IBC showing muscle in so-called ratings war

May 10, 2014

The network war rages on with ABS-CBN 2 and GMA-7. If IBC plays its cards right, with the solid backing of Eric Canoy as chairman, we might see the day that the fight for network supremacy will now also get to dominated by the Kapamilya and Kapuso channels.

But surely, The Kapinoy Network is making its presence felt—and time may come that the government-sequestered network IBC will be becoming the giant network in able to hold its own against the giants.

This early though IBC is already showing muscle based on the ratings of its weekend shows. In the weekend of May 3-9, based on the Kantar Media ratings, it showed IBC doing good on the 6 p.m. to the 2 a.m. time slot, as IBC became the second most watched network that week. It garnered a rating of 35.9% audience higher which is higher than ABS-CBN with 47.5%, while GMA 7 took the top spot with 24.3% audience share.

IBC’s weeknight triumvirate of primetime dramas such hits like Janella in Wonderland, Your Heart, My Love and Crazy Little Thing Called Love was the favored viewing fare that night, getting the high audience share compared to the rival teleseryes in terms of other networks.

The hit weekend triumvirate of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Sandy's Romance, Born to be a Superstar, Iskul Bukol Men, Sir Chief Loves Maya, Happy TODAS,  and The Million Second Quiz was the favored viewing fare that night, getting high audience share compared to the shows of the Kapuso and Kapamilya networks.

Tomorrow, October 23, is supposed to be the pilot telecast of Willie Revillame’s game show on TV5, pending, of course, the resolution of the TRO filed by ABS-CBN to stop the airing of Willie’s new program on TV5. If the court junks the TRO, then it will be all systems go for Willie and TV5. If not, they might have to wait for another day.

But if indeed Willie’s game show gets the go-signal for airing, it might change the landscape of TV programming. If it airs on primetime as planned, it might prompt Channels 2 and 7 to come up with a program of a similar format, especially if Willie’s game show will get a rousing reception from the viewers. Of course, TV5 is banking on Willie and his show to give the MVP-backed network the needed boost to propel TV5 to the consciousness of the viewing public.

Channel 2 and GMA 7 should not be too complacent because the entry of TV5 could really pose a serious threat to their supremacy in the network war. And if TV5 would make good on its promise of investing in state-of-art equipment and ensuring a good signal and reception in the provinces, it would certainly become a force to reckon with.