TV ratings battle heats up in March

MANILA, Philippines — The ratings battle continues to heat up between the country’s top two networks, with both claiming leadership over the other in March.

In separate statements yesterday, ABS-CBN said it capped the first quarter of the year as the country’s dominant network, while GMA said it remained the viewers’ station of choice last month.

Citing date from global audience measurement provider Kantar Media, ABS-CBN said it scored an average audience share of 47 percent versus GMA’s 30 percent in March.

GMA, meanwhile, said it registered an average total day people audience share of 36.4 percent in the national urban television audience measurement for March compared to ABS-CBN’s 35.5 percent.

ABS-CBN said it was able to secure larger audiences in the urban and rural areas compared to GMA, keeping an average audience share of 44 percent versus its rival’s 24 percent in Metro Manila and 38 percent in Mega Manila compared to GMA’s 30 percent.

The Lopez-led broadcast giant said it was also the network of choice of more Filipinos in Luzon, with 41 percent, while also dominating Visayas and Mindanao with 57 percent and 56 percent share, respectively.

For its part, GMA said it dominated urban Luzon and Mega Manila, which respectively account for 72 and 60 percent of all urban viewers in the country.

GMA said it got an average total day people audience share of 39.8 percent in urban Luzon and 41.6 percent in Mega Manila.

The network also claimed leadership in the morning and evening blocks with 32 percent and 41.6 percent people audience share, respectively.