Despite winning their respective time slots, both shows plunged from their predecessor’s high TV ratings.
With ABS-CBN’s limited free TV presence allowing the GMA Network to dominate the game, it’s not surprising the latter is winning the TV rating game without a sweat.
At present, the now most-watched TV channel in the country has a very strong command over the rating chart, with more than half of Kapuso programs occupying a slot on the Top 20 most-watched programs list.
Flagship primetime newscast, 24 Oras, remains the most-watched TV program in the country, while the primetime program, First Lady, secured the top spot among most-watched dramas in the country.
This year, GMA Network brought back two of its monster hits in the past two years. Prima Donnas ruled weekday programming during its run from August 19, 2019 to February 19, 2021. At its peak popularity, the show was able to garner a double-digit rating and even peaked at 14.2% on February 11, 2021, according to AGB Nielsen’s National Urban TV Audience Measurement (NUTAM) data. Similarly, First Yaya, was the undisputed most-watched drama in 2021, with its AGB Nielsen ratings even peaking at 24%, or double against its nearest competitor.
There were expectations that both programs would replicate their predecessors’ success, as they return to their respective time blocks. Both shows, as expected, currently rule their time slots, but the massive decline in their ratings is just glaring. Did Kapuso viewers catch the genre fatigue or did they just simply find another place to satisfy their drama cravings? Seems it’s more likely the latter as streaming services have been making waves since the onset of the pandemic.
According to the latest figures from AGB Nielsen, both Prima Donnas and First Lady have lost half or nearly half of their first season’s peak rating. On February 17, 2022, Prima Donnas rated 6.3%, nearly half of season 1’s finale week’s average rating. It’s the same for First Lady, which posted a 13.4% AGB Nielsen NUTAM rating on February 17. That’s lower even compared to First Yaya’s lowest ever rating, which was recorded at 16.9% for its June 16, 2021 episode. That’s also nearly 10 percentage points lower than First Yaya’s peak rating which was recorded at 24%.
That said, there is still room for these two shows to improve their viewership. It’s worth noting that their rival programs in ABS-CBN, are most likely unable to absorb the viewers Prima Donnas and First Yaya lost because ratings of Kapamilya shows did not improve significantly. FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, for example, was able to beat its rival Kapuso show, without setting a record high post-ABS-CBN shutdown rating.
This suggests that Kapuso viewers have more likely switched the channel, or gone somewhere else—Netflix or YouTube, perhaps—to fulfill their entertainment needs.
