Eat Bulaga!
History
RPN (1979–89)
Production Specialists, Inc., a company owned by Romeo Jalosjos Sr., came up with an idea of creating a noontime show for Radio Philippines Network. Antonio Tuviera pitched that Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon, collectively known as TVJ, would be the "perfect" hosts for the show. At a meeting at the InterContinental Manila, Tuviera made an offer to them which was accepted. De Leon coined the term "Eat Bulaga" as the title of the show and owns its copyright.
Eat Bulaga! premiered on July 30, 1979, with its pilot episode filmed at the RPN Live Studio 1 in Broadcast City, Quezon City. Chiqui Hollmann and Richie D'Horsie also served as the original hosts. The theme song was composed by Vic Sotto with Vincent Dy Buncio and Pancho Oppus and musically arranged by Homer Flores. During the show's first few months, it was in the brink of cancellation due to stiff competition and lack of advertisers, despite having their advertising rates reduced to ₱750 (equivalent to ₱25,497 in 2021) and the hosts' lack of salary for over a year.
De Leon said that he and the Sotto brothers did not sign a contract with the show, when they were offered to become hosts. Vic Sotto said that he accepted the offer and would stop, once he had money to buy a personal vehicle. De Leon also said that the show was supposed to be a short-term employment. After two years, the trio decided to stay with the show. The show gained top-rating status in 1980 with the segment "Mr. Macho". Production Specialists Inc. went bankrupt and dissolved sometime in July 1980 and the production of the show were handed over to TAPE, Inc. on July 7, 1981. In 1982, Coney Reyes joined the show as the newest host.
In the immediate aftermath of the People Power Revolution, the show went off the air from February 27 to March 1, 1986, due to the transmitter of RPN being disabled by reformist soldiers. In 1987, Aiza Seguerra joined the show after Little Miss Philippines. Eat Bulaga! left the Broadcast City complex on December 2, 1987, and transferred to Celebrity Sports Plaza in Quezon City the next day owing to RPN being beset by periodical change of management. The compounded situation led to Tony Tuviera's decision to start negotiations with then-fledgling ABS-CBN to eventually transfer the show.
ABS-CBN (1989–95)
Eat... Bulaga! moved to ABS-CBN under a co-production agreement due to problems brought about by the sequestration of RPN. On February 18, 1989, the show premiered on its new home with a TV special titled Eat... Bulaga!: Moving On, staged at the Araneta Coliseum. Upon its transfer to ABS-CBN, the show utilized Studio 1 at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center as its main venue while Studio 2 served as an additional facility during special occasions.
The show's tenth anniversary was held on September 23, 1989, at the Araneta Coliseum. In 1991, Ruby Rodriguez and Rio Diaz became regular co-hosts.
In 1994, ABS-CBN attempted to purchase the broadcast rights to the show from TAPE Inc., but Antonio Tuviera and Malou Choa-Fagar rejected the offer, leading the network to give Eat... Bulaga! an ultimatum to leave by January 1995. ABS-CBN retook the timeslot with their own program 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila on February 4, 1995.
GMA Network (1995–2024)
In late 1994, the show moved out of ABS-CBN Studio 1 and relocated to Celebrity Sports Plaza in preparation for its transfer. The move became official through a contract signing between TAPE Inc. and GMA officials that was held at the Makati Shangri-La, Manila on January 19, 1995. The show premiered on GMA Network on January 28, 1995, with a TV special titled Eat... Bulaga!: The Moving!
Toni Rose Gayda, Allan K., Samantha Lopez, and Francis Magalona became hosts in 1995, and Anjo Yllana followed suit in 1998. By 2000, Eat Bulaga! was the first noontime variety program to award millions of prizes through its Laban o Bawi segment, gaining instant popularity among viewers. On the other hand, Wally Bayola joined the show but was initially cast as an off-screen jester host who entertained the studio audience during commercial breaks and announced introductions for the show's segments. In May 2001, Magalona was removed from the show following his arrest for drug possession, with Janno Gibbs serving as his replacement while Paolo Ballesteros joined the show as co-host for the U-Bet segment, a university student pageant hosted in remote locations with Derek Ramsay and Phoemela Baranda visiting campuses nationwide. In 2002, Magalona returned to the show after his acquittal and rehabilitation, and ratings increased due to the popularity of the SexBomb Dancers and Sige!!! Ano...Kaya Mo?!? Sakmo! segment. In 2003, Jose Manalo became a regular co-host on the show after serving as production assistant and floor director in 1994 and 1999, respectively. The 25th year celebration of the show was aired on November 19, 2004, from Expo Pilipino. It won the Best Entertainment (One-Off/Annual) Special at the Asian Television Award in Singapore on December 1, 2005. The presentation, titled Eat Bulaga! Silver Special, was broadcast on November 27 and 29, 2004.
In 2006, the SexBomb Girls left the show due to a dispute with the producers and they were replaced by the EB Babes. In March 2007, the SexBomb Girls returned until their second departure in 2011, while the EB Babes remained regular performers on the show until 2019. In September 2007, de Leon started an on-screen feud with Willie Revillame, which led to the Hello Pappy scandal.
On March 6, 2009, Vic Sotto announced the death of Francis Magalona, who succumbed to leukemia, during the program. A tribute episode for Magalona was held the following day. Ryan Agoncillo joined the show later in 2009 and the show's 30th anniversary special Tatlong Dekads ng Dabarkads aired. In 2012, Ryzza Mae Dizon joined the show after winning the talent search Little Miss Philippines. In 2014, Lenten drama specials returned after a seven year hiatus and an annual awards ceremony, the Dabarkads Awards, was first held.