GMA-7 maintains its foothold in national ratings amid aggressive competition from other broadcast networks, based on figures from the most widely accepted ratings service provider, Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

Based on household data surveyed in National Urban Philippines from April 1 to April 30 (with 24 to 30 based on overnight readings), GMA-7 garnered 33.2 household audience share points, higher than ABS-CBN’s 31.3 and TV5’s 14.8.

The Kapuso Network also dominated the list of overall top 30 programs in National Urban Philippines with 20 entries, topped by the Philippine TV premiere of Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes‘ movie You To Me Are Everything, which scored a household rating of 34.0 points.

In Urban Luzon, which comprises 77 percent of total television households nationwide, GMA-7’s lead over competing networks remained at double digit levels. The Kapuso Network sustained its strong ratings performance in the said area with 36.8 share points, 10.4 points ahead of ABS-CBN’s 26.4; and 20.6 points ahead of TV5’s 16.2.

In viewer-rich Mega Manila, which covers 58 percent of total television households nationwide, GMA-7 garnered 37.6 share points, 12.8 points up from ABS-CBN’s 24.8; and 20.5 points higher than TV5’s 17.1.

Nielsen figures also show that among the three networks, GMA-7 was the only channel in Mega Manila that made a leap in weekday primetime (6:30 to 11pm) this April relative to March. GMA-7’s audience shares climbed by 2.8 points from 34.1 in March to 36.9 share points in April. Meanwhile, ABS-CBN’s audience shares dropped by 2.0 points from 33.5 in March to 31.5 in April; and TV5’s audience shares fell by 3.4 points from 20.9 in March to 17.5 in April.

Furthermore, nationwide ratings data from January 1 to April 30 (with April 24 to 30 based on overnight readings) show that GMA-7 delivered superior performance in audience shares with 33.6 points, up from ABS-CBN’s 31.7 points and from TV5’s 15.1 points.

For the same period in Urban Luzon, GMA-7 registered an imposing 37.1 share points, higher than ABS-CBN’s 26.7 by 10.4 and TV5’s 16.9 share points by 20.2 points.

Year to date figures for Mega Manila show that GMA-7 posted 38.2 audience share points versus ABS-CBN’s 25.1 and TV5’s 17.7 for a lead of 13.1 and 20.5 points, respectively.

GMA-7 President and Chief Operating Officer Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr. said that GMA-7 continues to lead in the ratings, despite the efforts of competition. “We are extremely grateful to the growing number of viewers who subscribe to GMA-7 programs making us number 1 nationwide. We will continue our efforts towards ensuring the delivery of unbiased and relevant news and public affairs programs from our News and Public Affairs Group as well as innovative programs from our Entertainment TV Group,” Duavit said.

This month, GMA-7 will be launching seven new network-produced programs, two Koreanovelas, public affairs specials and will be airing the year’s most anticipated boxing match.

The line-up includes the Koreanovela Secret Garden, Munting Heredera, Blusang Itim, Andres de Saya, Sisid, My Chubby World, Playful Kiss, the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, Ground Zero, Sabadabadog, Blessed: John Paul II and the grand premiere of GMA-7’s biggest television production to date, Amaya on May 30.

The Nielsen TV Audience Measurement used by GMA is subscribed by 21 companies including two other local TV networks, namely, TV5 and Solar Entertainment; Faulkner Media; CBN Asia; 13 advertising agencies and three regional clients. On the other hand, ABS-CBN is the only local network reportedly subscribing to Kantar Media, formerly known as TNS.

In Mega Manila alone, the Nielsen TV Audience Measurement has a sample size of 880 homes as compared to Kantar Media’s 770 homes. Nationwide, Nielsen has a total sample size of 2,005 homes compared to the lower sample size of 1,370 utilized by Kantar Media.