A New Fringe Fanatic

August has ended, but the turmoil in Philippine broadcasting continues.

If you were expecting a polite update, turn back now. I missed August because work was a nightmare and the monsoon rains were downright traumatizing. We’re safe, the roof stayed on, thank God, but my heart goes out to my kabalens out there still wading through floods that take a week and three business days to drain.

Anyway. Where am I?

Right—watching the internal decay of Philippine media. While actual water flooded our streets, my feed was inundated with a whole different kind of sewage: corporate bootlicking, fanatical delusion, and tribal brain rot.

The Absurdity of the Kapamilya Financial Mirage

Let’s begin with the height of financial delusion: ABS-CBN defenders backing their Eurovision Asia coverage and commitment. They just had their Selection Night last weekend to represent the country for the main continental event this November.

For years, trade forums and pipe dreams have discussed an Asian counterpart to the massive European song contest. Now that it’s actually real, it's a multi-million-dollar spectacle—a logistical nightmare requiring massive broadcasting infrastructure, absurdly deep pockets, and regional coordination.

But seeing ABS at the helm triggered instant flashbacks for anyone who remembers their pre-2020 glory days of toxic exclusivity and hyper-insular, "we own the airwaves, music and cinema" snobbery. Naturally, people are annoyed—because let’s be honest, ABS is anything but a neutral venue.

Yet, hardline Kapamilya loyalists are out here unironically arguing that a network clinging to a life raft should drop mega-millions to bankroll this venture.

Are we living in the same planet?

ABS-CBN got kicked off free TV, sold off real estate, kicked thousands of loyal staff to the curb, and had to beg rival networks for blocktime scraps just to keep the lights on. They’re bleeding cash, buried under a mountain of debt, floating on digital prayers, and don't even own a dedicated frequency anymore. (Their boss, CLK, said that in their Annual Stockholders' Meeting.)

Yet, the fantards act as if they control a small nation's wealth, cheering on their network's reckless spending on mega-projects, clueless about basic finances. This is no longer fandom; it's a financial cult. They’d rather see the company drown in insolvency to claim the prestige of "bringing Eurovision to Asia" than admit it’s suffering. It’s irresponsible, delusional, and embarrassing to witness.

The Kapuso Meltdown: Vice Ganda and the Sunday Night Border War

Flip to the Kamuning side, and the outrage machine is equally unhinged—just for different reasons.

GMA fans have reached a new level of hysteria, drafting an "open letter" over Vice Ganda’s "invasion" of their Sunday night line-up. The catalyst? The return of Gandang Gabi Vice (GGV) -- that Sunday scary of 2010s television -- disrupting the sanctity of GMA’s Sunday night programming—right after Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS). Plus, they haven't forgotten the 2013 crude joke against Jessica Soho.

With that, it's basically the return of Vice Ganda's invasion on the airwaves like it was in the 2010s.

Consider the entitlement needed to write an open letter imploring executives to preserve a broadcast lineup. KMJS has long been GMA’s Sunday night crown jewel (the Sunday scary of the 2020s to date), sacred to loyal viewers. See a flagship Kapamilya star—emblem of their historic rival—appear on GMA right after their top-rated news magazine, and it feels like a hostile military occupation.

These fans are lamenting in comment sections, pleading with GMA executives to "protect the Kapuso identity." They miss the real point of modern media survival. GMA's deals with ABS-CBN aren't out of love; they stem from the decline of linear TV (and digital TV is also part of this), where co-productions are financially sensible, and content reigns supreme regardless of origin. Yet, GMA fans view business pragmatism as treason, preferring content of their own (I mean fair enough: GMA has the profit mix, the cash, their stars, the studios, etc.) over sharing a platform with ABS-CBN. Their tribalism blinds them to the industry's realities.

The Death of TV5's Independence: A Kapatid’s White Flag

If the GMA fans are angry with arguments of positive financial health and own untapped talents, true TV5 fans are shattered with their indecisiveness.

A long-time Kapatid supporter (Fil-Am)—one of the few who backed TV5's attempt as a true "Third Alternative" to ABS-CBN/GMA—he was overwhelmed, crushed, and demoralized by ABS-CBN’s relentless invasion of TV5’s broadcast schedule.

After about six months of perceived independence and momentum, TV5 has effectively ceded its prime slots, serving mainly once again as a relay for Kapamilya programs, including their toxicities. Original TV5 entertainment shows—created by local talent, pitched by local creatives, and funded by Manny V. Pangilinan’s network—are repeatedly sidelined, moved to dead time-slots, or canceled outright to accommodate Kapamilya blocktimers.

The fan’s realization was heartbreaking, but entirely accurate: TV5 leadership has no faith in its own Intellectual Property. (Sports is what's good about Reliance and they'll carry the brunt on what ABS did during 2015-20 in a matter of days with a similar scheme with UAAP.)

Instead of nurturing their own shows, stars, and brand, TV5 executives chose the easy route: renting their "house" to the former landlord next door. In doing so, they erased the identity they spent a decade building. This fan didn't just log off—it gave up entirely, because: Why support a network that lacks even self-belief?

The Toxic Hegemony: ABS-CBN as the "Alpha and Omega"

This exposes the root of this toxic cycle: ABS-CBN's insatiable, unchecked cultural hegemony.

Even without a franchise or frequency, ABS-CBN wield an insufferable, imperial arrogance, acting as the Alpha and Omega of Philippine entertainment—the main character in every story.

Partner with TV5? "We saved them."

Collab with GMA? "We brought them actual talent."

A rival show succeeds? "Only because an ex-Kapamilya is in it."

It’s a suffocating, corporate-brained delusion that strangles actual diversity, starves regional broadcasting, and kills real competition. They’ve successfully gaslit millions into believing that Filipino culture will literally implode without them—building a mental monopoly that suffocates any chance of real creative risk taking.

Enter the Fringe: The Mind-Boggling Fantards of ALIW and RPN

Just when you think you've reached the lowest point of broadcast fanatical madness—beyond Kapamilya zealots on X, Kapuso purists on FB, and defeated Kapatids on a blog—you enter the depths of the Philippine TV fandom universe.

Because there's another "fantard" tier: he's not a Kapamilya, Kapuso, or Kapatid, and certainly not a state-media (PTV-4/IBC-13) shill.

Enter the fanbases of ALIW Broadcasting ALIW and RPN.

Is this crowd as massive or loud as the Big Two-and-a-Half? God, no. But what they lack in numbers, they make up for in sheer, unadulterated madness.

Look no further than figures like Angelo Yebra—who goes by "Arbey Olegna" on Facebook because spelling your name backwards like an ambulance is clearly the peak of criminal mastermind intelligence. These guys operate on a completely different plane of reality, cooking up wild, fever-dream schedules for struggling UHF and VHF stations as if these micro-channels have the GDP of a small European nation.

They post delusional reform plans, demanding ALIW or RPN conduct reckless talent raids and programming shifts. They draft fantasy schedules featuring high-profile personalities like Erin Hatfield (which I don't even know), Gretchen Ho, and Jay Esteban—assuming ALIW Channel 23 has the budget, infrastructure, or brand clout to attract top-tier news anchors from major networks.

Even crazier? The obsession with slotting Nation on the Move into these fantasy schedules, though, let’s be honest, NotM likely remain online in obscurity.

And the ultimate absurdity: suggesting ALIW Channel 23 dedicate its overnight hours to simulcasting global state broadcasters like TRT World and France 24.

For crying out loud, ALIW has its own newsroom—an independent broadcasting entity with journalists, tech crews, and facilities to produce local content! They built that for 35 years since DWIZ 882.

Why are these fringe fans so fixated on transforming a local station into a Frankenstein of foreign propaganda, imported anchors, and mismatched blocktimers? It's the same sickness plaguing major network fans: a total lack of respect for local broadcast identity and independent media.

Plus, RPN is no longer the same anymore. They stopped being themselves in 2012 -- they shut their newsroom and put NewsWatch to a halt.

The Warning: A Rotting Landscape

This is no longer harmless online banter; it’s a serious warning for the future of Philippine media.

When viewers became corporate pawns, critical thinking dies:

1. Monopolies Win: We foster giant media empires that crush smaller channels, eroding programming variety.

2. Creativity Dies: Networks avoid risks on original ideas or new franchised shows, because fan bases only demand comfort-food formats and familiar faces.

3. Delusion Replaces Reality: Fans justify bad financial decisions, toxic acquisitions, and absurd broadcast schedules just to "win" an argument on Facebook.

We are witnessing a generation of viewers more obsessed with network logos, corporate agendas, and ratings than the quality, integrity, and independence of the content on their screens.

Whether it's Kapamilyas risking financial suicide with ESC Asia, Kapusos penning tearful manifestos over Meme Vice's now-daily Channel 7 appearances, TV5 abandoning its identity, or fringe ALIW fans attempting to turn Channel 23 into a TRT World relay—the diagnosis is the same.

The storms outside will eventually pass, but the rot inside Philippine media is terminal. There’s nothing left to save; we’re just watching the slow, agonizing fade to static.