MANILA, Philippines — TV game show host Willie Revillame revealed that he had in fact been offered a contract renewal by GMA-7 for his show "Wowowin" before he decided to leave the network in 2022.
"I'm so thankful naman po sa GMA dahil talagang binigyan naman ako ng importansya. Iba 'yung binigyan ng sariling studio," Revillame said on a Facebook live on Friday.
"Kaya lang may pagkakataon sa buhay mo na minsan, mabigat ka mag-desisyon kung kailangan. Nagkaroon ako ng Wil Tower because of Sen. Manny Villar, so, nu'ng kinausap nila ako, gusto kong tumulong, 'di ba?" he recalled.
Wil Tower is a high-rise condominium in Quezon City by Vista Residences, owned by the Villar family.
Revillame's "Wowowin," which aired on GMA from May 2015 to February 2022, started airing on the Villar's fledgling network AllTV from September 2022 to April 2023.
Revillame looked back at the almost seven years his show aired on GMA, repeatedly thanking GMA executives for giving him the chance to air his popular show.
"Magpapaalam na po ang programa for six and half years. Sinamahan n'yo ako araw-araw sa GMA," he said.
Revillame then revealed about the contract renewal.
"May contract renewal ako sa GMA kaya lang nag-desisyon ako sa buhay ko ng isang bagay na, ganyan talaga ang buhay e. Marami kang nadidinig na kung anu-ano. Laos ka na. Mayabang ka, arogante ka. Hindi niyo alam kung ano 'yung pinagdaanan ko sa programang 'Wowowin,'" he remarked after watching the slide show that summed up all that had happened in his show.
"Again sa mga taong nakasama ko, walang hatred, walang sama ng loob, puro pasasalamat lang. Maraming-maraming salamat at again nakabukas na naman ang pinto. Not for me, ito po ay para sa mga tao," he revealed.
Revillame teased that his TV5 comeback show will be airing on a Sunday, a family day, and then it will start airing weekdays after that. He did not reveal the date of its premiere, but encouraged to watch out for it on TV5.
He was the host of the show's TV5 iteration that were titled "Willing Willie" and "Wowowillie" from 2010 to 2013.
"Ilang tulog na lang may programa na naman ang bawat Pilipino...
"Magsisimula po ang programa ng Linggo. Kung anong date, abangan ninyo. Alam n'yo kung bakit? It's a family day. 'Yung Linggong 'yun, makakasama namin kayo. Pagkatapos ng Linggo, tuloy-tuloy na po, mula Lunes hanggang Biyernes, kasama na po ninyo ang bagong programa. Araw-araw, dito yan sa TV5," he said.
He then revealed that his TV5 comeback show is titled "Wil to Win."
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