ABS-CBN, GMA claim top ratings

MANILA, Philippines — ABS-CBN Corp. claimed leadership in nationwide television (TV) ratings in January, while GMA Network Inc. said it topped ratings in urban Philippines in the same month.

In a statement Friday, ABS-CBN said it had an average audience share of 46 percent in January, higher than GMA’s 34 percent, according to data from Kantar Media, which uses a nationwide panel size of 2,610 urban and rural homes that represent 100 percent of the total Philippine TV viewing population.

ABS-CBN said it kept its lead in Metro Manila with an average audience share of 42 percent against GMA’s 27 percent.

In Total Luzon, ABS-CBN got 43 percent against GMA’s 35 percent. in Total Visayas, it had 55 percent against GMA’s 27 percent,  and in Total Mindanao, 51 percent share against GMA’s 32 percent.

ABS-CBN also won in the primetime block (6 p.m. to 12 midnight) which is the most important part of the day for TV networks because advertisers place bulk of their budget during this time to reach more consumers effectively.

In particular, ABS-CBN got an average audience share of 50 percent, higher than GMA’s 32 percent.

Meanwhile, GMA said it won in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) with an average of 43.7 percent total day people audience share compared to ABS-CBN’s 38.6 percent based on data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

Nielsen’s data is based on approximately 900 more homes surveyed in total urban and rural Philippines compared to Kantar’s.

GMA said it ruled all time blocks in NUTAM as it recorded a 42.3 percent people audience share versus ABS-CBN’s 35.4 percent in the morning block.  It got 47.3 percent compared to ABS-CBN’s 36.8 percent in the afternoon block; and it had a 41.5 percent share versus ABS-CBN’s 41.2 percent in the evening block.