GMA, ABS-CBN claim top spot

MANILA, Philippines—The question of which local television network attracts the most viewers is still anybody’s guess, with two separate research firms proclaiming two different leaders in nationwide and Metro Manila ratings.

GMA Network Inc. on Thursday said it dominated 2011 with more households tuned in to “Kapuso” programs for the entire year, leaving its rival ABS-CBN Corp. in the dust.

But this comes a day after ABS-CBN Corp. made the same claim, using data from a different research firm.

Based on full 2011 nationwide data from AGB Nielsen Media Research, GMA posted an average 34.2 percent total day audience share for the 12 months of 2011. This was higher than ABS-CBN’s 31.1 percent and TV5’s 15.6 percent.

“GMA noticeably increased its total day household audience share record in 2011 versus 2010 by 3.2 points. In contrast, ABS-CBN’s record suffered a significant drop of 8.6 points during the same period,” GMA said in a statement.

The company said in effect, it gained nearly 1.5 million new viewers, while its rival lost 500,000 of its own.

Due to its improved ratings, GMA reported that ad placements from the country’s top 30 advertisers grew by 36 percent from January to September. Fourth-quarter figures are still being finalized.

On Wednesday ABS-CBN, citing data from Kantar Media, said it enjoyed an audience share of 36 percent in 2011 versus GMA’s 35 percent and TV5’s 13 percent.

GMA insists that its figures were more credible, pointing out that all major TV networks in the country also subscribe to AGB Nielsen. The research firm’s survey also covers a bigger sample size than Kantar’s.