Ever since Shalani’s entry to the dizzying world of entertainment last November 8, “Willing Willie” (WW) overtook ABS-CBN’s flagship newscast, “TV Patrol” (TVP). Looking at AGB Nielsen Mega Manila figures, WW spiked from 9.2% on Friday to 11.6% that memorable Monday. For the five-day workweek (November 8-12), however, it averaged ratings of 11% compared to “24 Oras’s” 11.84% and TVP’s 9.8%.

In the previous workweek (November 1-5, before Shalani), “24 Oras” averaged 12.26%, followed by TVP with 9.96%, and WW with 8.7%.

A scrutiny of the Mega Manila ratings (see graph) which these three programs registered from the time WW was launched on October 23 to the entry of Shalani on November 8, all the way to November 16, Tuesday, tells us the following:

• All things being considered, “24 Oras” has managed to stave off the encroachment of entertainment on its weekday evening primetime. In fact, even after the launch of WW, the newscasts of both GMA7 and ABS-CBN kept their loyal audiences and maintained their lead over this commercial game show masquerading as a public affairs show.

•  On Saturdays, when most viewers want to unwind and relax after a grueling workweek, WW reigns and grabs the lead from both newscasts (WW does not air on Sundays).

• WW is an exciting and innovative experiment insofar as programming is concerned. It is eating into the ratings of TVP during evening primetime and is challenging the supremacy of “24 Oras.” Question is, will it work over the long-term?

• Pre-Shalani, depending on how one wants to interpret the numbers, Willie Revillame was already a gadfly to his former network, hovering close by TVP but never quite able to overtake it. Until Shalani came along.

• Those expecting WW to continually zoom up after gaining momentum from Shalani’s entry were in for a disappointment as the show did not pull away dramatically and was instead hobbled by occasional dips.

• ABS-CBN is being adversely affected by Shalani in WW, and not by WW per se. Besides strengthening its newscast, it will have to wait for the Shalani magic to wear off. Whether bringing back Noli de Castro and Korina Sanchez was a great idea is debatable, given the ratings we’re seeing thus far. Only the benefit of hindsight will determine this, as some would argue that the network’s ratings could have been further marginalized without the tandem’s entry, while others would insist that the two brought with them not much capital.

In a very weird sense, the public could benefit from “Willing Willie.”

Nice analysis coming from our friendly neighborhood indie journalists.

The way I see it, whether you tune it to GMA7's 24 Oras, ABS-CBN's TV Patrol or, god, TV5's Willing Willie, you are sure to lose a good percentage of your brain cells in each trying minute.