In the Philippines, variety television shows have become mainstays of the noontime slot for network programming since 1958. The first Philippines noontime variety television shows were influenced by the popularity of bodabil (vaudeville) in the first half of the 20th century. Since then, the format has evolved with the changing times, with elements of reality television also incorporated as well since the 2000s. The majority of the noontime variety shows that aired on television were produced independently by blocktimers that pay a certain amount of time to television networks to air their program. Some TV networks, though, have managed to solely produce these kind of programs, with moderate success in terms of ratings and advertising revenues.

Highlights The longest-running noontime variety and entertainment show is Eat Bulaga!, which will celebrate its 48th anniversary on July 30, 2027. The two other long-running noontime variety shows are Student Canteen, on for 19 years, followed by It's Showtime, which will celebrate its 17th anniversary on October 24, 2026.

GMA, ABS-CBN (through its successors Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and All TV), and TV5 each air up to two noontime shows a week. A weeklong noontime show usually runs from Monday to Saturday, and a separate noontime show is reserved for Sundays. Since May 17, 2026, All Out Sundays became the lone Sunday noontime show airing at the traditional Sunday noontime slot, while Vibe, a Saturday primetime musical variety show on TV5 airs a replay of its episodes on the same time slot.

GMA: TiktoClock and All-Out Sundays ABS-CBN (Kapamilya Channel/A2Z/All TV): It's Showtime (simulcast on GMA) TV5: Eat Bulaga! (simulcast on RPTV/RPN)

History

Student Canteen (1958–1965)

Student Canteen was the first noontime variety show on Philippine television. It was originally a radio show on DZXL that was brought to television on CBN-9 on July 21, 1958, at the sign-on of its television station, DZXL-TV. It was hosted by Eddie Ilarde, Pepe Pimentel, and Leila Benitez. Alternating as pinch-hitting hosts were Bobby Ledesma and Bobby de Veyra. It ended on January 8, 1965, when Ilarde went to politics and was succeeded by several noontime shows before returning in 1975.

Student Canteens successors (1965–1975) Magandang Tanghali, a musical variety show hosted by Pancho Magalona, and Stop Look and Listen, a former noontime variety show hosted by Eddie Mesa, took over Student Canteens timeslot on January 9, 1965. When Mesa left for the United States, Twelve O'Clock High, a show hosted by Ariel Ureta and Tina Revilla-Valencia, premiered and aired until 1972 when martial law was declared and many television stations were shut down by the Marcos regime. From October 1972 to 1974, the show aired on RBS (now GMA) as Ariel con Tina, a blocktimer by Philippine Production Center, Inc., a company headed by Romy Jalosjos. Lunch Break also became popular on the same channel before Student Canteen was eventually revived.

Student Canteen's revival and the birth of Eat Bulaga! (1975–present) Student Canteen was revived in January 1975 by Ilarde, who produced the program under his production company Program Philippines, Inc., after accepting an offer from GMA executives. He was joined by Ledesma and Pepe Pimentel with new co-hosts Helen Vela and Coney Reyes.

Student Canteen became the most-watched noontime program in the 1970s and Program Philippines branched out to produce other TV shows on GMA-7. The comic trio of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon (collectively known as TVJ and who were introduced on Student Canteens sister show Discorama) became guest hosts when some of the main hosts went on leave. Student Canteen was the only noontime variety show on Philippine television from 1975 to 1979. Production Specialists, Inc., (led by Romeo Jalosjos and Tony Tuviera) offered TVJ to host a new noontime show for RPN in 1979. After some misunderstandings with the Student Canteens main hosts, they decided to accept the offer and Eat Bulaga! aired its first episode on July 30, 1979. The trio were accompanied by Richie D' Horsie and Chiqui Hollmann.

From May 31 until June 4, 2023, the show suspended production after its original hosts – Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon – announced that they would part ways with TAPE Inc. Fellow hosts of the show – Paolo Ballesteros, Jose Manalo, Maine Mendoza, Ryzza Mae Dizon, Wally Bayola, Ryan Agoncillo and Allan K. – and production members gave their resignations on the same day. Host Carren Eistrup resigned on June 8. On June 5, the show resumed original programming, with Paolo Contis, Buboy Villar, Betong Sumaya, Cassy Legaspi, Mavy Legaspi, and Alexa Miro joining as the new hosts of the show. In the same month, Glaiza de Castro, Kimpoy Feliciano, Dasuri Choi, Arra San Agustin, and Isko Moreno also joined the show.

Eat Bulaga! ended its airing on GMA on January 5, 2024, after the Marikina Regional Trial Court issued a joint decision preventing TAPE, Inc., and GMA from using the show's trademark and other elements associated with it. TVJ Productions assumed the trademark shortly after the court decided in their favor, and a current iteration of Eat Bulaga! started airing on TV5 effective January 6, 2024, replacing its interim show, E.A.T.Multiple sources:

It also make a mark of the return to its original home, RPN, as well, thus making both Student Canteen and Eat Bulaga! become the only noontime show that having aired on ABS-CBN and RPN which were had using the same Channel 9 frequency.

Competition A two-way competitions between noontime shows started in 1979 when Eat Bulaga! (first aired on RPN 9) fought against Student Canteen (aired on GMA 7). Since then, Eat Bulaga! has faced several rivalries with other noontime shows through the years.

Student Canteen (1979–1986) Eat Bulaga! (EB) struggled with its ratings and a lack of advertisers in its first year of airing due to Student Canteens stronghold on television. EB was in danger of cancellation until "Mr. Macho" was launched in 1980, which allowed EB to surpass Student Canteens ratings. EB started airing nationwide in 1982 with the launch of RPN's domestic satellite, which also coincided with Coney Reyes's transfer to EB and Chiqui Hollman to Student Canteen. Other people were introduced in Student Canteen; but the show was eventually canceled by the GMA management in March 1986, after the People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution) that toppled the Marcos regime one month earlier, in February 1986. Student Canteen was revived on February 18, 1989, on RPN-9 but was canceled on June 10, 1990, after a misunderstanding occurred between the show's producers and the RPN management.

Lunch Date (1986–1993) Lunch Date became Student Canteens successor on June 9, 1986, and was GMA's first station-produced noontime variety show. Its original hosts were Orly Mercado, Rico J. Puno, Toni Rose Gayda, and Hollmann. When the show was reformatted after a year, it only retained Gayda and Hollman and brought in a mix of new and established artists to host the show, including Randy Santiago, Keno, Lito Pimentel, Tina Revilla, Pilita Corrales, Louie Heredia, Sheryl Cruz, Jon Santos, Dennis Padilla, Fe Delos Reyes, Manilyn Reynes, Willie Revillame, and Ai Ai de las Alas. The show introduced new segments that challenged EBs reign in the noontime slot.

In 1987, EBs ratings improved when Aiza Seguerra, a Little Miss Philippines winner, joined the show and became popular with viewers. In 1989, changes were made to both noontime shows: former RPN-9 executive Wilma Galvante and former EB writer Vincent Dy Buncio joined Lunch Date as the executive producer and director of the show, respectively. Meanwhile, EB moved to ABS-CBN due to RPN's sequestration under the Cory Aquino administration. EB (together with its sister shows produced by TAPE, Inc.) helped ABS-CBN increase its TV network ranking to No. 1, from No. 4. It also started the rivalry of GMA and ABS-CBN in the noontime slot, a rivalry existed until May 5, 2020, when the broadcasting franchise of ABS-CBN lapsed and with the eventual departure of TVJ from TAPE, Inc. on May 31, 2023. In 1993, GMA's management decided to reformat their own noontime show and replaced it with SST: Salo-Salo Together. According to de Leon, Lunch Date was their toughest opponent ever because it was pitted against EB for more than 7 years, the longest, compared to other noontime shows, until It's Showtime surpassed it in 2019.

SST: Salo-Salo Together (1993–1995) SST first aired on March 20, 1993, as a replacement for Lunch Date. The show was hosted by Randy Santiago, Dennis Padilla, and Smokey Manaloto with Liezl Martinez, Anjanette Abayari, Joy Ortega, and Giselle Sanchez as co-hosts. In less than six months after it aired, SST started to overtake EB in ratings by providing fresh interactive segments. Ai-Ai delas Alas (who previously co-hosted Lunch Date) and Bayani Agbayani (who was part of SSTs production staff) were also hired as co-hosts.

It started as a blind item as 1994 was about to end, until news leaked out that SST was going to go off the air to give way to EB at the 12 pm slot. This transpired after EB itself had decided to move to GMA following their producer TAPE Inc.'s refusal to sell the show's rights to ABS-CBN. During SSTs New Year episode on December 31, 1994, the announcement of the new variety show's move to GMA was officially made by hosts Randy Santiago and Dennis Padilla. The management decided to keep SST after they decided to move it to an earlier time slot, as a lead-in to EB. The last noontime episode of SST was aired on January 27, 1995. On January 30, 1995, SST was reformatted as a morning talk show, with a 10:30 am timeslot. On June 30, 1995, SST was permanently cancelled.

'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila (1995–1998) After Eat Bulaga! moved to GMA, ABS-CBN decided to make Sa Linggo nAPO Sila into a daily noontime show as Sang Linggo nAPO Sila (SLNS). Its pilot episode was aired on February 4, 1995, hosted by the APO Hiking Society. During its first year, Sang Linggo led the ratings in the provinces and cities where ABS-CBN had a stronger signal. The real challenge was content deviating from the usual noontime variety show that Eat Bulaga! had presented to the viewers for almost two decades. Meanwhile, Bulaga had presented new faces such as Allan K., Jose Manalo, and Donna Cruz, and new segments such as Super SiReyna and the Philippine Bulaga Association. Calendar Girl was introduced by SLNS in 1996 with various male hosts joining APO Hiking's Jim Paredes or Buboy Garovillo in interviewing the contestants clad in two-piece swimsuits. The segment was reformatted in 1998 with John Estrada, Randy Santiago, and Willie Revillame named as permanent segment hosts. The new trio made naughtier jokes. SLNS also introduced an interactive game portion, "Barangay APO", where segment host Eagle Riggs toured different barangays (districts) around Metro Manila to give out cash prizes.

The rating for SLNS improved but the main hosts did not agree with the changes on their show. Eventually, ABS-CBN ended their noontime show on November 30, 1998, due to criticisms that some of the show's hosts lacked real connection with the masses. Magandang Tanghali Bayan took its place with its main hosts, Santiago, Estrada, and Revillame.

MTB (1998–2005)

Magandang Tanghali Bayan (1998–2003)