang papasukin niya

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    3. 9:48 Matatanda na rin naman ung talents, may managers pa. Dapat sinigurado nila na hindi lang pala 3 months ang itatagal, or kung magkaganun, may backup show o projects

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    4. 948 teh nagrab sila ng opportunity. and i dont think hindi nila pinag isipan yan. and problema nga lang nag flop sila kaya tigbak. they all made a risk from the producer, the stars and everybody na involve.

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  11. Sikat yung talents kasi sikat ang network. Kaya nga yung mga big star nila walang sumusunod na fans kapag lumilipat.

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  12. Sikat yung talents kasi sikat ang network. Kaya nga yung mga big star nila walang sumusunod na fans kapag lumilipat.

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  13. Malaki ang nawala sa kanya bcoz the shows didn't do well pero chill lang xa. On the contrary, Mr.M is ranting bcoz he wanted to go head to head against abs but failed bigtime at masyadong napahiya ang ego. Three months lang ang itinagal ng snl at replays pa ang iba pero noontime live ang title hehe. Kabagobago replays agad. This is a clear testament that public are loyal with the network more than to artists.

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    1. Sakit siguro for Star Maker to realized that even after 30+ years, he is still nothing without the network.

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    2. 4:98 but they dont have a network. Kaya nakiki network sa 5

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    3. 3:09 In fairness naman kay Mr.M, ang gagaling ng mga talents niya. Compare naman sa mga pinasikat ni Direk Lauren, Yikes.
      Dapat inilaban ni Mr.M ang star magic kesa siya ung umalis. Tapos ayan nga, sarado agad nilipatan niya. Tsk tsk

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    4. 1038AM what is surprising, wala silang network but they keep providing great shows to the public unlike those who do have a franchise but can't give us great shows. It's either replays or cartoons. They don't care anymore what they put on air kasi kumikita naman. At meron namang iba na may franchise at may inooffer na bago but people are not buying it and still go for the shows of this franchiseless network.

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    5. 2:15 nag deteriorate ang shows niyan over the years dahil nga sa palakasan system.Chrarat yung mga bagong artista except for a handful of talents. Yung mga gusto pa rin ng tao yung mga dati ng stars.

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    6. 2:15 even if you are providing great shows, if there is no budget, no continuity, mawawala ang interes ng mga tao. You should always consider what the public wants. Ayaw nila ng chararat, gusto nila magaganda, Malakas ang exposure sa Netflix at sa Korean serye. Kaya nacocompare na ng audience.

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  14. Mr Albee has nothing to do with the inner struggle within ABS. Ibang management company yan. May problema dito yung Star Magic na pinasisipa na ng company because there are other shadow management taking over.

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  15. naku MR albee wag po kayong mag invest doon sa nagrerecruit ng mga chararat at chaka sa showbiz. Kung ang Korea pinapaganda ang mga artista at tinraining bago sumikat. Dito sa Pilipinas may management na naisipang mag recruit ng mga panget at walang talent. Malala pa sa MLM sa dami ng nirerecruit.

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  16. Si cornerstone pala may kasalanan niyan. Sino ba mga talent niyan? Ang alam ko si Cat lang e.

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  17. Sorry but I think it’s your fault Mr Albee. You’re the producer and you don’t know the details of the budget? You were not in control of your money since you entrusted everything to Cornerstone. So anong role ni Albee taga abot lang ng pera? He’s not a clever businessman. He should know where his money was going up to the last centavo.

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    1. Kaya nga niya tinigil kasi nakikita niya na lugi na. What if cornerstone promised revenue? Ganun naman sa business. Inaakit mo si investor na kumita para maglabas ng pera.

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    2. fault ito ni MR Katigbak. Kung hindi magulo ang paghandle niya sa ABS, hindi din magkakagulo ang kanyang mga upper management team like sila MR M. Poor leadership skills. Malakas ang politika sa loob mismo ng ABS.

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  18. It goes hand in hand, hindi lang naman director ang nagdadala dyan at mga talents. May mga excutives at team nila na naghahandle for advertisement na magpopondo sa overall budget. Hindi porke 30 years ka nagdidirector sa show eh ikaw na lahat nagdadala. It is the whole network. Aminin nyo man o hindi matibay ang market ng abs cbn kahit walang prangkisa.

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    1. sa history ng ABS wala pang nangyari na nilabanan ng ibang shadow management within the network yung Star Magic. Kasi Kaya nga kapamilya, isang layunin sila na mapaunlad ang showbiz. Pero sa management ngayon, nagkanya kanya sa loob ng ABS. Ano bang klaseng pag mamanage ni MR Katigbak?malayo sa mga naunang sila MR Lopez.

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  19. A talent, a great star builder, a good manager, even a good show can't make it without a loved network. You may hate abscbn but they can make a trashy show and a trashy talent a household name. There's something about their brand.

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    1. sir unfortunately wala ng network di ba natanggalan ng franchise at nawala sa ere.

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    2. maganda pa kasi ang pagpapatakbo nila El Kapitan, Mr Lopez noong araw. Wala yung mga ganitong conflict within the management. Baka yung namamahala ngayon sa ABS ang may problema. Yung upper management. Nawala na kasi yung mga institusyon like FMG.

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    3. nandiyan pa rin sila limited nga lang pero yung sasabihin mo na nawala talaga at all baka di mo lang maccept.

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  20. Sinong bigating host naman kaya yun?

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  21. For sure cornerstone presented a proposal for albee, big stars mean big revenues din. That’s the initial assumption. As an investor, susugal si albee. Madaming businesses na ang investors ay d nangengealam sa pagpapatakbo ng negosyo. Sila lang bahala mag finance, basta inassure sila na may ROI sila. Kaso in this case. Nalugi siya dahil ang big stars d nakapag pasok ng huge amount sa investment niya. Ganun kasimple.

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    1. I think napahamak si MR Albee as an investor doon sa gulo ng ABS within their network. Kaya naman lumipat sa kanya yang sila MR M dahil nga sa away mismo internally sa ABS.

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  22. every business is a gamble. Its either you win or loose at hindi yan agad kikita kung sandali pa lang. Sana lang kung nalugi , ibalik nyo yung mga artista, mga staff at si MR M sa ABS kung saan sila galing. Kung hiram lang sila, hindi yung nganga na silang lahat after SNL.

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    1. Close ba si Albee sa ABS. Hindi kasalanan niya na kumagat sila sa offer. Pera ang dahilan kung bakit sila lumipat kaya wag niyo sisihin si Sir kasi hindi din niya ginusto ang nangyari.

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    2. Wala silang work sa abs, mas nganga sila don kaya pano babalik.

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    3. Albee is not showbiz. He is an investor. So hindi talaga pinakikiaalaman yang issue na pa showbiz nung may ari. Masi dati si Eugenio Lopez hindi nangengealam sa mga showbiz. There are managers to take care of details like talent fees and expenses.

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