It’s payback time for ABS

ABS-CBN recently reinforced its presence in North America with the successful second leg of its US Summer Caravan in San Francisco. Following the unprecedented crowd turnout at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena last July 16, the second show held at the Monster Park Fairgrounds in the Bay Area undeniably lived up to the expectations of nearly 35,000 who came to witness the network’s grand extravaganza.

ABS-CBN didn’t disappoint the crowd. From the lineup of popular stars the network brought to the West Coast to the production numbers and the many surprises, the free shows of ASAP ‘05 and The Buzz turned out to be a certified crowd-pleaser from start to finish.

Bringing entertainment overseas is not a first-time attempt of ABS-CBN. For the past several years, the network has been bringing homegrown talents to perform abroad. The live, back-to-back presentation in San Francisco was part of ABS-CBN’s continuing effort to reach out to the thousands of subscribers of The Filipino Channel (TFC), which has its headquarters in Burlingame, California.

TFC is the largest, longest-running Filipino network in the world and is viewed by more than one million Filipinos around the globe everyday. TFC continues to be North America’s first and only 24-hour cable and satellite service offering all-Filipino programming. TFC Direct satellite service offers viewers six unique channels – TFC, Cinema One, ANC, Pinoy Central, DZMM and DWRR.

"This is our payback and reward to our loyal TFC subscribers," said ABS-CBN Global CEO Raffy Lopez of the US Summer Caravan. "Every time we do events like this, our subscribers are happy and our sales go up."

Raffy was undoubtedly in high spirits for a more apparent reason. The San Francisco show surpassed the feat of the earlier presentation in Los Angeles, said to be the biggest Filipino show ever produced in the US with over 30,000 people. The crowd turnout in both venues only affirmed ABS-CBN Global’s growth with the steadily increasing business of TFC.

"We are growing in double digits yearly and we are continually expanding our business," Raffy said. "This caravan is the biggest we’ve done and the most number of stars that we brought abroad."

The live shows also affirmed ABS-CBN’s dominance in the global market as far as bringing world-class entertainment overseas is concerned. Through TFC, Filipinos abroad feel closer to home through the many programs of ABS-CBN.

Not surprisingly, even new stars like Joross Gamboa and Roxanne Guinoo have gained their fan base in the West Coast. The warm reception of Pinoys to the young love team spawned by the popular Star Circle Quest talent search attested to TFC’s formidable reach in the US. Hundreds of fans sought the young stars’ autographs in the Kapamilya booth inside the venue and posed for souvenir shots with them.

The historic Monster Park, formerly Candlestick Park, is the erstwhile home of the San Francisco Giants major league baseball team. The huge fairgrounds which can accommodate 10,000 cars became the venue for the ABS-CBN live shows in the Bay Area. Even before the gates opened as early as 10 a.m. on the day of the show, there was already a huge crowd that gathered outside the venue in an effort to get their respective strategic locations to see their favorite stars.

In fact, there were a number of Filipinos who had already seen the LA spectacle but also showed up in San Francisco just to get another glimpse of their idols. A 20-member entourage of Judy Ann Santos fans from San Diego made the seven-hour road trip to South San Francisco to watch the show again – and see their idol in the flesh for the second time.

"Something like this doesn’t happen every day," said a loyal Judy Ann follower. "It’s worth the long drive to see Juday again. Every bit of news about her excites us. How much more if we can see her in person? Whenever events like this happen, it eases our homesickness. We’re happy enough to see Juday. The other big stars were simply a bonus for us to see."

Kapamilyas from the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as from the other neighboring cities, had a well-deserved treat with the back-to-back extravaganza which was truly well-received by the huge crowd. The day before the show, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declared July 22 as ABS-CBN International’s TFC Day during a cocktail reception at the city hall.

There were over a dozen booths at the Fairgrounds, where TFC subscribers were given free merchandise from their widely-followed, much-loved ABS-CBN shows. The network’s stars also obliged to autograph signing and photo opportunities, which brought sheer delight to fans.

ABS-CBN Global awarded $25,000 to Nelson Valles, a lucky subscriber of The Filipino Channel (TFC), as part of the ongoing Kapamilya Sweepstakes promo. Also given away was a brand-new Honda Civic to another subscriber who was in the audience that day.

The grand opening salvo of ASAP ’05 saw frontliners Gary Valenciano, Kuh Ledesma, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Piolo Pascual and Vina Morales, with Carlos Agassi, Iya Villania, Toni Gonzaga, Nikki Gil and The Champions – Erik Santos, Sarah Geronimo, Sheryn Regis, Mark Bautista, Rachelle Ann Go and Christian Bautista. The production number culminated in the vibrant Kapamilya summer theme that certainly revved up the spirits of the afternoon crowd which endured the scorching heat in the Bay Area.

Special guest David Pomeranz, a regular Manila visitor, regaled everyone with his all-time hits – Born for You, Got to Believe in Magic, King and Queen of Hearts–which he rendered with Gary Valenciano.

Pinay American Idol Jasmine Trias added star-power to the show as she did well-applauded numbers onstage with Erik, Piolo and Christian. Toni Gonzaga, Nikki Valdez, Iya Villania and Antoinette Taus did an adrenaline-pumping medley of Destiny’s Child hits, which also had the brawny Carlos Agassi rapping (he sent the girls swooning to his well-built physique). Rachel Alejandro and Vina Morales also did well-received numbers, reprising their showdown in LA.

The Champions’ poignant medley of nationalistic songs– Magkaisa, Ako’y Isang Pinoy, Ako ay Pilipino, Bayan Ko, Isang Lahi, Magkakapatid and Handog ng Pilipino –sent a wave of nostalgia to thousands of homesick Pinoys in the audience. Some were even teary-eyed as the young singers carried out one vocally challenging patriotic number after another.

Lead stars of D’Anothers, Star Cinema’s latest box-office hit – Vhong Navarro, Joross Gamboa, Roxanne Guinoo and Toni Gonzaga – did their amusing production number, singing and dancing to the catchy theme of the movie.

Filipinos in San Francisco were endlessly thrilled at the sight of their favorite Kapamilya idols. Every production number merited loud shrieks from the fans who didn’t mind enduring the intense heat of the sun. Johnny Manahan directed ASAP 05, with Homer Flores as musical director who also led a live band that accompanied the artists in their respective numbers.

The talk show triumvirate of Kris Aquino, Boy Abunda and Cristy Fermin ignited the afternoon with their star presence in The Buzz, with mainstays AJ Dee and Chokoleit. Using the same stage set-up, The Buzz hosts regaled Filipinos with the latest entertainment updates from home. Nora Aunor and Kim de los Santos were among the special guests interviewed in the show. Celebrity pairs such as John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos also thrilled fans no end.

ASAP ‘05 and The Buzz gave Filipinos a double treat of exciting talk show fare and impressive musical entertainment, with a star-studded lineup of artists. During the show, a chopper hovered above the venue to take aerial shots of the mammoth open-air crowd.

ABS-CBN executives came in full force to San Francisco. In the audience that day were chairman and CEO Gabby Lopez, ABS-CBN Global managing director Raffy Lopez, ABS-CBN executive vice president Charo Santos-Concio, senior vice president for TV production Cory Vidanes, senior vice president for business development Monchet Olives, vice president for talk, variety and reality Deo Endrinal, vice president for Star Magic Mariole Alberto, vice president for government, corporate affairs and PR Maloli Espinosa, ABS-CBN Global AVP Jeffrey Remigio and ABS-CBN International senior director for sales and marketing Tom Consunji.

The Kapamilya Summer Caravan in the US aired for three Sundays on ABS-CBN’s ASAP ‘05, filled with special numbers from the Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as exciting behind-the-scene footage of the successful events summer caravan. The Buzz likewise showed exclusive interviews taken in the US.