Be Careful: Game changer

In the week that Be Careful With My Heart began airing on weekday mornings, the call center started receiving viewers’ requests for a weekend marathon telecast because they are at work and could not watch the show.

While receiving such kind of feedback is not new to Sheilla Ventura, who has been working in the ABS-CBN call center for 21 years, her instincts told her that it was going to intensify.

“It was different this time. The calls were relentless and persistent,” said Ventura, who supervises ABS-CBN Call Center Operations. “People would call to ask what happened in the show when they failed to watch due to brownouts. So our call agents have to watch the show to be able to provide them with information.”

Her instincts were proven right in the following weeks as viewers kept asking for another timeslot for Be Careful. It didn’t take long before ABS-CBN addressed the viewers’ clamor and started a weekly airing of Be Careful With My Heart Sabado Rewind in September.

Be Careful With My Heart has proven to be a game changer. Its TV viewership further increased this year when it was moved to the noontime slot, defying the TV fare that Filipinos have been used to watching the past decades. And since it is shown at a timeslot when most people are out of their homes, it has also created a new viewing habit among Filipinos — that is to watch TV on ABS-CBN’s free video streaming site iWantv! In fact, Be Careful is the most viewed program on iWantv with 3.9 million page views in March alone, based on Google Analytics.

Undoubtedly, the light romantic drama that tells the story of an unlikely but budding romance between a nanny named Maya and her employer “Sir Chief” has hooked the nation. It put together the untested pairing of actress Jodi Sta. Maria and commercial model Richard Yap. The gamble paid off as it turned out to be one of the most successful tandems today.

The show has been enjoying a big following such that viewership is at par with shows aired on primetime when viewing levels peak. It’s the only daytime show that has been figuring in the Top 10 Most Watched TV programs nationwide.

People talk about it everywhere. Some would even work around their schedules to watch it. Florence Reyes, a private employee who is not a regular teleserye viewer, said she got interested in the show because it was a frequent topic of conversation among her colleagues. She got hooked with the engaging story and the cast’s endearing performances.

“Ever since I started watching Be Careful, I started bringing my own lunch because I would not want to miss an episode. And if I had to set lunch meetings, it would have to be after the show,” said Reyes. 

ABS-CBN Interactive Digital Media head Ralph Menorca believes Internet TV is here to stay with more and more Filipinos enjoying the benefit of being able to enjoy “TV everywhere.” 

“iWantv! caters to people on the go, who normally can’t catch the programs on schedule, and who want to watch their favorite shows at their own time. If you missed it on TV, you can watch it over the Internet,” he said.

Joseph Dublados, who works at a business process outsourcing firm, is one of those who registered on iWantv! to watch Be Careful and his other favorite ABS-CBN programs.

“Viewing is more pleasurable online because there are no commercial gaps and cliffhangers to deal with,” he said.

With the way people are watching the show, Be Careful With My Heart is truly a game changer both offline and online as it has dominated daytime TV viewing and created a new habit of online TV viewing among many Filipinos.