Eat Bulaga Co Hosts

[Rebecca Donnelly]

ProductionSpecialists, Inc., a company owned by Romeo Jalosjos Sr., came up with an idea of creating a noontime show for Radio Philippines Network.[10] Antonio Tuviera pitched that Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon, collectively known as TVJ, would be the "perfect" hosts for the show.[11] At a meeting at the InterContinental Manila, Tuviera made an offer to them which was accepted.[11][12] De Leon coined the term "Eat Bulaga" as the title of the show and owns its copyright.[12][13]

De Leon said that he and the Sotto brothers did not sign a contract with the show, when they were offered to become hosts. Vic Sotto said that he accepted the offer and would stop, once he had money to buy a personal vehicle. De Leon also said that the show was supposed to be a short-term employment. After two years, the trio decided to stay with the show.[18][19] The show gained top-rating status in 1980 with the segment "Mr. Macho".[11][15] Production Specialists Inc. went bankrupt and dissolved sometime in July 1980 and the production of the show were handed over to TAPE, Inc. on July 7, 1981.[17] In 1982, Coney Reyes joined the show as the newest host.[20]

In the immediate aftermath of the People Power Revolution, the show went off the air from February 27 to March 1, 1986, due to the transmitter of RPN being disabled by reformist soldiers. In 1987, Aiza Seguerra joined the show after Little Miss Philippines.[11][21] Eat Bulaga! left the Broadcast City complex on December 2, 1987, and transferred to Celebrity Sports Plaza in Quezon City the next day owing to RPN being beset by periodical change of management. The compounded situation led to Tony Tuviera's decision to start negotiations with then-fledgling ABS-CBN to eventually transfer the show.

Eat... Bulaga! moved to ABS-CBN[20] under a co-production agreement due to problems brought about by the sequestration of RPN.[14] On February 18, 1989, the show premiered on its new home with a TV special titled Eat... Bulaga!: Moving On, staged at the Araneta Coliseum.[22] Upon its transfer to ABS-CBN, the show utilized Studio 1 at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center as its main venue while Studio 2 served as an additional facility during special occasions.

In 1994, ABS-CBN attempted to purchase the broadcast rights to the show from TAPE Inc., but Antonio Tuviera and Malou Choa-Fagar rejected the offer, leading the network to give Eat... Bulaga! an ultimatum to leave by January 1995.[citation needed] ABS-CBN retook the timeslot with their own program 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila on February 4, 1995.

In late 1994, the show moved out of ABS-CBN Studio 1 and relocated to Celebrity Sports Plaza in preparation for its transfer. The move became official through a contract signing between TAPE Inc. and GMA officials that was held at the Makati Shangri-La, Manila on January 19, 1995.[14] The show premiered on GMA Network on January 28, 1995, with a TV special titled Eat... Bulaga!: The Moving![22][14][24]

Toni Rose Gayda, Allan K., Samantha Lopez, and Francis Magalona became hosts in 1995, and Anjo Yllana followed suit in 1998. By 2000, Eat Bulaga! was the first noontime variety program to award millions of prizes through its Laban o Bawi segment, gaining instant popularity among viewers. On the other hand, Wally Bayola joined the show but was initially cast as an off-screen jester host who entertained the studio audience during commercial breaks and announced introductions for the show's segments.[25] In May 2001, Magalona was removed from the show following his arrest for drug possession, with Janno Gibbs serving as his replacement while Paolo Ballesteros joined the show as co-host for the U-Bet segment, a university student pageant hosted in remote locations with Derek Ramsay and Phoemela Baranda visiting campuses nationwide. In 2002, Magalona returned to the show after his acquittal and rehabilitation, and ratings increased due to the popularity of the SexBomb Dancers and Sige!!! Ano...Kaya Mo?!? Sakmo! segment. In 2003, Jose Manalo became a regular co-host on the show after serving as production assistant and floor director in 1994 and 1999, respectively. The 25th year celebration of the show was aired on November 19, 2004, from Expo Pilipino.[26] It won the Best Entertainment (One-Off/Annual) Special at the Asian Television Award in Singapore on December 1, 2005.[27][28] The presentation, titled Eat Bulaga! Silver Special, was broadcast on November 27 and 29, 2004.[26]

In 2006, the SexBomb Girls left the show due to a dispute with the producers and they were replaced by the EB Babes.[29] In March 2007, the SexBomb Girls returned until their second departure in 2011, while the EB Babes remained regular performers on the show until 2019.[30][31][32] In September 2007, de Leon started an on-screen feud with Willie Revillame, which led to the Hello Pappy scandal.[33][34]

On March 6, 2009, Vic Sotto announced the death of Francis Magalona, who succumbed to leukemia, during the program. A tribute episode for Magalona was held the following day.[35] Ryan Agoncillo joined the show later in 2009 and the show's 30th anniversary special Tatlong Dekads ng Dabarkads aired.[36][37] In 2012, Ryzza Mae Dizon joined the show after winning the talent search Little Miss Philippines.[38]In 2014, Lenten drama specials returned after a seven year hiatus[39] and an annual awards ceremony, the Dabarkads Awards, was first held.

In July 2015, the love team AlDub, consisting of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, started along with the segment Kalyeserye. The show tripled its Mega Manila and nationwide television ratings and became a daily trending topic on the social media network Twitter worldwide.[40][41] The show held 10 out of 10 highest-rated episodes in 2015.[42] The show held a benefit concert at the Philippine Arena on October 24, 2015. Dubbed as Tamang Panahon, its hashtag #ALDubEBTamangPanahon reached 41 million tweets,[43] becoming the most used hashtag within 24 hours on Twitter.[44] The segment Kalyeserye concluded on December 17, 2016, with a total of 400 episodes.[45][46]

On December 8, 2018, the show moved its live studio location to APT Studios in Cainta, Rizal.[47][48] In March 2020, the admission of a live audience in the studio and production were suspended due to the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[49][50] The show resumed its programming on June 8, 2020.[51] In August 2020, Anjo Yllana was permanently laid off from the show, followed by Ruby Rodriguez in May 2021.[52][53] Maja Salvador joined the show in October 2021 with her own segment, DC 2021: Maja on Stage, followed by Miles Ocampo who joined the show in March 2022, they both starred in the musical-comedy segment, Ang Alamat ng Batang Hamog, with Maine and Ryzza Mae.[54][55] In February 2023, Carren Eistrup joined the show after winning the reality competition segment Bida Next.[56]

In March 2023, Antonio Tuviera resigned as Television and Production Exponents (TAPE), Inc. chief executive officer, and was subsequently replaced by Romeo Jalosjos Jr., former representative of 1st district of Zamboanga del Norte, while his sister Soraya Jalosjos serves as Vice President of Administration, and their half-brother, incumbent Dapitan City Mayor Seth Frederick Jalosjos, became the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO).[57][58] Under Jalosjos' leadership, the company sought to rebrand Eat Bulaga!, resulting in the replacement of longtime mainstay hosts and top-rated segments, and salary reduction of the entire production team.[59][60]

Jalosjos-led TAPE continued to use Eat Bulaga! as the title of their noontime show on GMA Network from June 5, 2023, to January 5, 2024 with new hosts and segments, pending the decision of the IPOPHL regarding the petition from Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey De Leon to cancel TAPE Inc.'s "Eat Bulaga" trademark. During this period, the show was hosted by Alexa Miro, Arra San Agustin, Betong Sumaya, Buboy Villar, Cassy Legaspi, Chariz Solomon, Dasuri Choi, Glaiza de Castro, Isko Moreno, Kimpoy Feliciano, Kokoy de Santos, Mavy Legaspi, Michael Sager, Paolo Contis, Winwyn Marquez, and Yasser Marta, with the participation of Music Hero Band and BPop Idols.[65]

On the other hand, TVJ and their co-hosts Allan K., Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Paolo Ballesteros, Ryan Agoncillo, Maine Mendoza, Ryzza Mae Dizon, and Carren Eistrup announced their transfer to TV5 through the newly-formed TVJ Productions, joint ventured with TV5's parent MediaQuest Holdings on June 7, 2023.[66] After the collaboration, TV5 announced its new noontime program will air in the timeslot occupied by ABS-CBN Entertainment's It's Showtime, following the former's blocktime deal expiring on June 30, 2023.[67][68] On July 1, 2023, their new noontime show, temporarily known as TVJ and the Dabarkads: Moving Forward to TV5 which was later formally titled E.A.T. (stylized as EAT...), officially premiered from the Studio 4 of TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong, amid the ongoing legal case over ownership rights of the Eat Bulaga! trademark against the Jalosjos-led TAPE.[8][66][69] Miles Ocampo, and Atasha Muhlach joined the show in July and September, followed by TVJ Singing Queens in October.[70][71][72]

Following the court's decision, TAPE Inc. immediately withdrew the use of Eat Bulaga!, and rebranded its show to Tahanang Pinakamasaya on January 6, 2024.[80] Due to poor viewership and increasing debt, Tahanang Pinakamasaya was cancelled on March 2, 2024, ending TAPE's 29-year run of noontime programs on GMA Network.[81][82]

Concurrently, E.A.T. was rebranded as Eat Bulaga!,[8][83] and also began to simulcast its Saturday episodes on CNN Philippines as part of an agreement with Nine Media Corporation, marking a partial return of the program to its original home, RPN.[84] Following the shutdown of CNN Philippines on January 31, 2024,[85] the broadcast of the show was carried over to the replacement channel RPTV and was extended to weekdays starting on February 1, 2024.[86]

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