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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
‘Hawaiian Moving Co.’
winding down after 26 yearsTHE "Hawaiian Moving Co." ends its 26-year run as a locally produced, weekly magazine show on KGMB-TV Feb. 29.
"The 'Moving Co.' is not going away," said Michael W. Perry, executive producer and host. "It's being scaled back."
A handful of first-run episodes will air as specials during the year. Segments of previous shows repackaged into "best-of" programs will continue to air at 10:30 p.m. on Sundays.
KGMB-TV Senior Vice President and General Manager Rick Blangiardi worked in sales at KGMB when the show debuted with popular radio personality Kamasami Kong as its host in 1978.
Disco reigned at the time, so the show focused on nightlife and dance moves demonstrated by a mother-daughter team of instructors.
Perry, also a popular radio personality at KSSK-FM 92.3/AM 590, assumed hosting duty after two seasons and the show evolved.
Cost-cutting was not the reason, though the show was not an inexpensive proposition.
"I didn't make that call capriciously," Blangiardi said.
"This is not some belt-tightening, times-are-tough, let's-cut-out-the-local-show decision. This is reallocating our resources toward our news operation in our commitment to serving the people of Hawaii," he said.
"We are going to dedicate our resources and hopefully, personnel to our news operation and all the while still retaining the 'Hawaiian Moving Co.' brand," Blangiardi said.
The "Hawaiian Moving Co.," second only in longevity to the 33-year run of the "Filipino Fiesta" variety show, had won multiple awards including three Emmys. It was more of a ratings boon than its ethnocentric forerunner.
"We win every time slot we're in," Perry said. "We've helped the A-list of sponsors. We've been so blessed by the quality of sponsors. Hawaiian Host, Bankoh, CPB, Hawaiian Airlines, Meadowgold, TIG Crum & Forster. The sponsors have been great and we've done great by them," he said.
Despite the late hour of the 10:30 p.m. airing of the show, it " does very well from an audience and a ratings standpoint," Blangiardi said.
The television industry and venues for advertising dollars have changed vastly since the show's debut.
"When we started the 'Moving Co.,' there was no CNN, no cable as we know it."
The "Moving Co." crew includes Perry, producer-director-and-writer Randy Brandt and two videographer-editors, Bill Paris and John Yasunaga.
"They are the best segment producers in town," Brandt said. Others have included Don Kozono and Lisa Wong. The show has had little turnover.
Brandt's predecessors include Mike Kiesling, Larry Fleece, Robert Pennybacker and Dan Schmidt. Brandt moved to Hawaii in 1984 and has had the job ever since, traveling to 30 countries in pursuit of the 3,000 segments the crew has amassed.
"I've had the best job in the world for the last 20 years," he said. "We do 38 new episodes a year and network television doesn't produce half that," he said.
"Hawaiian Moving Co." is in syndication in five countries in Europe and Asia, shows that are produced separately from the local version. Brandt will explore further syndication of the program and long-format projects to work inside and outside of KGMB, where he will seek a more part-time presence.
Veteran producer and KGMB alumnus Phil Arnone, who originally hired Brandt, has produced recent specials for the station and continues to serve in a freelance capacity.
"It feels good ... scaling back on a high, rather than waiting for the show to die," Perry said.
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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com