The quest to dominate noontime viewing proved to be as intense online as it is on television, with the three noontime shows each making impact on the first day of their three-way bout, yesterday, July1.
History was made on July 1, as it mark the beginning of a three-way battle between noon time shows, Eat Bulaga (TAPE Inc), It’s Showtime (ABS-CBN), the still untitled, TVJ show on TV5. While it may still take a few days before we learned which show was the most watched on television, we now know which ones drew more audiences online than the other.
Based on peak live concurrent viewership on YouTube and Facebook, the new TVJ show emerged supreme among the three, as it drew more than 530,000 combined live viewers on both platforms. That is now the new record on noontime, erasing the record previously set by It’s Showtime last May 6, when Tawag Ng Tangalan Year 6’s grand finals attracted more than 255,000 on YouTube and Facebook.
Interestingly, It’s Showtime, broke its own record, by soaring past 325,000 on the same platforms. What’s even more commendable about the Kapamilya noontime show, is that it nearly sustained its audience towards the end of the program, keeping at least 280,000 concurrent viewers. TVJ, meanwhile, saw its number of live viewers get cut in half, shrinking to just 230,000 by 3:00 pm.
Without an official social media account with solid following, TAPE Inc’s Eat Bulaga struggled to draw even at least 2,000 live concurrent viewers. Will its performance in the concurrent viewership game reflects its ratings? One must take note of It’s Showtime’s wider reach now that it is airing on GTV. It will be interesting to know if GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon, is indeed right in teasing the possibility of It’s Showtime getting an even higher viewership with the help of the Kapuso Channel.
Also interesting to find out, is whether TVJ’s record-setting feat online would translate on television data. Admittedly, TV5’s nationwide analog and digital reach lags behind GMA and GTV, but it’s worth-noting that some Kapatid programs with really strong following, were able to dominate their timeslot in the past. Will the legit ‘Eat Bulaga’ prove that the Dabarkads brand lives on regardless of the TV station? Let’s find out on Monday.
