The much-awaited celebration of the 11th anniversary of It’s Showtime is happening despite the ABS-CBN franchise rejection.
On the Saturday episode of It’s Showtime, a touching video for their opening spiel was shown.
Comedian and It’s Showtime host Vice Ganda couldn’t help but be emotional for the success of the reopening and rebirth’ of the show.
“Hindi maganda iyong pakiramdam ko nu’ng mga pagkakataon na iyon, Pinipilit kong tumawa pero durog na durog iyong puso ko.
“Namatay ako for a time pero ngayon nabuhay ulit ako. At iyong buhay ko punong-puno ng pag-asa.”
The overall feeling of the clip was that they felt like they were reborn—stronger and much more driven to do their work the best they could.
It started with the hosts recalling the discomfort they were dealing with when they were first taken off the air by the pandemic, followed by the news of the shutdown.
Tracking back, a cease and desist order against the network was issued by the National Telecommunications Commission ( NTC) on May 5, 2020, forcing ABS-CBN to suspend operations for all its free-to-air broadcasting channels.
Members of the House of Representatives, especially the Committee on Legislative Franchises, voted 70-11 on July 10, 2020 to reject ABS-CBN’s franchise application, citing several issues relating to the franchise of the network which were already disproved by other government agencies.
As ABS-CBN made its return on free television on Zoe Channel 11, on the newly rebranded A2Z channel 11 on analog broadcast this week, audiences are beginning to enjoy ABS-CBN’s television dramas, movies, and live entertainment shows.
The 10-year-old Kapamilya noontime show, It’s Showtime, debuted on A2Z on October 10. When the main hosts, particularly Vice Ganda, Vhong Navarro, and Jhong Hilario, remembered their bosses for their efforts to bring the show back to free television.
The Magpasikat is an annual celebration of It’s Showtime with the hosts going all out to perform for the madlang people.