THE ratings war continued in August as rivals ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network, Inc. both claimed the lead in nationwide ratings, citing different audience measurement providers.
In a statement, ABS-CBN said it kept its nationwide ratings lead with an average audience share of 44% in August, versus GMA’s 32%, according to Kantar Media data.
On the other hand, GMA Network said it recorded an average total day people audience share of 42.6% in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM), against ABS-CBN’s 36.2%, based on data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.
ABS-CBN said Kantar Media uses a nationwide sample size of 2,610 urban and rural homes, while GMA said Nielsen surveyed “approximately 900 more homes” than its rival.
The Lopez-led multimedia company said it posted an average audience share of 41% in Metro Manila against GMA’s 28%; 40% in Total Luzon against GMA’s 36%; 51% in Total Visayas against GMA’s 26% and 52% in Total Mindanao against GMA’s 26%.
For the primetime block (6 p.m.-12 midnight), ABS-CBN said it posted an average audience share of 48%, compared to GMA’s 32%. It also dominated the other time blocks — morning (6 a.m. to 12 noon) with 41% share against GMA’s 32%; noontime (12 noon to 3 p.m.) with 43% versus GMA’s 33%; and afternoon (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) with 43% against GMA’s 36%.
The long-running drama “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” continued to be the country’s most watched program with an average national TV rating of 41.7%.
Meanwhile, GMA said in the morning block, it recorded 38.9% people audience share compared to ABS-CBN’s 34.2%, while in the afternoon block, it had a 44.3% share versus ABS-CBN’s 34.9%. For the evening block, GMA said it had an average of 43% compared to ABS-CBN’s 37.9%.
GMA said the Nielsen ratings were gathered from Aug. 1 to 31, with Aug. 26 to 31 based on overnight data.
For Urban Luzon, the network said it posted an average total day people audience share of 48% against ABS-CBN’s 30.2%; and 49.4% in Mega Manila versus its rival’s 27.7%. GMA said Urban Luzon and Mega Manila account for 72% and 59% of all urban viewers in the country.
