TV networks continue fight over viewership ratings

Television broadcast giants ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network Inc. on Friday claimed the No. 1 spot in key urban areas as they released viewer ratings for July 2019.

Hotly contested areas include Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

In a statement, ABS-CBN cited data from Kantar Media that showed that it captured 36 percent of viewers in Mega Manila against GMA’s 32 percent. GMA, using data from Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, separately claimed a 35.4-percent total day people audience share in Mega Manila versus ABS-CBN’s 28.9 percent.

Mega Manila covers Metro Manila and surrounding provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal. GMA said the area accounted for 72 percent of urban TV viewers across the Philippines.

GMA said it won urban ratings at 34 percent against 31.4 percent for ABS-CBN in Luzon.

Overall, ABS-CBN said its nationwide TV ratings hit 45 percent in July compared to GMA’s 32 percent.

Viewer ratings are a closely followed measure by advertisers.

In Total Luzon, ABS-CBN said July 2019 ratings came in at 40 percent compared to GMA’s 34 percent.

In Total Visayas, it claimed it had 53 percent versus GMA’s 25 percent and in Total Mindanao, it ended with 52 percent compared to GMA’s 29 percent.

GMA said Nielsen TV Audience Measurement served 32 clients and subscribers consisting of six local TV networks including ABS-CBN, TV5, Aksyon TV and CNN Philippines. It also has three regional clients, two blocktimers and 21 agencies.

Kantar Media, ABS-CBN said, is a multinational market research group that specializes in audience measurement in more than 80 countries. Its clients include 26 TV networks, ad agencies and pan-regional networks.