AS we in the NCR+ (National Capital Region) find ourselves mostly at home over the next two weeks, a little laughter won’t hurt after long hours of working from home interspersed with chores. A new comedy channel, BuKo, may just do the trick if you are looking for feel-good Pinoy entertainment.
Cignal TV, Inc. has partnered with TV and film production company APT Entertainment, Inc. to launch BuKo (short for Buhay Komedya or “comedy life”), the first 24-hour local comedy channel. BuKo offers both classic and original humorous Filipino entertainment to Cignal subscribers across the country.
The channel, which went live on Aug. 2, also launched its flagship block, BuKo Originals.
“We are happy to announce to our more than 3.6 million subscribers that they will now have a new channel to enjoy,” Cignal TV, Inc. President and CEO Robert P. Galang said at an online press launch on Aug. 2 held via Zoom and livestreamed on Facebook. “Now that we are in the middle of pandemic [and] economic difficulties, we really need programs that will make us happy, that will give us joy, that will give us laughter.”
Featured in the BuKo Originals block are #MaineGoals, a lifestyle-oriented show hosted by comic Maine Mendoza where she will tick off tasks or “goals” from her checklist.
“[The show is] blog type where we will take our audience with us throughout our journey to achieving different goals every week,” Ms. Mendoza said, adding that the activities will be daring, exciting, unexpected tasks which she will experience for the first time. #MaineGoals airs Mondays to Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
Airing on Saturdays at 8 p.m. is Kusina ni Mamang, a cooking show hosted by comedienne-actress-businesswoman Pokwang (a.k.a. Marietta Subong-O’Brian) who will explore traditional Filipino home cooking.
“Dito ay babalikan natin ang sinaunang pamamaraan ng pagluto (Here we will go back to traditional ways of cooking),” Ms. Subong-O’Brien said in a video. “Magluto tayo habang nagtatawanan (We will cook while having a good laugh).”
APT CEO and President Michael Tuviera noted that comedy and other genres of entertainment evolve through time, citing the slapstick comedy from previous decades may not fly with today’s young audience.
“With a platform like BuKo, you will have a combination of both. You will see a face of what comedy was in different times,” Mr. Tuviera said of the channel’s programs.
“You may have grown up to a certain kind of comedy, this will still be your home for you. You could be a millennial right now, who may not enjoy that kind of comedy but you’re looking for [something with] a newer, more sophisticated twist, and that’s where some of the BuKo Originals come in,” he added.
BuKo channel is on Cignal TV Channel 2 and SatLite Channel 2, and on the Cignal Play app, available via App Store and Google Play. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman