MANILA, Philippines--The Philippine Daily Inquirer has surged ahead in terms of readership in Metro Manila and all urban centers, solidifying its position as the most preferred newspaper in the Philippines, according to the latest readership surveys.

Conducted by two independent polling firms, the surveys found the Inquirer (the parent company of INQUIRER.net) to be the No. 1 newspaper among economic classes ABC.

The Nielsen Media Index study in the third quarter shows that the Inquirer accounts for 49 percent of respondents who said they had read a broadsheet the day before.

Nielsen Media Research is one of the leading providers of advertising information services worldwide.

The Media Atlas of Synovate also shows that the Inquirer is the daily newspaper of choice for about half (44 percent) of those who read English dailies every day in urban areas nationwide.

Synovate is the market research arm of Aegis Group, a London-based marketing service firm.

The Nielsen results translate to about 964,000 (49 percent) daily readers for the Inquirer, 738,000 (38 percent) for Philippine Star and 661,000 (34 percent) for Manila Bulletin. Some respondents read two or more broadsheets, explaining why the total exceeds 100 percent.

The Synovate results translate to about 742,000 daily readers on average for the Inquirer, 636,000 readers for Star and 620,000 for Bulletin.

"The latest survey results are a testament to the Inquirer's pursuit of excellence. Our sincerest gratitude to our readers and partners for their overwhelming support," Inquirer president Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez said.

She said the results strengthened the newspaper’s resolve to provide the public with balanced news and fearless views and to work for social progress.

"We are ecstatic about this development, more so happy for our advertisers, dealers and key stakeholders for getting their money's worth whenever they do business with us," said Rene Reinoso, Inquirer senior vice president for sales and marketing.

"This is likewise the result of hard work, commitment of service and passion to excel of the Inquirer group's entire workforce," he said.

The latest Media Index, conducted by Nielsen Media Research, covers a rolling sample of 6,000 respondents aged 10 and older in 21 cities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. They were randomly selected and were interviewed from February to August 2008.

The Nielsen survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.

Conducted from July 2007 to June 2008, the Synovate survey interviewed 8,028 representative respondents aged 15 to 64.

The Synovate survey also has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point, and covers Greater Manila Area and 24 cities in the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Though they differ in methodology, both surveys show the wide lead of the Inquirer over Star and Bulletin in key areas across the country and among the upper classes.

The Nielsen survey results show the Inquirer leading in "yesterday broadsheet readership" in all urban areas nationwide, especially in Metro Manila.

In Metro Manila, Nielsen has found that the Inquirer has a 47-percent readership among those who said that they read a broadsheet the day before. Bulletin is in second place with 36 percent, while Star is third with 34 percent.

Nielsen's Metro Manila results show an 8-percentage-point climb for the Inquirer from its market share of 39 percent in the second quarter (MI 2008 Q2).

The Inquirer also leads in broadsheet readership in Mega Manila (41 percent), the rest of Luzon (40 percent), the Visayas (70 percent), and Mindanao (53 percent). Mega Manila covers Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Pampanga.

The Nielsen survey has found that the Inquirer is No. 1 in all seven days of the week, both in Metro Manila and in other urban areas.

Nationwide, the survey shows that the Inquirer has a 52-percent "yesterday broadsheet readership" from Mondays to Saturdays, and 53 percent readership on Sundays.

Star has a 43-percent readership from Mondays to Saturdays, while Bulletin has 32 percent. On Sundays, Star has 42 percent and Bulletin, 37 percent, according to Nielsen.

In Metro Manila, Inquirer's "yesterday broadsheet readership" is 47 percent from Mondays to Saturdays and 45 percent on Sundays.

By contrast, Star has a 40-percent readership in Metro Manila, while Bulletin has 36 percent in the six days to Saturday. On Sundays, Bulletin has 43 percent and Star, 41 percent.

The latest Nielsen survey results have also found the Inquirer leading in "yesterday readership" nationwide among upper and middle class ABC broadsheet readers with 51 percent. Star has 37 percent and Bulletin, 34 percent.

Inquirer Publications' Bandera is still the most-read tabloid in the Visayas (61 percent) and Mindanao (32 percent).

Of the 6,000 Nielsen respondents, 2,000 were interviewed in July and August this year. The other 2,000 respondents were interviewed in February and March for the MI Q1 study, and in April through June for the MI Q2 study.

Nielsen Media Research used to release the Media Index annually. It started conducting the readership survey twice a year in 2006.

Synovate also found the Inquirer leading across the country, including the Greater Manila Area (GMA). In GMA, the Inquirer's daily reach is 586,000 compared with Star’s 553,000 and Bulletin’s 540,000.

In the Synovate survey, GMA covers Metro Manila and the adjacent areas of Antipolo and Cainta in Rizal, Bacoor in Cavite, Meycauayan in Bulacan and San Pedro in Laguna.

Outside GMA, the Inquirer's daily reach is 156,000 — nearly double that of Star (83,000) and Bulletin (81,000).

The Synovate survey has also found that about half of the 1.1 million ABC readers who had read an English daily the day before (more than 556,000 Filipinos) said they read the Inquirer. Forty-two percent said they read Star, while 35 percent said they read Bulletin.

Among the regional dailies in the Visayas, Cebu Daily News, the Inquirer's regional newspaper, is the second most read.

Synovate has also found that Hinge Inquirer Publications' Game magazine is among the Top 10 general-interest magazines, with an average issue readership of 126,000.

Synovate used both telephone and face-to-face interviews with its 8,028 representative respondents, who were asked about their media consumption, ownership of a range of products, lifestyle, values and attitudes.

Its surveys cover GMA and the cities of Angeles, San Fernando, Baguio, Batangas, Calapan, Dagupan, Laoag, Legazpi, Naga, Olongapo and Santiago in Isabela in Luzon.

The cities of Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue in the Visayas, and the cities of Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos and Zamboanga in Mindanao.