ABS-CBN claims nationwide ratings lead

ABS-CBN Corp., the media holding company of the Lopez clan, claimed nationwide ratings in the previous year, while rival GMA Network Inc. said it dominated the viewer-rich Urban Luzon and Mega Manila.

ABS-CBN said the data from research firm Kantar Media showed its national television ratings in 2013 at 42 percent across urban and rural homes against 33 percent for rival GMA. For December alone, ABS-CBN claimed a share of 43 percent versus 33 percent for GMA, the Kantar Media data showed.

GMA Network, citing data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, said its average total day audience share from January to December was 36 percent in Urban Luzon against ABS-CBN’s 30.8 percent.

For Mega Manila, GMA cornered 37.2 percent average total day audience share versus 28.8 percent for ABS-CBN.

Urban Luzon accounts for 77 percent of total urban TV households while Mega Manila accounts for 59 percent, it said.

ABS-CBN, in the meantime, claimed a lead in all-time blocks last year, adding that its drama and news programs won the top posts.

For the viewer-heavy primetime time slots, or from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight, ABS-CBN said its average audience share was 47 percent against 31 percent for GMA.

For the morning block, ABS-CBN claimed an audience share of 37 percent against 33 percent for GMA. The company likewise claimed 40 percent in the early afternoon block against GMA’s 36 percent, and 38 percent in late afternoon against GMA’s 33 percent.

Kantar Media uses a nationwide panel size of 2,609 urban and rural homes representing 100 percent of the total Philippine TV viewing population, ABS-CBN noted in its statement.

In Mega Manila, Nielsen TV Audience Measurement gathers data based on a sample size of 1,190 homes, GMA said.

Nielsen has a nationwide urban sample size of 2,000 homes, it added.