A Big Gamble by GMA 7

A BRAND-new Sunday variety show will be launched by GMA 7 this month.

Titled Studio 7, it will be aired Sunday nights on the Kapuso Network at 7:30 pm before the news magazine show Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho. It will replace the singing contest The Clash which ended last week.

Studio 7 will be hosted by GMA's top singing stars Christian Bautista, Mark Bautista, Julie Anne San Jose and Kyline Alcantara. Young stars Rayver Cruz and Gabbi Garcia will also be part of the new show, as well as the finalists of The Clash.

Judging by its time slot, Studio 7 will be up against formidable competition on Sunday nights such as The Kids Choice on ABS-CBN and the PBA games on ESPN5.

Studio 7 is GMA's attempt to revive the Sunday musical variety show format on primetime which the network first tried in the 80s with The Penthouse Live with Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez. ABS-CBN last tried it with Sarah G Live in 2011.

It will be a big gamble on the part of GMA to put up Studio 7 because the Sunday variety show format, truth to tell, is already passe. Many viewers prefer watching reality shows where ABS-CBN has been dominant because of its contracts with the international franchise holders compared to GMA which has been struggling to maintain a dominant presence on weekend primetime.

Among GMA's Sunday shows, Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho has been getting a lot of high ratings because of its credibility. Its host Jessica Soho has been blessed with a good staff plus the support from the GMA News Department which produces the show.

The absence of GMA's top songstress Regine Velasquez from Studio 7 is an indication that this show will have a hard time staying on air. Regine is reportedly moving to ABS-CBN to join her husband Ogie Alcasid and her contemporaries Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano and Zsa Zsa Padilla on ASAP. The Songbird is also reportedly going to be a judge on the new season of The Voice Philippines.

Studio 7 would have been a perfect competition for ASAP but GMA feels that Sunday Pinasaya is a better alternative because of the latter's comedy format, plus the fact that it is produced by the same people behind the long-running Eat Bulaga. As they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Other than Studio 7, GMA should improve on its Sunday programming if it wants to lure viewers away from ABS-CBN. Their Tagalog-dubbed movies on SNBO, Kapuso Movie Festival and GMA Blockbusters only turn off a lot of viewers because of the awkward dubbing of these films.

Instead, GMA should make Stories for the Soul and Atom Araullo Specials weekly ones instead of once a month. Air those shows on SNBO and then replay them on GMA News TV after a week.

It's also sad that GMA doesn't have a big library of recently shown Tagalog movies compared to ABS-CBN through its Kapamilya Mega Blockbusters. The latter has broadcast rights over many of these films, leaving GMA out in the cold.

GMA also doesn't have a sports division and only relies on blocktimers like Arnold Vegafria for the airing of Manny Pacquiao's fights. GMA used to air the Shakey's V League before it moved to ABS-CBN S+A and became the Premier Volleyball League.

Let's hope Studio 7 can offer something different. Otherwise, it will be a big blow to GMA whose programming is slowly losing its quality.