GMA-7 still most watched TV station in Mega Manila

MANILA, Philippines –  GMA Network Inc. continued its reign as the most watched station in viewer-rich Mega Manila in January this year, according to ratings supplier Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

Mega Manila comprises 58 percent of total urban television households nationwide and has expanded coverage since Jan. 1 to include Batangas and Laguna.

Based on people data covering the whole month of January (Jan. 23 to 31 based on overnight ratings), GMA posted the highest channel rating at seven points among free-to-air TV channels in Mega Manila, 2.3 points away from ABS-CBN’s 4.7; and 3.4 points up from TV5’s 3.6.

The launch of new shows in the early part of the year boosted not only GMA’s ratings in Mega Manila but across the country as well.

For the whole month of January, GMA led ABS-CBN with 6.8 points in channel rating, up by 1.8 from ABS-CBN’s five points; and by 3.3 from TV5’s 3.5 in another key area – Urban Luzon – which made up 77 percent of television households nationwide.

In National Urban Philippines, GMA registered 6.5 points, just 0.01 point higher than ABS-CBN’s 6.4 rating.

GMA landed 21 slots out of the the top 30 programs in Mega Manila during the period under review.

According to GMA, the Nielsen TV Audience Measurement is used by 21 companies, including two other local networks, namely, TV5 and Solar Entertainment; Faulkner Media; CBN Asia; 13 advertising agencies and three regional clients.

In Mega Manila alone, the Nielsen TV Audience Measurement has a sample size of 880 homes as compared to Kantar Media’s 770 homes. Nationwide, Nielsen has a total sample size of 2,005 homes compared to the lower sample size of 1,370 utilized by Kantar Media.