Magandang Tanghali Bayan started November 30, 1998, originally airing daily Mondays to Fridays, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm, Philippine time. Another noontime show, APO Hiking Society's "Sabado Live" occupied the Saturday timeslot. Original hosts of "MTB" are Randy Santiago, John Estrada, Willie Revillame, Christine Jacob, Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez. The show aired live from Studio 3 of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.
The show assumed most of the segments and staff from its predecessor "'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila" during its first season. Among the most popular segments from APO's previous noontime show was "Calendar Girl", a daily pageant where pretty and sexy young girls 15-21 years of age participate in the talent and question and answer portions hosted by Randy, John and Willie. To continue the chronology of the pageant (where monthly winners from January to December of the previous year converge to compete in the Grand Finals of following year), management decided to include the January-November monthly winners from the defunct "APO" show in the "MTB" grand coronation that happened on January 1999.
On December 1998, "Pera o Bayong" debuted on TV as "MTB"'s highlight game portion. The engaging elimination round and the suspense-filled jackpot round won the hearts of most televiewers. It gave "MTB" better overall ratings than 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila, and the show even overtook GMA's Eat Bulaga! from 1999 to 2001. This led the show to replace Sabado Live! on March 1999. Well-known TV director Edgar "Bobot" Mortiz started handling directorial chores for the show along with newcomer Bobet Vidanes.
"MTB" also had its share of controversies. The "Calendar Girl" portion became notorious for Randy, John and Willie's green jokes which subsequently got warnings from MTRCB (then headed by veteran actress Armida Siguion-Reyna). Eventually, the ABS-CBN management intervened and suspended the three main hosts indefinitely. With Randy, John and Willie's suspension, the show was temporarily replaced by "Esep-Esep" for a week.
Randy, John and Willie came back with a bang after their suspension. The phenomenal game portion "Pera o Bayong" was made into a movie version ("Pera o Bayong not da TV)" by Star Cinema in 2000, with the whole "MTB" cast included. However, in 2001, Willie Revillame was axed from the show after citing creative differences between him and the staff. Matinee idols Marvin Agustin, Dominic Ochoa and Rico Yan (collectively known as "Whattamen) replaced him on the show. Top-notch stand-up comediennes Marissa Sanchez and Ai-Ai delas Alas also joined as new female co-hosts. "MTB" also started doing out-of-town shows abroad during the same year to promote ABS-CBN's international channel TFC.
In 2002, "MTB" lost a co-host in Rico Yan who died during his Lenten vacation in Dos Palmas Resort, Palawan. The show aired a week-long tribute for him.
That same year, the show introduced new faces to join the growing "MTB" family. The quintet Power Boys, the dance group G-Girls, morning traffic angel Pia Guanio and upcoming teen star Maoui David were among those that joined in the fun. During the 4th anniversary of the show on November 2002, the show underwent a major revamp with new game portions and some established ABS-CBN stars (Judy Ann Santos, Edu Manzano, Ryan Agoncillo) co-hosting on a weekly basis. By this time, the show had lost its luster in the ratings game to "Eat Bulaga" following the rising popularity of the reality portion "Sige Ano Kaya Mo?" and creating new sensations out of the Sex Bomb Dancers.
"Magandang Tanghali Bayan" ended its four-year run on February 21, 2003 to give way to Willie Revillame's noontime reunion with Randy Santiago and John Estrada in "Masayang Tanghali Bayan".
Read more about this topic: Magandang Tanghali Bayan, History