ABS-CBN, GMA Network still locked in television ratings dispute in January

ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network, Inc. continued to tussle over television ratings in January, with both media giants claiming the lead but citing different measurement providers.
In a statement, ABS-CBN claimed its nationwide average audience share reached 45% in January versus its rival’s 30%, based on a report from Kantar Media. Its audience measurement provider obtained its data from 2,610 urban and rural homes nationwide.
The Lopez-led firm said its dominance was spread across the country’s capital and the three main island groups, as it recorded 44% average audience share in Metro Manila against GMA’s 23%; 37% in Mega Manila versus GMA’s 28%; 40% in Total Luzon opposed to GMA’s 32%; 54% in Total Visayas edging GMA’s 25%; and 55% in Mindanao beating GMA’s 26%.
On the other hand, GMA said its average total day people audience share in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) was 37.8% for the first month of the year, higher than ABS-CBN’s 35.9%, with data from Jan. 27 to 31 based on overnight ratings.
GMA had tapped Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, which gathered data from 900 more homes than Kantar, covering the total urban and rural Philippines.
Nielsen’s data showed GMA won 41.9% share of the total day people audience in Urban Luzon against ABS-CBN’s 30.1%. For Mega Manila, GMA also beat its rival with 43.7% share versus 26.8%, based on data from Jan. 1 to 26.
In terms of time slots, both ABS-CBN and GMA once again claimed dominance.
ABS-CBN said it reigned supreme across the board with 50% average audience share for prime time (6 p.m. to 12 a.m.) against GMA’s 29%; 37% for the morning block (6 a.m. to 12 p.m.) versus GMA’s 27%; 42% for the noontime block (12 p.m. to 3 p.m.) versus GMA with 31%; and 44% for the afternoon block (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) against GMA’s 33%.
Its rival GMA challenged this, saying Nielsen data showed it garnered 34.8% audience share for the morning block versus ABS-CBN’s 30.9%; and 40.1% share in the afternoon block against ABS-CBN’s 34.2%.
Both networks likewise claimed to have produced the most watched shows for the month of January. ABS-CBN said its “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” had the number 1 spot with an audience share of 39.1%, while GMA said its “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS)” topped Nielsen’s list for top-rating shows in the NUTAM. — Denise A. Valdez