Magandang Tanghali Bayan (MTB) () or Masayang Tanghali Bayan (), later known as MTB Ang Saya Saya ( or ), was a Philippine noontime variety show broadcast by ABS-CBN. It aired from November 30, 1998, to February 4, 2005, replacing 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila and was later replaced by Wowowee. The program was also broadcast worldwide through The Filipino Channel (TFC).
The show was known for its many formats and host changes over the years. Magandang Tanghali Bayan – the original run of MTB – is the fourth longest running noontime show of ABS-CBN after It's Showtime, Eat Bulaga! and Wowowee, staying on air for 4 years, 2 months and 22 days from 1998 to 2003. Other MTB incarnations such as Masayang Tanghali Bayan and MTB Ang Saya Saya stayed on air for around one year each, before Wowowee eventually took over. Including all of its iterations however, MTB was ABS-CBN's longest running daily noontime show until It's Showtime surpassed its run in 2016.
History Magandang Tanghali Bayan/Esep-Esep (1998–2003) As ABS-CBN decided to remove Sang Linggo nAPO Sila, the management decided to produce 2 noontime variety shows, one airing daily and one airing weekly. ABS-CBN's new daily noontime show Magandang Tanghali Bayan (MTB), started premiering on November 30, 1998, airing between 12:00 and 13:30, Philippine time. The weekly noontime show, APO Hiking Society's Sabado Live occupied the Saturday timeslot. The original hosts of MTB were Randy Santiago, John Estrada, Willie Revillame, Christine Jacob-Sandejas, Roderick Paulate, Vanessa del Bianco, Yen Serrano, and Amy Perez. The show aired live from Studio 3 of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Quezon City. This marks the return of Christine Jacob to ABS-CBN since she left when she was a co-host of now rival Eat Bulaga! which moved to the rival network GMA Network in 1995.
The show assumed most of the segments and staff from its predecessor 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila during its first season. Meanwhile, former Tropang Trumpo director Edgar Mortiz also joined the show as the show's creative consultant. Among the most popular segments from APO's previous noontime show was "Calendar Girl", a daily pageant where girls between 15–21 years of age participate in the talent and question-and-answer portions hosted by Estrada, Santiago and Revillame. To continue the chronology of the pageant (where monthly winners from January to December of the previous year converge to compete in the Grand Finals of the following year), management decided to include the January–November monthly winners from the defunct "APO" show in the MTB grand coronation that happened on January 2, 1999.
In December 1998, Pera o Bayong () debuted on TV as MTBs highlight game portion. The engaging elimination round and the suspense-filled jackpot round won the hearts of most viewers. It gave MTB better overall ratings than 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila, and the show even overtook IBC's Chopsuey Espesyal (which was later replaced by Alas Dose sa Trese and Lunch Break) and GMA's Eat Bulaga! as the top weekday noontime variety show from early 1999 until Revillame's ouster in March 2001. This led the management to cancel Sabado Live! on its Saturday timeslot and replace it with MTB's Saturday edition, which started to air on March 6, 1999 between 12:00 and 14:30. Mortiz was promoted as the noontime show's new director along with Bobet Vidanes.
MTB also had its share of controversies. The Calendar Girl portion became notorious for the main hosts' crude humor which subsequently got warnings from Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), then headed by veteran actress Armida Siguion-Reyna. Eventually, the ABS-CBN management intervened and suspended the three main hosts indefinitely. With their suspension from August 7, 1999, onwards, the show was temporarily renamed to Esep-Esep for 20 days. Estrada, Santiago, and Revillame returned on August 28, 1999, after their suspension almost three weeks later.
On January 1, 2000, the show covered the millennium celebration at Times Square in New York City, United States. Three weeks later on January 22 of the same year, the show was celebrated on its first anniversary at the Folk Arts Theater.
In the year 2000, the game portion Pera o Bayong faced competition from the long-running noontime show Eat Bulaga! when it produced a segment called Meron o Wala (Something or Nothing). But despite the move from the rival show, Pera o Bayong continued to attract viewers. The popular catchphrases coined by the hosts eventually became part of Filipino pop culture. Because of its immense popularity, Pera o Bayong was made into a movie version entitled Pera o Bayong not da TV by Star Cinema that year, with the entire MTB cast included.
Changes were suddenly made after the February 7, 2001 episode, when main host Willie Revillame was fired from the show due to creative differences between him and the staff. Matinee idols Marvin Agustin, Dominic Ochoa, and Rico Yan (collectively known as "Whattamen") replaced him on the show. Stand-up comedians Marissa Sanchez and Ai-Ai delas Alas also joined the show as the new female co-hosts. On March 12 of the same year, the show was reformatted without Revillame and expanded to 2 hours on weekdays. MTB also started doing out-of-town shows abroad during that same year to promote ABS-CBN's international channel TFC.
In March 2002, MTB lost a co-host, Rico Yan, who died during his Holy Week vacation in Dos Palmas Resort, Palawan. The show aired a week-long tribute for him. That same year, the show introduced new faces to join the growing MTB family. The quintet Power Boys, the dance group G-Girls, morning traffic angel Pia Guanio, and upcoming teen star Maoui David were among those who joined. Around this time, Christine Jacob-Sandejas left the show to focus on her family. At the same time, original mainstay and regular voice-over announcer Gary Lim was also relieved from the show to focus on his acting career.
During the 4th anniversary of the show in November 2002, the show underwent a major revamp with new game portions and some established ABS-CBN stars (Judy Ann Santos, Edu Manzano, Ryan Agoncillo) co-hosting every week. By this time, the show had lost its luster in the ratings game to Eat Bulaga! following the rising popularity of the reality TV portion Sige Ano Kaya Mo? and creating new sensations out of the Sexbomb Dancers.
During the last week of its incarnation from February 17 to 21, 2003, the show was relocated to ABS-CBN Studio 1 and it was hosted by the show's co-hosts, without Estrada and Santiago.
MTB ended its four-year run on February 21, 2003, coinciding with the departures of co-hosts Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez from the noontime slot to give way to Willie Revillame's TV comeback on the same timeslot. The title of the replacement show, Masayang Tanghali Bayan, and Willie's co-hosts (among them Estrada and Santiago) were not revealed until 12:00 of February 22, 2003.
Masayang Tanghali Bayan (2003–2004) Before the start of the show, ABS-CBN engaged in month-long promotions for the replacement show where they only revealed Willie Revillame, the JaBoom Twins, and Cindy Kurleto as mainstays and had the audience guess the rest of the co-hosts through a nationwide raffle promo. The title of the show was also kept secret.
It was on the initial telecast on February 22, 2003, when Willie Revillame revealed the title Masayang Tanghali Bayan and his co-hosts through an elaborate opening number. He was joined by Randy Santiago, John Estrada, Dennis Padilla, Ai-Ai delas Alas, Bayani Agbayani, Mickey Ferriols, and Aubrey Miles. Resident comedians Tado and Bentong also came on board. The show was directed by famous TV director Johnny Manahan. The show had more game portions giving out big cash prizes through Super Jack en Poy and Urong Sulong which gives out 2 million PHP as the highest possible jackpot prize. It was also touted as the biggest noontime show of ABS-CBN, with a simultaneous airing on the Kapamilya Network's UHF channel, Studio 23.
Like its predecessor, the second version of MTB also attracted controversy when John Estrada and Willie Revillame were suspended because of delivering their usual green jokes during the Super Jack en Poy jackpot round. The show's cast also grew with the inclusion of former Kapuso comedians Long Mejia and Dagul.
There is a celebrity edition of all show's game segments where several celebrities and/or prominent personalities are playing every Saturday.
However, before 2003 was about to end, Willie Revillame resigned from the show after a public outcry when he delivered a derogatory joke to midget co-host Mahal during her birthday.
The show continued to air until February 2004 with Vhong Navarro and Edu Manzano taking over Revillame's place. However, Masayang Tanghali Bayan failed to sustain viewership and was removed on February 20, 2004, coinciding with the departures of hosts Randy Santiago and John Estrada from the noontime slot.
MTB Ang Saya Saya (2004–2005) The ABS-CBN management capitalized on Ai-Ai delas Alas' rising popularity following her box-office triumph in Star Cinema's Ang Tanging Ina. She was named the main host together with Edu Manzano and former GMA Network resident game show host Arnell Ignacio in the third incarnation of MTB. Mickey Ferriols and Tado were also retained from the former show along with the younger favored co-hosts and were joined by the Viva Hot Babes, and newcomers BJ Manalo, Jeni Hernandez, and Empoy.
MTB Ang Saya Saya premiered on February 21, 2004, with more reality-based talent search segments launched. TV Idol (You're the Man!) and Luv Idol: Ur D Pair gained popularity among the viewers and gave birth to the showbiz careers of Ahron Villena, AJ Dee, and JE Estrada. The show also made household names out of Joross Gamboa, Roxanne Guinoo, and Sandara Park who were newcomers from their winning stints in the reality show Star Circle Quest. However, these efforts were overshadowed by rival Eat Bulaga! which celebrated its 25th anniversary on television with a Silver Special.
On November 15, 2004, MTB Ang Saya Saya lost its prime 12:00 timeslot to Kris Aquino's Pilipinas, Game KNB? and started airing as an afternoon variety show on a 12:45. time slot. Soon after, main host Edu Manzano resigned in 2005 to concentrate on his duties as chairman of the Optical Media Board (OMB).
The show ended on February 4, 2005, and was replaced by Wowowee, hosted by Willie Revillame, who made his third comeback on the ABS-CBN noontime slot due to public clamor.
In January 2011, ABS-CBN announced through its Push.com site that a new noontime show, hosted by ex-MTB hosts Santiago and Estrada as well as Toni Gonzaga and ex-Wowowee host Mariel Rodriguez, was in the works. The noontime show was eventually called Happy Yipee Yehey! and would run from February 2011 to February 2012.
Segments Pera o Bayong Pera o Bayong became one of the more popular segments on MTB. The game's concept came from another Philippine TV show Kwarta o Kahon (Cash or Box) which aired on Sundays on RPN.
The original version of the game started with at least 36 players answering a series of multiple-choice questions (A, B, C, or D), hoping to eliminate all others until only one remained. The most popular type of question involved the scientific names of plants and animals, with at least two of the four choices noticeably joke answers.
If two people remain in the game and both choose the correct answer, the first person to arrive at his/her choice is declared the winner.
The winner of the elimination round then moves on to the jackpot round where he or she begins by choosing one of three bayongs marked M, T, or B (for the show's title). Each bayong contains a concealed piece of cardboard on which is written what the contestant is playing for. But during the suspension of Santiago, Estrada and Revillame, M and T were replaced with P and O.