In the years spanning almost three decades in the entertainment industry, Willie Revillame has done the rounds of the three major networks in the country: GMA-7, ABS-CBN, and TV5.
He is once more on the move and apparently has sealed a deal with a newly franchised media company owned by the real estate mogul Manny Villar.
Willie started building his TV hosting career in the late 1980s in the GMA-7 noontime show Lunch Date.
His transfer to ABS-CBN in 1998 would firmly establish Willie as TV host and pave the way for Wowowee, a variety show he alone was the male host and would henceforth in all its incarnations be identified with him.
In between his departure from ABS-CBN in 2010 and his return to GMA-7 in 2015, Willie had a three-year stint in TV5.
Here, PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) looks back at the times Willie packed up to join another network, proving that nothing is ever permanent on television.
MAGANDANG TANGHALI, BAYAN (1998-2001)
In November 1998, Willie Revillame got his big break when he became one of main hosts the noontime show Magandang Tanghali, Bayan together with John Estrada and Randy Santiago.
The show was ABS-CBN's answer to the successful GMA-7 and TAPE, Inc.’s Eat Bulaga! hosted by Joey de Leon, Tito Sotto, and Vic Sotto.
The chemistry among the MTB hosts delighted TV viewers, resulting in their show getting high ratings and ovetaking the lunchtime frontrunner Eat Bulaga! as the top-rating noontime show.
On the other hand, MTB got into hot water with the Movie Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) over the hosts' sexist jokes during the show.
After a series of warnings from the MTRCB, ABS-CBN, in August 1999, imposed an indefinite suspension on Willie, John, and Randy.
A week later, ABS-CBN lifted the suspension and allowed the three stars to resume their hosting duties.
But it wouldn’t take long before Willie said his first goodbye to a noontime show.
In November 2001, Willie was axed from MTB, with management citing "creative differences" between him and the staff as the reason.
He was replaced by the Whattamen boys Rico Yan, Dominic Ochoa, and Marvin Agustin.
MASAYANG TANGHALI, BAYAN (2003-2004)
In February 2003, Magandang Tanghali, Bayan! went through a reformat and changed its title to Masayang Tanghali, Bayan!
The reformat staged the comeback of Willie and his reunion with John and Randy.
But history repeated itself when Willie and John were again suspended for cracking green jokes in the "Super Jack en Poy" segment of MTB.
ABS-CBN said in a statement, "ABS-CBN has taken the initiative to act on instances within the program Masayang Tanghali, Bayan where some of the hosts have used inappropriate language or conduct, despite constant and repeated warnings for them to be conscious of the sensibilities of the viewers."
John and Willie were able to make a comeback after a month, but before the year ended, Willie was mired in another contoversy.
In December 2003, MTB again caught the attention of MTRCB for its December 19 episode, where the diminutive co-host Mahal celebrated her birthday, and Willie greeted her with, "Sana ma-devirginize ka na."
For that comment, MTB could possibly be suspended by MTRCB for 20 days.
Before 2003 ended, Willie aired a public apology in the show.
But on January 1, 2004, maybe to appease MTRCB, ABS-CBN terminated Willie's contract as host of MTB.
There were also reports, unverified, that Willie tendered his resignation to keep the staff from "being affected" by his remarks.
Meanwhile, MTRCB, instead of suspending the show, kept MTB under a tight 20-day watch.
After Willie's second departure from MTB, the show went through another reformat. Now titled MTB: Ang Saya Saya!, the show was headlined Ai-Ai Delas Alas, Arnell Ignacio, and Edu Manzano. The latest reformat no longer included John and Randy.
However, MTB: Ang Saya Saya! was axed in January 2005 because of poor ratings.
In February 2005, ABS-CBN replaced MTB with Wowowee, marking Willie's big comeback on noontime TV.
WOWOWEE (2005-2010)
Unlike in the previous noontime shows where he shared the stage with John and Randy, Willie was the only main man of the show with female co-hosts assisting him.
The show proved to be a success, gaining viewership neck and neck with the long-running and already established Eat Bulaga!
But, as it was with Willie on MTB, so it was with Willie in Wowowee: controversy followed the host.
Five years into the show, he figured in a dispute so huge it not only ended his show, but also severed his ties with the Kapamilya network for good.
On May 4, 2010, on live TV, Willie lost his cool and dared ABS-CBN to kick out Jobert Sucaldito, an entertainment columnist doing shows in the network, or else he would resign from Wowowee.
Willie took it as an insult, igniting his wrath, when Jobert commented in his radio talk show about Wowowee taking in students with low grades of 75 to 79 as contestants.
Speaking directly to the camera, he railed: "Nananawagan ako sa management ng ABS-CBN, huwag niyo namang payagan na tinitira ang show. Ang laki ng kita ng Wowowee para sa ABS. Mamili na kayo. Kapag hindi ninyo iyan tinanggal, ako ang magre-resign dito sa Wowowee! Tandaan ninyo iyan!
"Tinitira ako sa diyaryo ng Jobert na iyan. Tahimik lang ako. Pero tandaan ninyo ito kapag hindi ninyo iyan tinanggal, ako ang magre-resign dito. Para po sa mga tao ito. Para sa mga taong espesyal, para sa mga 75 percent ang grades. Ipaglalaban ko ang mga estudyanteng iyan."
The next day, May 5, and in the days that followed, Willie was a no-show in Wowowee.
On May 15, guest hosts began taking his place, starting with Robin Padilla. Also tapped to sub for Willie were Luis Manzano, John Lloyd Cruz, Vhong Navarro, and Cesar Montano.
At around this time, reports circulated that Willie had sent a letter to the ABS-CBN executives asking to be released from his contract as a talent of the Kapamilya network.
On May 24, Willie met with ABS-CBN bosses and on May 25, the network announced in a statement that Willie had apologized for his outburst and it was accepted.
The statement also said that Willie would be taking an indefinite leave leave from Wowowee, "but his contract obligations with ABS-CBN hold," which meant he could not work for any competing company during his break.
In the meantime, in the nearly three months of Willie's absence from the show, Wowowee's ratings suffered, registering at some point single-digit figures.
On June 30, PEP.ph reported an information, sourced from an ABS-CBN insider, about the network's plan to replace Wowowee with a show to be headlined by Kris Aquino and Robin Padilla.
But on July 19, Cristy Fermin, a close friend of the TV host, informed PEP.ph that Willie would return to Wowowee by July 31.
According to Cristy, Willie and then-ABS-CBN President Charo Santos-Concio had already discussed his comeback.
However, this was denied by ABS-CBN, saying the network and Willie had not reached any agreement about his return to hosting.
On July 27, ABS-CBN announced that Wowowee would be replaced by a new noontime show Pilipinas, Win na Win! with Kris Aquino and Robin Padilla as hosts.
The show was to start airing on July 31, with the former Wowowee co-hosts Mariel Rodriguez, Valerie Concepcion, and Pokwang backstopping the main hosts.
On July 30, 2010, Wowowee aired its final episode, still without Willie. Pilipinas Win na Win! pushed through with its pilot episode the next day, July 31.
On August 9, Willie faced the press to announce he was terminating his contract with ABS-CBN.
In the same press conference, Willie revealed the details of his May 24 meeting with ABS-CBN executives.
According to Willie, ABS-CBN asked him to return to Wowowee on July 31. He also said they talked about the changes—new set, several new segments— once he returned onboard.
On July 20, Willie said he met again with then-ABS-CBN Senior Vice President for TV Production Linggit Tan, who asked if he would be willing to do a once-a-week show in lieu of the daily Wowowee.
Willie said he asked what happened to the original plan that was discussed on May 24, and he quoted Linggit who said, "Marami pang may ayaw sa iyong bumalik ka."
And that, according to Willie, made him decide to cut his ties with ABS-CBN.
Immediately following Willie's press conference, ABS-CBN issued a statement that said the network would continue to hold Willie to his obligations until September 2011 as he had no right to invalidate his contract "unilaterally."
Add to this, on August 20, ABS-CBN refuted Willie's claims about a meeting in which his return to Wowowee by July 31 was discussed.
Linggit Tan also said in a statement that Willie's suspension would end on August 24, and that it was Willie himself who wanted a Wowowee comeback by July 31.
Willie eventually left ABS-CBN and proceeded to ink a contract with TV5, his home station from 2010 to 2013.
WILLING WILLIE (2010-2011)
Willie’s new show, Willing Willie, premiered on October 23, 2010. Unlike his past shows that aired at lunchtime, Willing Willie aired on TV5's prime-time slot.
But in March 2011, barely five months into his new show, Willie again was the man at the center of another controversy, which would lead to the early demise of the show.
On April 8, following accusation of child abuse in Willing Willie's March 12 episode, Willie announced in the show he would be taking a break.
The episode showing a six-year-old boy doing a “macho-dance routine” in exchange for the prize worth PHP10,000 raised eyebrows, eliciting loud reactions from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
In his announcement, Willie said, "Ngayon po, nakipag-usap ako sa presidente ng TV5, si Atty. Ray Espinosa. Nag-usap po kami na hanggang ngayon na lang po ako sa Willing Willie.
“Magpapahinga lang po muna ako. Hindi po ako nagpapaalam.
"Starting Monday po [April 11] hanggang next week, hanggang Holy Week, pag-iisipan ko po muna nang mabuti kung ako po ay magbabalik pa sa industriyang ito.
"Bigyan niyo na lang po muna ako ng pagkakataon sa sarili ko, pag-iisipan ko po ito. Masyado po akong pinagbintangan. Maraming nagbintang sa akin nang wala po akong ginagawang masama."
MTRCB suspended Willing Willie, allowing it to resume airing on May 9, 2011.
On May 14, Willie returned to television with a new show, Wil Time Bigtime.
WIL TIME BIGTIME (2011-2013)
Wil Time Bigtime had a three-hour premiere on May 14, 2011.
Except for the change of title, Wil Time Bigtime followed the format of Willing Willie. It aired on the same timeslot on prime time and had the same co-hosts, including Mariel Rodriguez.
On November 20, 2012, Willie announced that Wil Time Bigtime would go off the air on January 5, 2013.
In his announcement, he said: “Pero ilang linggo lang po at ilang araw lang, bubuksan na ang bago—mas malaki, mas makikinig sa inyo at mas magbibigay ng pagmamahal na todo-todo para sa inyo."
Apparently, Willie was gearing for a comeback in the noontime slot but still with TV5, belying the rumor he would be returning to ABS-CBN.
Wil Time Bigtime aired its last episode on January 5, 2013.
On January 26, 2013, Willie’s new show titled Wowowillie premiered on TV5's noontime slot, more than two years after his show moved to a prime-time slot.
WOWOWILLIE (2013)
Wowowillie, Willie’s comeback to the noontime slot, had a short life.
In May 2013, Willie told PEP.ph he was resigning as host of Wowowillie upon the end of his TV5 contract in October that year.
In the same interview, Willie said he felt "drained" after nine years of hosting TV shows.
On October 13, 2013, Willie gave an emotional speech during the last episode of Wowowillie.
In his one-hour goodbye speech, he promised his fans they would see each other again.
Willie said, “Sa pagsasara po ng yugtong ito sa buhay namin, sana po, sa pagbukas nito ay tayu-tayo pa rin ang magkikita-kita. Tayu-tayo pa rin ang magsasama-sama.
“Sarado na po ang Wowowillie, may bubuksan. Para sa magandang pag-asa at magandang buhay. Abangan niyo po 'yan.”
When Wowowillie ended its run, Willie took a showbiz hiatus until 2015.
Some reports then claimed that he was set to return to his first home, GMA-7, where Willie started his career as a “hawi boy” in the defunct noontime show Lunch Date.
WOWOWIN (2015-2022)
On March 20, 2015, Willie sealed the deal with GMA-7 when he signed an airtime agreement with the network.
This is for Wowowin, a sole production of Willie's WBR Productions. It premiered on April 26, 2015 on GMA-7's Sunday afternoon slot.
Six months after Wowowin premiered on TV, in October 2015, Willie proudly announced that his weekly program is already a co-production between him and GMA-7.
The show then temporarily went off the air on January 17, 2016 to prepare for its reformat as a daily game show which premiered on February 1, 2016.
But after six years of airing as a daily game show, Wowowin ended its run on February 11, 2022.
On February 5, PEP Troika reported that Willie will be leaving GMA-7 and transferring to Manny Villar’s network, AMBS.
Willie and Manny are known to be good friends whose business partnership includes the Wil Tower in Quezon City.
On the same day of the PEP Troika report, GMA-7 released a statement confirming the end of Willie's contract on February 15, and that Wowowin will conclude its run on February 11.
Wowowin’s last week served as a week-long farewell for Willie in GMA-7, where he kept on thanking his boss, Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, for welcoming him into the network.
It was previously reported in Cabinet Files that GMA-7 and Willie parted ways amicably, which Willie reiterated in Wowowin’s live show.
Willie also had mixed feelings about his departure from GMA-7.
The TV host has also yet to reveal his next move after the end of Wowowin.
