STAR blazes new trails with ‘Wheels TV’

MANILA, Philippines - A new road has been paved, and you better buckle up because the road from print to television is going to be one heck of a thrill ride as The STAR’s widely read motoring section “Wheels” jumps into the silver screen as Wheels TV.

Bringing together the motoring content of The Philippine STAR and the visual spectacle of television, PhilSTAR TV premieres its newest show, Wheels TV, today at 10 a.m. on ABS-CBN Sports + Action Channel (formerly Studio 23).

Personality and race driver/multisport athlete Matteo Guidicelli and The STAR’s Angel Rivero host Wheels TV, which also dispenses expert automotive advice from veteran STAR motoring journalists Manny de los Reyes, Kap Maceda Aguila, Karen Jimeno and Ulysses Ang.

“The STAR’s latest venture in television through Wheels TV is another testament to our paper’s trailblazing strategies to expand content in the multimedia space. In pursuit of niche markets, the paper’s most interesting sections are expanded into TV shows to provide the ‘newspaper experience’ in a richer format,” Lucien Dy Tioco, STAR’s group senior vice-president for sales and marketing, announced at the industry and media launch of Wheels TV held recently at the Buddha-Bar in Makati.

“Content produced on Wheels TV is also covered by print, thus providing a new source of content for the paper and its digital assets. This gives Wheels TV the power to lure avid followers of motoring enthusiasts and fans over other motoring TV shows,” Dy Tioco enthused.

Wheels TV features helpful automotive and road trip tips such as improving car performance and fuel economy; which drivetrain (gasoline, diesel, or hybrid) is most fuel-efficient; learning how to actually use getting stuck in traffic to your advantage; which mode of transportation is best in traveling from the northernmost point of EDSA to the southernmost point (and vice-versa); and advantages of being a thinking driver in a race.

From hatchbacks to subcompacts, from SUVs to family vans, from supercars to luxury sedans, Wheels TV has all the elements car aficionados and casual TV viewers alike would surely look forward to every week.

Even non-car enthusiasts will find the 30-minute program compelling with its lineup of segments in coming episodes that will run every Saturday from March to June 2015.