Wil Time Bigtime

German Moreno Studio, GMA Network Studios Annex, Quezon City, Philippines (since 2016)

### Running time

2 hours and 30 minutes (Weekdays)
3 hours and 15 minutes (Saturdays)

### Production company(s)

WBR Entertainment Productions
GMA Entertainment Group (since 2016)

## Release

### Picture format

480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)

### Original release

January 24, 2015 - present

***Wil Time Bigtime*** is a Philippine noontime variety show broadcast by GMA Network. The show premiered on January 24, 2015, with it's main host Willie Revillame. The show marked as the comeback show of Revillame in the network after almost 2 years of hiatus.

It broadcasts LIVE from the German Moreno Studio in the GMA Network Studios Annex every Monday to Saturday, 12:00pm to 2:30pm (Monday to Friday) and 11:30am to 2:45pm (Saturday).

## History

Originally produced by Revillame's WBR Entertainment Productions Inc. Randy Santiago originally served as the show's director. The show's theme song was composed by Lito Camo and arranged by Albert Tamayo. In late 2015, the show became a co-production between GMA Entertainment Group and WBR Entertainment Productions Inc.

It replaced Party Pilipinas due to the show's low ratings, ranging from 3-5% sometimes below 3%.

Wil Time Bigtime's pilot episode gained 26.5% against Eat Bulaga's 18.1%.

on January 27, 2018. Former Eat Bulaga hosts, Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards joined Wil Time Bigtime. The two left Eat Bulaga in 2017 due to a dispute with the show's producers and moved to GMA Network.

on January 25, 2020. The show celebrated it's 5th anniversary at the Smart Araneta Coliseum gaining 20.1% against Eat Bulaga's 12.4% and Magandang Tanghali Bayan's 14.3%

## Cast

### Co-hosts

* Donita Nose (2015–2017; since 2019)
* Super Tekla (since 2016)
* Sugar Mercado (since 2017)
* Maine Mendoza (since 2018)
* Alden Richards (since 2018)
* Herlene Budol (since 2019)
* Elaine Timbol (since 2019)
* Almira Teng (since 2019)
* Mariel Rodriguez (since 2019)
* Vice Ganda (since 2019)

### Bigtime Girls

* Kayeann Picache (2016; 2017; since 2018)
* Yhanna Whiwit (2016–2017; since 2018)
* Jaye Anne Balangue (2017; since 2018)
* Alex Manla (since 2017)
* Chinkee "Chinkeenini" Brice (since 2018)
* Lhia "Ligaya" De Guzman (since 2018)
* Aika Hernandez (since 2018)
* Jhovielyn "Jovy" Bernal (since 2018)
* Ayrra Averilla (since 2019)
* Sheryl "Love Yah" Moñeno (since 2019)
* Precious Quirino (since 2019)
* Jonalyn Flores (since 2019)
* Jeraldine "Lawin" Faustino (since 2020)
* Erica "The Mabalaquena" Macapagal (since 2020)
* Kyle Lucasan (since 2020)
* Jhoemalyn Alcampado (since 2020)

### Former

* Yvette Corral (2015–2017)
* Jennifer "DJ JL" Lee (2016–2017)
* Janelle "Kim Chi" Tee (2015–2017)
* Amal Rosaroso (2017)
* Ashley Ortega (2017)
* Ariella Arida (2016–2017)
* Camille Canlas (2017–2018)
* Jannie Alipo-on (2017–2018)
* Patricia Tumulak (2018)
* Nelda Ibe (2018)
* Kim Idol (2018)
* Petite (2018–2019)
* Le Chazz (2018–2019)
* Halimatu Yushawu (2018–2019)
* Valerie Concepcion (2019)

## Segments

### Current

#### Hep Hep Hooray (since 2015)

This segment is a revival of one of Wowowee's eponymous final segments before it closed shop. Random audience members get to play Hep, Hep, Hooray. The objective of the game is to repeat the words "Hep Hep" and "Hooray". Before the game starts, a Wil Time Bigtime dancer gives each contestant PHP 100. Willie puts the microphone in front of a contestant's face and they are supposed to say "Hep Hep" while clapping their hands together below their waist, then another co-host will put the microphone to another contestant's face and they are to finish the cheer with saying "Hooray" and raising their hands in the air. If one of them makes a mistake, he/she is out of the game and gets a gift pack from all sponsors. If three of them are remaining, Willie asks each contestant his/her name and hometown/group before the game continues. If two of them are remaining, two Wil Time Bigtime dancers hold a flag that says "Hep Hep Hooray Championship Round". Then either of the two will be decided by Willie: the game will continue and the winner will win a gift from sponsors, Wil Time Bigtime jacket, and PHP 2,000. Or both contestants win and each of them will receive will win a gift from sponsors, Wil Time Bigtime jacket, and PHP 1,000. Two people receiving PHP 1,000 will total PHP 2,000. Or the last three contestants win and each of them will receive will win a gift from sponsors, Wil Time Bigtime jacket, and PHP 1,000. Three people receiving PHP 1,000 will total PHP 3,000

#### Willie of Fortune (since 2015)

Three contestants/groups selected earlier through themed auditions compete in *Willie of Fortune*. This segment allows the contestants to share their life stories and their talent to the world. Each contestant is given a PHP 500 cash prize for showcasing their talent. The in-house keyboardist plays a portion of a song, and the first person to name the song correctly gets one point each. Three points are required by one of the contestants to move on to the "Pera o Kahon" Jackpot Round. Otherwise, all three players will play the jackpot round. It is based on and up to Willie's decision that either the "Song Tanong" will be played by the three contestants or all of them will play the "Pera o Kahon".

#### 1-2-3 Go (since 2016)

More than 50 individuals from the studio audience has been already selected during the raffle draw and the another 10 studio audiences from his/her group who danced the opening dance number has been selected on-air before playing the game but all of them received a gift pack from the sponsor. They will only choose the numbers 1, 2 or 3 to answer the questions. If the individual contestants selected the correct answer, they will proceed to the next questions but the other individual contestants who chose the 2 wrong answers are automatically eliminated from the game.

#### Putukan Na! (since 2016)

Four teams consisting of four members each compete to win the top prize in a fun, action-filled balloon-popping game, a popular parlor game. Each team automatically receives PHP 500 then gets to present their cheer to the audience. Each team tries to pop eight balloons in the fastest time, running back and forth, landing on the other member's lap to pop the balloon. The fastest team will receive additional PHP 1,000 for a total of PHP 1,500.

#### Tawag ng Tanghalan (since 2016)

Also known as Tawag ng Tanghalan sa Wil Time Bigtime, The regular season is divided into four quarters, with semifinals taking place at the end of each quarter. Two semifinalists with the highest scores from each quarter, together with winners from the wildcard rounds, move on to compete in the grand finals.

##### Daily rounds

###### Elimination round

Daily contenders from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao perform in front of a live audience and are scored by a panel of judges (or *hurados*) composed of a Head Judge (called as *Punong Hurado*) and four regular judges. For the first two regular seasons, and kids edition, the judging criteria were as follows:

* Tone quality (40%)
* Voice projection (30%)
* Stage impact (20%)
* Intonation (10%)

In the following seasons, the judging criteria were modified:

* Voice quality (50%)
* Overall performance (50%)

The first criterion includes intonation, enunciation, voice projection and technique. The second criterion comprises timing, mastery of lyrics, stage presence and audience impact.

If the contender goes out-of-tune, the *Punong Hurado* has the option to signal the gong master to hit the gong three times, thereby stopping the performance and eliminating the contender, à la-*Major Bowes Amateur Hour*. This mechanic was omitted in the kids edition presumably to prevent judges from upsetting young contenders, instead relying solely on the judges' verdict and overall score to determine the winner. In the fourth season, the four regular judges have also been given the power to gong a contender if they all press their buzzers.

The winning daily contender receives ₱500, while the other contenders receive a consolation prize of ₱100

In *Celebrity Champions*, the winner in the elimination round automatically advances to the semifinals.

##### Face-off round

The daily contender with the highest score moves on to the face-off round to challenge the defending champion and attempt to steal the golden microphone. The winner in the face-off round gets to claim the golden microphone and defend their title against the next winning daily contender. Defending champions who achieve a five-time winning streak advances as a semifinalist, but may opt to continue their winning streak up to ten. Those who continue and achieve ten straight wins become a *Tawag ng Tanghalan* record holder and get to select a bonus prize. In *Kids*, this was reduced to five straight wins. In the fourth season, a defending champion may advance to the semifinals with four straight wins.

The defending champion receives ₱1,000 for each win

##### Semi-finals

The semifinalists perform a song based on a theme for each day. The contenders are scored by *hurados* (50%) and the audience (called as *madlang people*) through text votes (50%). The judges may still gong a contender in this round.

The two semifinalists with the highest combined score from the judges and the public at the end of the six days move on to the grand finals (known as *Ang Huling Tapatan*) and receive ₱5,000 and a golden medal. The losing semifinalists receive a consolation prize of ₱1,000, and gets an chance to return as wildcard contenders in the Ultimate *Resbak* round.

##### Wildcard rounds

###### Instant *Resbak*

In the third season, every judge is given the power to save one losing defending champion in the face-off round. The saved contender advances to compete in the Instant *Resbak* for a chance to re-enter the competition as a grand finalist. The judges may still gong a contender in this round.

###### Ultimate *Resbak*

Semifinalists who failed to advance to the grand finals advances to the Ultimate *Resbak* round for a chance to re-enter the competition as a grand finalist. The judges may still gong a contender in this round.

In the first season, the semifinalists are grouped into four and must compete in two rounds. In the first round, a group performs with individual songs. The semifinalists with the highest combined scores from the judges and the public for each group will advance to the second round. In the second round, the four remaining semifinalists perform again with individual songs. The two contenders garnering the highest combined scores from the judges and the public advance to the grand finals.

In the second and third seasons, the Ultimate *Resbak* round follows a last man standing format. Two semifinalists who are in the *Seat of Power* choose two semifinalists. These chosen semifinalists battle it out for a chance to challenge and dethrone the sitting semifinalists. If the challenger wins, the semifinalist in the *Seat of Power* is dethroned. If the semifinalist in the *Seat of Power* wins, they remain in their seat. This continues until there are only two semifinalists left.

###### Final *Resbak*

In the third season, *Tawag ng Tanghalan* introduced the Final *Resbak*. This round allows losing finalists from the Instant and Ultimate *Resbak* rounds to battle for the last slot in the grand finals. The judges may still gong a contender in this round.

##### Grand finals

The finalists compete in the week-long grand finals, dubbed as The Final Face-off (or *Ang Huling Tapatan*), through a series of rounds. The finalist (or finalists) with the highest combined scores from the judges and the public for each round advances to the live finale. In the second and third seasons, the finalist (or finalists) with the lowest score for each round is also eliminated.

In the first and second seasons, the judges may still gong a contender in this round. This was discontinued in the third season.

In the live finale, the competition is divided into two parts. The six finalists sing their journey song in the first part. The three finalists with the highest combined scores from the judges and the public will move on to the second part, wherein they will sing a medley songs by their chosen artist. The finalist with the highest score will be named the grand champion.

The weekday rounds are held in the German Moreno Studio, while the live finales are usually held in a large venue.

##### Winners

* Noven Belleza (Season 1)
* Jhon Clyd Talili (Kids)
* Janine Berdin (Season 2)
* Elaine Duran (Season 3)
* Ethel Booba (Celebrity Champions)
* Mark Michael Garcia (All-Star Resbak)

#### Pera o Kahon (since 2015)

In this game Pera o Kahon (Cash or Box) (previously named "Wil to Win" (2015) & "Cash Bukas" (2015-2016)), the advancing contestant on Willie of Fortune has to find the box with "Mega Jackpot" labelled on it when opened to win the jackpot prizes in *Pera o Kahon*. There are boxes marked with names of different colors (in Filipino names) (previously in Filipino Flower names) and the contestant must choose only one. Willie would open all boxes except for two, and if they would change their mind, they could switch boxes. The contestant would then choose either "Cash" (open the box, get the previous money offer and accept the result, may it be "Bokya". If the Mega Jackpot was inside the box and they chose "Cash", then they would receive the previous money offer and not the Mega Jackpot.), or "Kahon" (the increasing money offer until the box is finally opened, usually accompanied with exciting music.). The Mega Jackpot consists of PHP 1,000,000.00, house and lot from Bria Homes, and a brand new car.

#### InstaJam (since 2015)

*InstaJam* is a section with no games, and no members of the audiences whether hand-picked or randomly chosen. However, in this session, guest stars from even beyond the Philippines come to the show and sings a piece of music, either their own or someone else's.

#### Wil's Playlist (since 2018)

This section is of which the main host of the show, Willie Revillame sings one or several of original songs that he himself recorded and sang. He sings on a playback, or recorded version of the song, and lip syncs along with the lyrics of the song. He usually does it for the enjoyment of the audience, but can do it for a group of people or just one individual.

#### The Will to Win (2017-2018; since 2019)

*The Will to Win* is a talent competition segment of the show. 3 competing groups, duos or individuals but no age limit will be presenting their talents on the daily round. The daily winner will receive PHP 1,000 cash but automatically enters the monthly finals. All monthly winners automatically enters the grand finals. The grand winner will receive PHP 500,000 cash and other prizes. Non-daily winners will receive PHP 500 cash. All of the co-hosts of the show and the choreographer Anna Feliciano are the judges serving as commentators of the competition.

## Ratings

According to AGB Nielsen Philippines' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of *Wil Time Bigtime* gained 26.5%.

on October 24, 2015, Wil Time Bigtime only gained 11.9% while Eat Bulaga gained 50.8% and Magandang Tanghali Bayan gained 9.3%. Wil Time Bigtime finally won on January 12, 2016 gaining 22.1% against Eat Bulaga's 1**7**.3% and Magandang Tanghali Bayan's 19.0%.

Mendoza and Richards' arrival to Wil Time Bigtime hit a record high 49.6% on January 2**7**, 2018 against MTB's 18.5% and Eat Bulaga's 13.2%

## World tours

1. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (**February 28, 2017**)
2. Las Vegas, Nevada (**September 4, 2017**)