Vice Ganda embraces massive MediaQuest deal to help extend Philippine TV era

“Tapos biglang, ‘What if gawin natin ’to?’ ’ I said, ‘Ay, okay naman po.’ ‘Eh kung ito, idagdag natin?’ ‘Ah, okay po,” she recalled. “Ang buong MediaQuest na talaga… Parang, sige.”

Despite the scale of the partnership, Vice said she never felt that MediaQuest was putting pressure on her to immediately fulfill everything expected from the collaboration. “Hindi naman nila ako pine-pressure na kailangan ma-fulfill mo ’to agad, ma-deliver mo lahat ‘yong request namin sa’yo,” she said.

Instead, she viewed the partnership as an opportunity, particularly because it opened doors beyond television. “Hindi lang TV5 ang binuksan niya. Ang daming pinto ang binuksan for me,” Vice said.

She also expressed gratitude for the trust MediaQuest has placed in her, saying she hopes the collaboration will be mutually beneficial. “Sobra ang trust nila sa akin na parang makakatulong ako sa kanila kahit paano. At the same time, may tulong din naman silang mabibigay sa akin. Actually, malaki,” she said.

ABS-CBN remains part of the picture

While she is set to create content for TV5, Vice clarified that her collaboration with MediaQuest is for two years, while her existing relationship with ABS-CBN will remain part of her work.

“I will never be comfortable kung wala ang ABS,” she said, adding that the arrangement allows her to work across different platforms without having to sever ties with ABS-CBN.

She also revealed that she has a production outfit, JMV Productions, which could potentially play a role in her content creation ventures.

A partnership a year in the making

Vice said the partnership with MediaQuest took about a year to develop. Talks began while she was still processing the end of her previous TV5 stint, following the rescinded TV5-ABS-CBN block-time agreement that had allowed “It’s Showtime” to air on the Kapatid Network.

She admitted that she had initially been hurt by the development. “I allowed myself to heal muna, hindi work agad,” she said. “There was never a time na binadmouth ko ang TV5 after mawala kami sa ere sa kanila.”

What eventually convinced her to say “yes” was the openness between both sides. “We were very honest to each other,” Vice said. “They allowed me to be honest with them and they were very honest with me.”

More importantly, Vice said she and MediaQuest share the same goal: “Mapahaba pa ang era ng television, especially sa Pilipinas,” she said.

She recalled Pangilinan telling her: “You have what I don’t have, I have what you don’t have.” That shared vision makes the partnership a “win-win” not only for Vice and MediaQuest, but also for ABS-CBN, TV5 and the people who could benefit from the projects that will come out of the collaboration.

The comedian also reflected on what she considers one of the biggest blessings of her career: being in a position to help other people.

Ultimately, Vice sees her MediaQuest partnership as a chance to share that blessing.

“This is a win-win for me, for ABS, for TV5, for MediaQuest, and for everyone that I will be sharing this win-win,” she said.

No hard feelings toward TVJ

Vice also clarified that while she had initially felt hurt over the end of her TV5 stint, she does not hold a grudge against the hosts of “Eat Bulaga!”—Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon, collectively known as TVJ.

She said her initial talks with Pangilinan actually happened only a month or two after “It’s Showtime!” discontinued airing on TV5, but she was not emotionally ready to immediately return. “I was heartbroken,” said Vice of “It’s Showtime” being replaced by “Eat Bulaga!” “So parang ‘no’ muna. Hindi ako comfortable.”

However, she stressed that TVJ had nothing to do with her personal feelings toward TV5.

“Wala akong sama ng loob sa TVJ,” declared Vice, adding that she had no professional relationship or deal with the trio at the time, and therefore saw no reason to blame them for what happened. “TVJ was just doing their job as well as entertainers,” she said.

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