GMA Network has confronted the rise of streaming platforms and other free TV networks in its bid to keep its domination in local television.
When you think about how huge ABS-CBN’s pre-shutdown viewership was, you would wonder where did that big chunk of the free TV audience go?
Sure, GMA Network absorbed some 30 or even 40% of its former biggest rival’s viewers, but where did the heftier 60% go?
According to AGB Nielsen, GMA Network’s market share went from 33.8% for the first half of 2020 to 58.9% in the succeeding half. For Total Philippines, however, GMA Network’s total market share shrunk from 48.3% in 2020 to 46% in 2021.
The Network further took a nosedive in November-December 2021, when its viewership plunged to 42.2%, posting a nearly 30% reduction from the highest viewership it achieved after the ABS-CBN shutdown.
GMA Network’s failure to keep its audiences is evidently glaring through the ratings of its primetime programs, especially the shows airing after 24 Oras, the Network’s primetime newscast. Let’s take a look at I Left My Heart in Sorsogon’s most recent TV rating reported by AGB Nielsen. The Heart Evangelista-starrer rated 12.3% on February 3, Thursday. In comparison to First Yaya, the network’s undeniably biggest rater of 2021, viewership for the said timeslot has declined to nearly half.
First Yaya aired from March to July 2021 and had an average AGB NUTAM ratings of 18-20%. The show notably peaked with a 24.2% rating on April 22, 2021, on its 27th episode. From this, we can conclude that GMA Network lost half, or nearly half of its original audience—at least for its 8-9 PM time slot.
I Left My Heart in Sorsogon’s failure to keep First Yaya’s audience has inadvertently allowed FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano to take the top spot among most-watched dramas in the country, without significantly improving its TV rating since the show started airing on both A2Z and TV5.
The six-year-old program reclaimed the top position on February 1, Tuesday, with an 11.8% rating, against I Left My Heart in Sorsogon’s 11.2%. Interestingly, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano achieved such a feat without setting a new posting pre-shutdown record, as that distinction still belongs to its August 26, 2021 episode, which rated 13.0%, according to AGB Nielsen.
The question now is ‘where are the missing audiences going’?
There are certain scenarios, but it’s easier to believe that the larger fraction of traditional TV viewers made the big switch to streaming platforms, which has been thriving since the onset of the pandemic. Will First Lady, the sequel series to First Yaya, resurrect GMA Network’s first primetime plot might?
That’s a curious question.
What is interesting about Kapuso programs’ ratings is that they always have a higher ceiling to hit.
I mean, we all know that first slot shows can go up as high as 20s as proven by First Yaya. It’s worth noting that GMA Network has upgraded its national coverage to 98% of all TV households in the country. ABS-CBN, on the other hand, with its still limited free TV reach, has practically reached its maximum. There is a tighter space for FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano to go higher, on AGB Nielsen’s rating scorecard, unless a new block time deal comes into play.
