MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has no royal family but a wedding is a wedding and Filipinos, romantics at heart, will watch a royal couple say “I do.”
Over four million Filipinos in Mega Manila alone were tuned in last April 29 to the British Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales to commoner Catherine Middleton based on the AGB Nielsen overnight ratings.
From 5 to 8 p.m., the royal caravan towards Westminster Abbey to the bride’s breathtaking reveal in her Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress, throughout the wedding ceremony proper, and until the couple’s joyful carriage ride as husband and wife, GMA 7 and GMA News TV Channel 11 were the No. 1 and No. 2 networks, respectively in terms of ratings for Mega Manila, according to AGB Nielsen.
GMA 7 hit 30.7 percent household shares, while the two-month-old GMA News TV had 22 percent household shares for the same period. The latter was the first free TV channel to also broadcast the wedding live starting as early as 3 p.m.
GMA News and Public Affairs’ top anchors Jessica Soho, Vicky Morales and Connie Sison were in London to provide the first-hand reports on the royal festivities.