The Philippines has no royal family, but everyone loves a romance, especially one that ends up in a globally televised royal wedding.
Over four million Filipinos in Mega Manila alone were tuned in yesterday to the British Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales to commoner Catherine Middleton, based on AGB Nielsen overnight ratings.
And after weeks of heavy Royal Wedding coverage promotions by practically all the TV networks, two ratings winners emerged.
From 5 to 8 in the evening – the royal caravan towards Westminster Abbey to the bride’s breathtaking appearance in her Sarah Burton dress, throughout the wedding ceremony proper, and till the couple’s joyful carriage ride as husband and wife – GMA7 and GMA News TV Channel 11, were the no. 1 and no. 2 networks in terms of ratings, based on AGB Nielsen data for Mega Manila.
GMA7 hit an 18.6 household rating for this time band. GMA News TV, just a two-month-old news and documentary channel, followed GMA7 with a 13.3 household rating for the same period.
GMA News TV was the first free TV Channel to broadcast the wedding live, starting as early as 3 pm with its Royal Wedding: March to the Altar coverage, after first breaking the biggest news of the day — Merceditas’ Gutierrez announcement of her resignation as Ombudsman.
Normally the fourth-ranking free TV network, GMA News TV saw its ratings climb to a historic high on the Royal Wedding day, at a certain point leading all the free TV networks in ratings. By 6 pm, GMA7 ratings picked up with GMA’s special coverage of the same event, becoming the leader for the rest of the evening.
GMA News and Public Affairs has been preparing for its combined coverage for months, sending top anchors Jessica Soho, Vicky Morales and Connie Sison to London for first-hand reports on the royal festivities. GMA News and GMA News TV’s no. 1 and 2 ratings prove, once again, that GMA News and Public Affairs is the Filipinos’ most trusted source of news and information. – GMA News
