"Network war is not between the two channels anymore..."

This came from TV5's head of creative and entertainment Perci Intalan when asked about the ever-controversial topic among the boob tube fans: the network war.

He wasn't being bigheaded about it. In fact, when he made the pronouncement during the exclusive interview of PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) early this month, his humble overture was, "Nakakatuwa nga kasi ke bago-bago pa lang namin, napapansin na nila kami..."

He couldn't contain his elation over the recent developments in TV5, which has been his home for six years now.

Mr. Intalan resumed, "I think the network war is no longer the same as before kasi, hindi na dalawang nag-uumpugang bato."

Whenever a star makes a major career move, the Manny Pangilinan-owned network instantly gets dragged into the issue.

"Kapag may issue tungkol sa lahat ng artistang lilipat daw, everybody would suspect na kami ang kausap. Bakit hindi GMA o ABS-CBN? Sa 'PEP Alerts' niyo nga, nagugulat ako kasi, ang bilis ng balita. Sabi ko, 'Sino kumakausap? Saan nanggaling yun?'" he observed.

About gaining recognition as one of the TV industry's catalysts, the young executive said with much enthusiasm, "Napaka-encouraging at nakakataas ng morale."

RATINGS. It was first quarter of last year when Talentadong Pinoy was first noticed by the Pinoy viewers, and landed a spot in the Top Ten.

In June of 2009, Midnight DJ and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ranked number two and three, respectively, within their timeslots.

This year, the station's momentum has not slowed down, and some of its new shows have been showing great promise.

The data of AGB-Nielsen Media Research dated May 8 showed that Talentadong Pinoy gathered a bigger audience share of 28% over GMA-7's Claudine, which generated 21%. The following day, TV5's talent search triumphed over ABS-CBN's Rated K. The difference was only 2%, with TV5 gaining 24% as opposed to the latter's 22%. But it meant a lot to the network that still considers itself as a neophyte in the ratings rivalry game.

For the period April 25-May 22, ten TV5 shows made it to the top 20 morning programs. Amy Perez's Face to Face placed fourth, beating Bayani Agbayani's Diz Iz It, which landed the ninth spot.

The numbers of Vic Sotto's My Darling Aswang indicated an upward trend during Sundays, from March 21 to May 22. It had already beaten GMA-7's Mel & Joey twice.

Despite the good start, competition still has a long way to go, according to Mr. Intalan.