Willie Revillame Concedes to 'Showtime' and 'Eat Bulaga'

Source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Willie Revillame has admitted that the viewership of his noontime program aired on TV5 "fell below expectations," as the controversial host gears up for the show's last month on air and his planned retirement.

The 52-year-old TV host shared the ratings disappointment in a feature on Revillame's Wil Tower Mall published Wednesday on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Revillame spoke about "Wowowillie," which is aired in the same timeslot as ABS-CBN's "It's Showtime" and TAPE's "Eat Bulaga."

Referring to the hosts of the 34-year-old program aired on GMA-7, Revillame said, "No one can beat the rapport of Tito (Sotto), Vic (Sotto) and Joey (de Leon)."

"No matter how good your show is, if the signal is not strong, people won't watch you," the former ABS-CBN star added.

Whereas both "Eat Bulaga" and "It's Showtime" have consistently placed in the Top 20 programs nationwide, according to multinational market research group Kantar Media, "Wowowillie" has repeatedly lagged behind its rival shows by as much as 10 percentage points in national TV ratings.

The latest TV ratings data of Kantar Media released on Wednesday, for instance, shows that "Eat Bulaga" and "It's Showtime" garnered nationwide ratings of 16.3% and 13.7%, respectively, on September 9, while "Wowowillie" only registered 2.9% on the same day.

Kantar Media uses a nationwide panel size of 2,609 urban and rural homes, representing 100% of the total Philippine TV viewing population.

Show's end, retirement

"Wowowillie," which has undergone numerous revamps since its 2010 debut as "Willing Willie," is set to air its last episode on October 12, Revillame said.

He first announced the game show's end in May, saying he has opted not to renew his contract with the Manny Pangilinan-owned network.

"My life was about TV hosting and entertainment. When I talked to Sen. [Manuel] Villar (Revillame's business partner), my perspective changed. You have to be stable," said the TV host, who has four children from four past relationships.

"I thought of the future — not just for my family. I want to share my success with the less fortunate. All these (points to a table) will turn to dust. As long as I live, I want to do something that will make people happy. Life is about giving and forgiving. The world doesn't have to see," Revillame said.