?PICTURE FRAME?
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 31 Jul 2013
Instead of showing our Filipino athletes who were fighting in Macau last Saturday, ABS CBN was showing a ?Tagalized? version of a Chinese or Korean movie of sorts on its Studio 23 channel while its main channel was showing the forever-running ?Maalala Mo Kaya? drama series.
The network licensed by Top Rank to show their fights in the Philippines and the broadcast arm of the ALA Boxing Stable has a habit of showing events that involved our Pinoy boxers in a delayed basis. How delayed? A day delayed.
The fight that was held in Macau was shown the next day and fights that involved the popular ?Pinoy Pride? series by ALA is also not carried live by the network and rather is shown one day after the final bell has sounded in the ring.
This is frustrating and disheartening to millions of boxing and sports enthusiasts in the country - that the largest media network in the country is not sensitive to their wanting to watch world class title fights that involved our ?kababayans.? When Brian Viloria et al headlined the first Macau fights, the network was once again lagging in showing that exciting world championship fight and the other Pinoys who were involved in that card.
As a substitute, the update-hungry Filipino boxing fans turned to the new media- social media such as Facebook and Twitter for updates. My Facebook account is a virtual hub of people discussing the fights-with round to round updates. Plenty of my friends comment that ?it is better here? because of the lack of news in any Philippine network regarding any fights that has a Pinoy in it.
And of course, fans rely on the internet too - to look for streams of fights in the World Wide Web. A not so legal alternative, but can you blame them? If their country?s TV network cannot provided for their needs- they will find it elsewhere.
I have always believed that the sport of boxing is our sport. And with the ?Golden Age? of boxing amongst us - we are being deprived by our TV networks in witnessing it. If they are so sports oriented - then please explain to me the delay in broadcasting a bout that involve our Filipino boxers?
Can they not give us a break every once in a while, by showing us real drama - the one that is occurring in the ring? Instead of rehashed stories of separations, lost love and failed relationships that ?Maalala Mo Kaya? offers in a weekly basis.
Boxing fights that involved our ?kababayans? does not happen regularly. And the occurrence of big events such as the one last Sunday where Milan Melindo fought and lost is not a weekly basis. Perhaps, we can make an exception in such cases?
And please do not get me started on what was showing last Saturday on Studio 23. When they were done with the ?Tagalized? version of that Chinese/Korean movie, they followed it up with professional wrestling ? a fake sport.
This is the 21st century already, for crying out loud. There are technologies that can be used to broadcast these events live or even in a slightly delayed basis. Boxing has an audience and they are excited and hungry to watch one of their own conquer the big stage of one of the most popular sports in the world. And with that audience the network?s favorite word comes next ? sponsorships. Don?t they realize this?
If we want to help in developing sports in the country, boxing in this particular subject, then we will have to expose our audience, our kids to these kinds of events. Seeing a countryman develop from a poor boy in the countryside to reaching the highest pinnacle of a sport is a story that beats all of the story lines of ?Maalala Mo Kaya.?
Witnessing a story of such accomplishment by an athlete who came from nothing and attaining his dreams of becoming a world champion is one of inspiration and encouragement- particularly to our kids who are in search of role models as they grow up. Tell me if that does not surpass the tear-inducing episodes of ?Maalala Mo Kaya?? And this one is happening in real life- in real time- and with no acting required.
In lieu of our boxers in action, the network ran its longest running drama anthology where the high point of the show is to make its audience guess the title of the shown episode, which is revealed in the end rather than at the beginning- its attention grabbing trademark.
Now, here?s news for you programming geniuses of Kapamilya - not all drama and stories of life are written by your group of writers. Some happen in real in life - like the ones happening in that ring in Macau last Saturday.
Oh yes, to those curious - the title of that said episode is the title of this particular column. Unlike the network, I see no sense in saving it for last.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com or on Twitter @Freemazon910.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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