Balik-Kapamilya ang award-winning journalist na si Korina Sanchez.
Noong July 5, 2023, pumirma siya ng co-production deal sa ABS-CBN para sa lifestyle magazine show niyang Rated Korina.
Read: Korina Sanchez on signing co-production deal with ABS-CBN: “Im baaaack."
Kabilang sa mga top executives ng ABS-CBN na present sa contract signing ay sina Chairman Mark Lopez, President and CEO Carlo Katigbak, at COO and Broadcast Head Cory Vidanes.
October 2020 nang mag-freelance si Korina matapos ibasura ng Kongreso ang franchise renewal application ng ABS-CBN.
Read: ABS-CBN Corporation franchise renewal timeline; how much income did ABS-CBN lose in 2020?
"First of all, I always believe in not burning bridges, di ba? True enough now, the lines have no more delineation.
"Yung mortal mo dati, BFF mo ngayon because that’s life," direktang pahayag ni Korina.
Ang tinutukoy niya ay ang network transfers, crossovers, at collabs dala ng changing TV landscape.
Lahad pa niya: "The most unheard of, most improbable scenarios had happened, like the closure of ABS-CBN.
"Now, the merging of ABS-CBN or the shows of ABS are also simultaneously seen in TV5. So, ganon na ngayon."
Read: Eat Bulaga! war and how it changes Philippine TV: A Timeline
ON VOLUNTARY EXIT IN ABS-CBN
Sa pagbabalik ni Korina, may rebelasyon siya tungkol sa pag-alis niya noon sa Kapamilya Network.
Noong panahong iyon ay may mass layoff at downsizing ng ABS-employees at departments. Isa sa tinamaan ay ang public affairs programs ng network kaya marami sa veteran broadcasters nito ay naglipat-bahay sa ibang network.
"It’s a misnomer because although when ABS-CBN downsized, I was the one who went freelance.
"No drama and I never took it against them that they were downsizing. Many of us were freelance.
"And immediately, I went on Facebook, and I looked for one sponsor to pay for skeletal staff, and I went on Facebook," paliwanag ni Korina.
Komento pa niya, "During the pandemic, all my interviews were Zoom, o, buhay naman siya."
Tanggap daw iyon ni Korina at kusa pa raw siyang nagpasya na mag-freelance na lang.
Nakipag-deal si Korina sa Brightlight Productions para iprodyus ang kanyang lifestyle magazine show na Rated Korina, o dating kilala bilang Rated K sa ABS-CBN.
October 2020 nang umere sa TV5 ang Rated Korina na ipinrodyus ng Brightlight Productions, ang independent production company na pag-aari ni Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez.
Ipinalabas din ang show sa A2Z at Kapamilya Channel.
Pero kahit sinasabi niyang hindi umiral ang emosyon sa kanyang pag-freelance, sa mga sumunod na salita niya ay malinaw na hindi naging madali sa kanya ang pag-alis sa ABS-CBN.
Pahayag niya: "That’s why when I was going to sign with Brightlight, alam mong wala na ko sa ABS.
"Pero, parang meron pa kong hugot na, 'Bakit niyo ba ko pinakawalan? Pipirma na ko rito, pero bakit niyo ba ko pinakawalan?'
"Rated K was one of the most viable, was one of the cheapest to produce, was award-winning, and it’s the best promo platform for all your artista.
"So, why? It [doesn't] make sense."
ON BELATED MESSAGE FROM ABS-CBN
Bago raw siya pumirma sa Brightlight ay saka lamang niya narinig sa ABS-CBN na ayaw daw pala sana siyang pakawalan ng home network niya for 33 years.
"Noong magpapaalam na ko, sabi ko kay Girlie Rodis, 'Girlie, magpaalam ka nang maayos kasi pipirma na tayo.
"'Alam ko na wala na tayo sa kanila. Pero iyan ang original kong pamilya at mga magulang, magpaalam ka naman sa kanila nang maganda.'
"And then heto na, magsa-sign up na kami sa 5, suddenly they said, 'Can Korina please not sign?'" balik-tanaw ni Korina.
Pero huli na raw ang lahat sa puntong iyon.
"It was just, in a flurry of things, that matters.
"We're lost in translation. And we just didn’t realize what became of Korina at that time. And I said, 'It’s already too late.
"'We already negotiated, we already have a time slot, and we’re signing tomorrow.'"
Sa huli ay ang mismong ABS-CBN President na si Carlo Katigbak naman daw ang nagpayo sa kanya na mag-apply ng trademark para sa Rated Korina para lehitimong siya ang magmay-ari nito.
"It was Carlo Katigbak who gave me the most important advice of all.
"And, at that time, I’m going into situation that I’ve never been. Empleyado lang naman ako, pero ngayon, I’m coming in as a producer.
"And he said, 'Please tell Korina to own her show. Make sure you do that before you sign.' So, that’s what I did."
Sinunod daw ni Korina ang payo ni Carlo.
"And because of that, the next three years became one of my most lucrative. We were visible in mixed market.
"And now, creativity is not monopolized, it’s free for all. Even my own creative ideas from before that I wanted to do, we we’re able to do.
"Kaya merong TikTok, merong Korina Interviews."
Ang Korina Interviews ay ang hour-long talk show ni Korina na umeere sa Net25 at pati na sa kanyang personal YouTube Channel.
Read: Korina Sanchez has a new show on Net25; is she open to joining ALLTV?
ON GOOD RUN WITH BRIGHTLIGHT PRODUCTIONS
Ayon kay Korina, hindi rin niya inasahan ang pagbabago sa TV landscape kunsaan posible na ang collabs o kaya ay simultaneous airing sa magkaibang TV networks.
Learning experience raw ang dinaanan niya nang nagsimula ang Rated Korina sa Brightlight Productions bilang producerhabang siya ang line producer o tagapamahala ng pre-production hanggang sa completed work.
Natapos na ang deal ni Korina sa Brightlight nitong June 2023.
"At first, I don’t know what this is all about. [Sabi noon ni Mayor Albee], 'Basta we’ll pay for your production or whatever.'
"Kahit saan ako lumabas. Not knowing that he has a deal with A2Z and TV5 [for Rated Korina] to come out simultaneously.
"Parang I felt na I never really left ABS kasi, soon after, bumalik na rin ang airing ko don, although ang producer, Brightlight."
Go with the flow lang daw si Korina.
"Ngayong ang Brightlight naman ang downsizing. But anyway, I will always be eternally grateful to Brightlight because even if they sort of discontinue and downsize, wow, for like the entire pandemic, masaya kami.
“And I almost told myself all those times, and our salary is complementary to the salary of ABS-CBN, ganon ako magpasuweldo ng tao."
Malaking bagay daw kay Korina na nakabuo sila ng Brightlight ng show sa kasagsagan ng COVID-19 pandemic.
"Kasi parang, people needed it and we were braving all the threats and the dangers of the pandemic.
"At that time, we don’t know what it was. And we don’t even know na magkaka-vaccine. Sinusuong namin ang mga barangay, wala kaming mask."
Hindi pa raw nagka-COVID si Korina hanggang ngayon.
"I’m everywhere, as in, everywhere," saad niya.
"Like in Cebu, ground zero at that time, one of the most infected provinces.
"Tapos, lahat ng barangay, sasalubungin nila, 'Si Korina!' Sabi ko [sa sarili ko], 'Bahala na si Batman.'"
Ngayong balik Kapamilya na siya, ayon kay Korina, kasama pa rin daw niya ang buong staff niya sa bagong arrangement niya sa Kapamilya Network.
Magpapatuloy ang Rated Korina sa pag-ere sa TV5 at A2Z.
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ON PEOPLE THINKING SHE HAS RIVALRY WITH KAREN DAVILA
Isa sa naging vocal sa pagbabalik ni Korina sa ABS-CBN ay ang kapwa niya broadcaster na si Karen Davila, na nag-komento na, "Wooohooo! You never left K! You are forever etched in the history of ABS!"
Read: Korina Sanchez on "rivalry" with Karen Davila: "Naunahan ng intriga."
Ayon kay Korina, wala raw talaga silang rivalry ni Karen taliwas sa iniisip ng iba.
"Yeah, well, the thing naman with Karen is really urban legend, more than anything else,” natawang sabi niya.
"Alam mo naman ang contact sports ng mga Filipino is intriga, di ba? Gusto nila iyong nagsasabunutan.
"Parang they all love a good man—wrestling between two women. So don’t give them the pleasure.
"And when ABS-CBN dissolved, we all went our own ways and there’s none of that anymore."
Hindi raw talaga iniisip ni Korina ang pakikipagkumpitensiya sa katrabaho.
"Even if there’s professional competition, as I’ve said, I don’t look at competition.
"I have my own things, and I just do things differently.
"Ibang-iba naman ang style ni Karen sa style ko. So when we did the collab and the MEGA cover, people were like, wooh, wooh, wooh, e, tawa lang kami nang tawa."
Sabi rin ni Korina, "Well, healthy competition is always good within the network."
Sa huli, binanggit ni Korina na wala siyang problema sa lahat ng TV network.
"I’m friends with all of them. And believe it or not, I pitched to GMA, I pitched to GTV, and they were willing to take me.
"But I have to produce it myself and that’s my only setback aside sa saan pa ba ko hahanap ng oras?"