‘Eat Bulaga’ turns 40

THE longest running noontime variety program, “Eat Bulaga,” kicks off its year-long countdown for its forthcoming 40th anniversary on Philippine TV.

“Eat Bulaga’s” senior vice president for creatives and operations Jeny Ferre said it’s going to be a simple, nostalgic and heartwarming celebration as they prepare for “Eat Bulaga” version 4.0.

“We are constantly reminded of the unforgettable and historic journey of ‘Eat Bulaga.’ And as much as we would like to reminisce about the past, we are now looking forward to exciting times ahead. We always hear the phrase ‘life begins at 40,’ and we feel the same way. We are excited to present the ‘forty-fied’ version of the show every Filipino grew to love,” she said.

Launched on July 30, 1979, “Eat Bulaga” is a brainchild of Television and Production Exponents Inc. boss Antonio Tuviera. He tapped brothers Tito and Vic Sotto with comedian Joey de Leon to headline the show aimed to rival then number one program “Student Canteen.”

Throughout the years, the formidable trio, with the help of numerous co-hosts, stayed true to its promise of providing “isang libo’t isang tuwa” to television viewers through its more than 300 segments, including the well-loved Pinoy Henyo, Super Sireyna, Bulagaan and Juan for All, All for Juan.

Ferre, who has been working with the show for more than 20 years, said there’s no pattern or secret formula to “Eat Bulaga’s” success. She said it all boils down to love for work and continuously evolving as a team.

Ferre also assures everyone that even though they’ve been on air for four decades, the “Eat Bulaga” family still has the same dedication, hunger and passion to bring quality programming to all.

She said they are more challenged to come up with bigger and better segments.

Aside from being leaders in this format and timeslot, “Eat Bulaga now enters a new period in its history”—adapting to the digital age.

For some time now, all daily episodes of the show were made accessible on its official YouTube channel while overseas viewers can regularly watch the live broadcast through its online streaming.

“Eat Bulaga” also started producing contents that are only available for netizens. Its first effort is “Eat Bulaga Behind the Scenes” where one host gets to do the job of someone from the production team, be it as a production assistant, floor director, researcher, social media manager or writer.

One should not miss the year-long celebration of “Eat Bulaga.”