"Filipinos in the Bay Area are so excited to be able to tune in to another Filipino channel," wrote Wilma, "they are looking forward to watching all the GMA shows. I could say that San Francisco went Kapuso, judging from the huge crowd that showed up. Our US carriers here are getting tremendous requests for subscriptions to the GMA Pinoy TV Channel. Nakakataba ng puso na makita at maramdamang ang mga Pinoy dito sa Amerika ay Kapuso na rin!"
A few issues ago, STAR’s L.A. correspondent Raymond de Asis Lo wrote about the ASAP 2005 show at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena (also staged in San Francisco, last Sunday, along with The Buzz). Now, let’s see how the S.O.P. show fared in Sanfo (no GMA show was done in L.A.), from Funfare’s West Coast correspondent Rommel Manalo:
The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium has a capacity of 7,000 but on Saturday, July 23, it accommodated more than 8,000 people who came to witness the S.O.P. show, so 1,000 more seats were added to the already SRO venue.
The huge turnout came as a pleasant surprise to GMA executives (led by Wilma Galvante) because GMA Pinoy TV is not on-air yet. The GMA international channel is scheduled to be launched on Comsat Bay Area on Aug. 1 yet and on DirecTV on Aug. 2.
As early as 7:30 a.m., people were already falling in line to get the last 500 tickets which Star Media promised would be available at 10 a.m. Those who failed to get tickets were accommodated just the same at the two adjacent halls with two huge screens so that they could watch the proceedings inside the auditorium.
GMA 7’s entry into the US can only be described as "with a bang."
The crowd, made up mostly of Pinoys and Fil-Ams, rocked to the musical numbers with gusto and with glee. They were obviously craving for home-grown entertainment.
Among the GMA stars present were Regine Velasquez, Jaya, Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid, Richard Gomez with wife Lucy Torres, Rufa Mae Quinto, Joey de Leon, German Moreno, Mel Tiangco, Jolina Magdangal, Dingdong Dantes, Karylle, Richard and Raymond Gutierrez, KC Montero, Gabby Eigenmann, Malik, Jennylyn Mercado, Mark Herras, Chynna Ortaleza and the S.O.P. Gigsters, with guest star Nora Aunor.
The stars extended a Kapuso gesture by paying tribute to Filipino World War II veterans. The members of the San Francisco Veterans Equity Center, led by its president, lawyer Lourdes Tancinco, were seated in a special section and were properly acknowledged during the show. Janno and Ogie dedicated a song to the veterans who were teary-eyed.
German Moreno and Lucy Torres-Gomez hosted a free whole-day affair that featured exhibition booths, live bands, a singing competition and dance exhibitions, and life-size cutouts of GMA stars and characters from GMA teleseryes as well as promotional displays. Sample footages of GMA’s top-rating programs were played and replayed on dozens of TV sets, giving the crowd a preview of what to expect from GMA Pinoy TV which will be on air 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will be available as a subscription channel for only $12.99 per month.
(Note: S.O.P. in Sanfo, the GMA Pinoy TV launch, will be aired on Sunday, July 31, 12 noon on GMA 7.)