BY JAMES A. LOYOLA
Amid challenges faced by traditional media and competition from web-based services, local media giant GMA Network remains the undisputed leader on air and online for the full year 2023.
Nielsen TV Audience Measurement (TAM) ratings data from January to December 2023 show that GMA – together with GTV and digital channels I Heart Movies, Heart of Asia, Pinoy Hits, and Hallypop – tallied a combined people net reach of 94 percent or a projected total of 73 million viewers in Total Philippines.
The network’s main channel, GMA 7, remained the most dominant channel in Total Philippines, with a 93 percent net reach, or a projected total of 72 million viewers nationwide.
Meanwhile, GMA Network's flagship AM and FM radio stations maintained their top-ranking positions in 2023.
Super Radyo DZBB 594 recorded an audience share of 29.9 percent last year based on Nielsen Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data, while closest competitor DZRH 666 tallied 28.9 percent.
The AM station’s successful performance extended beyond Mega Manila, with Super Radyo Iloilo emerging as the number one AM station in 2023 with a total audience share of 46.9 percent.
Barangay LS 97.1 Forever led other FM stations by a wide margin, averaging a 42.5 percent audience share against Love Radio 95.1’s 15.5 percent.
GMA’s FM stations ruled the airwaves outside Mega Manila as well. In Baguio, Barangay 92.7 (DWRA) recorded an audience share of 38 percent.
Listeners to Barangay FM 93.5 (DWTL) in Dagupan likewise tallied an audience of 44.5 percent. In Western Visayas, Barangay 93.5 (DYMK) Iloilo drew a 70.5 percent audience share.
GMA currently operates 108 TV stations and 21 radio stations throughout the Philippines, with more to come in 2024. Further strengthening its presence across different regions in the country through GMA Regional TV, the Network launched GMA Ilocos Norte, its 12th regional station, in March 2023.
Besides analog broadcast stations, the Network has also ventured into more digital and online platforms with the aim of making information even more accessible.
Based on Tubular Labs data, social media video views for all GMA online properties drew billions of views from January to December 2023.
Consolidated online viewership numbers reached 26.9 billion on Facebook and 8.9 billion on TikTok, as opposed to ABS-CBN’s pages, which got 20.8 billion views on Facebook and 7.9 billion on TikTok.
GMA Integrated News and GMA Public Affairs' social media pages drew billions of views from the same period. Online viewership numbers for these properties reached a total 21.9 billion views.
The umbrella account of GMA Integrated News alone drew 5.3 billion views, versus ABS-CBN News' 2.2 billion views. Meanwhile, GMA Public Affairs’ online platforms generated 13.9 billion views across popular social media platforms: 9.7 billion from Facebook, 2.5 billion from TikTok, and 1.7 billion from YouTube.
In total, GMA Integrated News and GMA Public Affairs properties boast a staggering following of over 220 million across social media platforms.
