A quick 45-year history of Eat Bulaga

The Philippines' longest-running variety TV show, Eat Bulaga, is officially 45 years old today. For four-and-a-half decades, the longest-running noontime variety TV show in Philippine history, Eat Bulaga, has become the staple of every Filipino household with its rousing and engrossing segments with engaging hosts, including the so-called Holy Trinity of Eat Bulaga; Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III.

In honor of the show's 45th anniversary, it's time for a quick history lesson about the Philippines' longest-running variety TV show.

TVJ and the Dabarkads
Moving Forward to TV5
Image: TV5

Eat Bulaga first aired on July 30th, 1979, with Broadcast City as their first home studio with RPN-9 (now RPTV) as their home network. Then, they moved to the Celebrity Sports Plaza in 1987 until they switched to ABS-CBN's Studio 1 (now Dolphy Theater) in 1989. The show re-used the Celebrity Sports Plaza in 1994 to say farewell to ABS-CBN as they moved to GMA-7 and their fourth home studio of the show, Broadway Centrum, in 1995. 

After 23 years of delivering rousing and engrossing segments in the heart of Broadway Centrum, not to mention spawning an Indonesian version of the said show, the country's longest-running noontime show has moved to its fifth home location, the APT Studios, marking a brand new beginning in Eat Bulaga's four-decade history.

The TVJ and the Dabarkads enjoyed the spoils of the success of their show for over four decades until the Dark Age of Eat Bulaga came. No, it's not because of the COVID pandemic, it's because of the Jalosjos family in charge of TAPE that spurred a feud between TVJ and TAPE, Inc. That feud between them because of the show's proposed changes prompted the TVJ trio to leave TAPE for good at the end of May 2023 along with the other Dabarkads. Their farewell speech wasn't televised and instead streamed on the official Eat Bulaga Facebook page.

Come June 5, 2023, nearly a week after TVJ and the Dabarkads left Eat Bulaga, the noontime show welcomed the new batch of hosts consisting of Paolo Contis, Buboy Villar, Betong Sumaya, Cassy and Mavy Legaspi, and Alexa Miro. The new batch of EB hosts was later expanded with former Manila city mayor Isko Moreno and Kimpoy Feliciano. Their welcoming arrival in Eat Bulaga is mired with criticisms with some saying this is not the Eat Bulaga Filipinos loved.

Moments later, the TVJ and their Dabarkads pals got themselves a new home; TV5. The problem is, that they're still figuring out what will the name of their TV5 show will be due to a legal battle over who has the right to use the Eat Bulaga title, between the TVJ trio and TAPE. They did say they would say the title on July 1st, adding days of speculation for the observers who follow the ongoing Eat Bulaga war that caused a seismic shift in Philippine noontime viewing.

Then, on that fateful day of July 1, 2023, the same day IT'S SHOWTIME made its GTV simulcast debut, it's the comeback of TVJ and the Dabarkads in their new home channel, TV5. From an emotional welcome to the climax of their world premiere, they've unveiled the official name of their new noontime show, It's titled EAT... That's it, they called the show EAT..., but the TVJ trio said this title is temporary because they're still in a legal battle over the Eat Bulaga trademark.

The 5th of January, 2024 saw the TVJ trio of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey De Leon, win the copyright infringement and unfair competition cases against TAPE, Inc. and TV network GMA over the rights of the Eat Bulaga! trademark, meaning neither TAPE nor GMA Network has the right to use the Eat Bulaga or EB trademark.

As a result of the ruling, the January 6, 2024 episodes of both noontime shows saw drastic changes. The old Eat Bulaga! that Filipinos know, under the thumb of TAPE Inc., has been rebranded as "Tahanang Pinakamasaya!" while the TV5 EAT... variety show has been renamed as "EAT...BULAGA!", a seismic shift in Philippine television nearly four-and-a-half decades in the making.

Two months later, after nearly two decades on the air since moving to GMA-7, TAPE Inc.'s variety show formerly known as Eat Bulaga, renamed Tahanang Pinakamasaya, has officially ended its broadcast run. The presenters of Tahanang Pinakamasaya bid their final farewell to the viewers and audiences last Saturday, March 2, 2024, before TAPE pulled the plug on its official livestream, raising speculations that this is the end of the era. It really is.

As a result, the episodes aired on the final broadcast week were usually reruns of select episodes. A week after Tahanang Pinakamasaya was axed, GMA temporarily aired movies to fill the void left by the show's closure until IT'S SHOWTIME made its GMA-7 simulcast debut beginning April 6th.

The rest is history. Long story short but you get the point.

45 years, four TV networks, six venues, one Eat Bulaga. Over the years, Eat Bulaga has featured countless celebrity guests, musical performances, and comedy sketches. It has also been a platform for social commentary and advocacy. The show has won numerous awards.

Eat Bulaga is more than just a TV show. It's a cultural phenomenon that has touched the lives of generations of Filipinos. Happy 45th anniversary, Eat Bulaga!