Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Are advertisers satisfied with the dubious TV ratings system?

First Word
BY the rules of contemporary journalism, the report that US President Donald Trump called Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th “a little narco” should now be classified as a factoid.

According to Norman Mailer, who coined the term, a factoid is a fact that had no existence before appearing in a newspaper or magazine. The “little narco” comment has now appeared in several newspapers and been broadcast on TV and radio.

What makes things worse for Trillanes is that there is plausible corroboration from recent historical records.

During the 2016 US presidential campaign, the presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, exchanged insulting words.


Trump attacked the Florida senator via Twitter: “Little Marco Rubio is just another Washington D.C. politician that is all talk and no action.”

Rubio replied in kind: “Trump is always calling me Little Marco. And I’ll admit he’s taller than me. He’s like 6’2”, which is why I don’t understand why his hands are the size of someone who is 5’2”.”

When Trillanes joined Marco Rubio in Washington for a cabal, little did he know that he was linking with a kindred soul.

When Trump touches down in Manila next week to attend the Asean and East Asia summits, Filipino media will doubtless bring up the “little narco” comment with him and his media staff.

The “little narco” quip, says one report in the Bulletin, was made when Trump was asked by an embedded reporter on Air Force One about Senator Trillanes’ meeting with Senator Rubio.

Based on the source who flew with Trump going home from an official function in Texas, President Trump considered Trillanes a virtual nobody.

Said Trump: “Senator who? Like I said senator who? The li’l narco who met Marco? How did he get a visa? Isn’t he wanted, doesn’t he have an arrest warrant or something?”

Trillanes must console himself with the thought that the brand, which will now tail him everywhere he goes, was stamped on him by a US president.

Are TV ratings fake?
Mainstream media, both broadcast and print, would have a fighting chance of surviving the communications revolution and the onslaughts of online media, if they will only return to the fount of their service to society: reporting the truth of events and developments, and transparency about their own operations.

The point was impressed on me during a conversation with a foreign corporate executive, who asked me 1) why our top TV networks present different and contrasting TV ratings regarding their audience share; and2) why there is still no accredited Audit Bureau of Circulation to authenticate the circulations of local newspapers.

His point is unavoidable. The stakes are very high, running into billions of pesos, particularly in advertising revenues for broadcast media, which is the most dominant and profitable in the country. The value in terms of media’s prestige as a social institution is incalculable, because media, especially print, has constitutional protection.

Newspapers can more easily roll with the problem, because their revenue share is modest compared to the broadcast networks. Their bigger problem is the pervasive erosion of their business by the flight of readers and clients to the Internet.

This week, the nation was treated to the annual ritual of both ABS-CBN and GMA simultaneously boasting that they have respectively won the ratings war against each other, and over the smaller TV networks in the country.

Is it comprehensible for each of them to be on top of the totem pole, and claim bragging rights?

What special manipulation do their favorite market researchers perform so each can claim supremacy?

The question is in order because the market researchers, Kantar Media and AGB Nielsen, have not wavered one bit from their predestined findings, year after year after year.

ABS-CBN triumphant

ABS-CBN of the Lopez Group was the first to announce its victory. It said that it posted an average national audience share of 46 percent in October, up 23 percent compared with rival GMA Network Inc. with 33 percent, according to data from Kantar Media.

ABS-CBN took the lead in all territories, including Mega Manila where it scored an average audience share of 36 percent against GMA’s 34 percent, and in Metro Manila with 41 percent against GMA’s 27 percent.

ABS-CBN also won in Total Luzon with 43 percent compared with GMA’s 34 percent, in Total Visayas with 53 percent against GMA’s 28 percent and in Total Mindanao with 50 percent against GMA’s 33 percent.

ABS-CBN also led other networks across all time blocks in October, including the morning block, where it scored an average audience share of 39 percent against GMA’s 32 percent.

Nine of the 11 most watched programs nationwide in October also belong to ABS-CBN, led by the long-running police drama FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, which recorded a national TV rating of 39.9 percent.

Variety show It’s Showtime, is still the most watched noontime show in the country with a national TV rating of 35.2% on weekdays and 29.5% on Saturdays, against its rival Eat Bulaga which only got 39% on weekdays and 24.2% on Saturdays, ABS-CBN said.

Also in the top 10 were Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin, ASAP, Banana Sundae, Pusong Ligaw, The Promise of Forever, Ipaglaban Mo, TV Patrol, La Luna Sangre, The Good Son, Tonight with Boy Abunda, Bandila, Little Big Shots, I Can See Your Voice, Rated K, Gandang Gabi Vice, Wildflower, Wansapanataym, MMK, Home Sweetie Home and Goin Bulilit.

As of mid-September, ABS-CBN said it sold 3.6 million units of its TVplus digital service, helping drive its terrestrial television penetration in Metro Manila. One in 2 homes in the area have TVplus, according to Kantar.

ABS-CBN also offers content online through iWant TV. The top five most watched programs on the platform in October were La Luna Sangre, Wildflower, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, Pusong Ligaw, and The Good Son.

GMA’s victory

GMA, for its part, reported that it maintained its supremacy in the nationwide television ratings competition in October based on data from Nielsen Phils. TV audience measurement.

According to GMA, its ratings in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) posted an average total day people audience share of 41.7 percent from October 1 to 28, higher compared with ABS-CBN’s 38.1 percent.

The network also registered winning numbers across all day parts in NUTAM. In the morning block, GMA registered a 38.5 percent people audience share versus ABS-CBN’s 35.9 percent.

In the afternoon line-up, GMA dominated its time block with 45.4 percent as against ABS-CBN’s 37.5 percent. Subsequently, the evening block was also ruled by GMA with 40.2 percent versus the competition’s 39.4 percent.

GMA also beat its rival in Urban Luzon where it had an audience share of 47.2 percent compared to ABS-CBN’s 32.6 percent.

As for Mega Manila, GMA stayed ahead of competition with an audience share of 48.8 percent compared to ABS-CBN’s 29.3 percent.

More Kapuso shows are in the list of top programs in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement.

Pepito Manaloto is the most-watched program for October, also making in the list are Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, 24 Oras, Magpakailanman, Celebrity Bluff, Super Maam, Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko, 24 Oras Weekend, All-Star Videoke and Alyas Robin Hood.

Also making to the list are the most-watched programs are Wowowin, Ika-6 na Utos, My Korean Jagiya, Bubble Gang, Saksi, Imbestigador, Eat Bulaga, Sunday Pinasaya, Dear Uge, Impostora, Haplos and Tadhana.

Further, GMA’s flagship AM radio station Super Radyo DZBB was also hailed as the listeners’ number one choice in Mega Manila proving GMA’s dominance both in TV and radio.

Based on the latest data from Nielsen Radio Audience Measurement, DZBB garnered a total day average audience share of 32.3 percent in October, which toppled DZMM’s 27.5 percent and DWWW’s 12.6 percent.

The market researchers

These perplexing ratings reports prompted me to look up the credentials of the market researchers who did the survey research.

Kantar Media Research, which did the survey favoring ABS-CBN, is a market research firm in the Philippines specializing in broadcast media. Kantar Media is responsible for audience measurement of television ratings for the entire Philippines.

As of 2017, Kantar Media uses a nationwide panel size of 3,500 urban and rural households, with a respondent base of 10,000 individuals that represent 100 percent of the total Philippine TV viewing population.

The panel reports on seven sectors, namely National Capital Region, Suburbs, North Luzon, Central Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

AGB Nielsen Media Research, or AGB Nielsen, is a market research firm in the Philippines specializing in broadcast media. AGB Nielsen conducts audience measurem ent of television ratings for certain areas in the Philippines, most notably in urban areas.

As of 2013, AGB Nielsen uses a panel size of 1,980 households based solely in urban areas that represent 57 percent of the total Philippine TV viewing population.

In October 2006, AGB Nielsen established the Philippines’ first national television audience measurement panel called the “Nationwide Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM)” that covered 95 percent of urban areas in the country.

On December 20, 2007, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. filed a civil case against AGB Nielsen after ABS-CBN discovered alleged tampering in the ratings in Bacolod. The next day, ABS-CBN reported through their AM station DZMM that AGB Nielsen pointed to GMA Network as the one behind the manipulation of ratings in Bacolod. On January 3, 2008, GMA filed a P15 million libel suit against ABS-CBN and some of its employees. On January 7, 2008, the Quezon City regional trial court (RTC) junked ABS-CBN’s case against AGB Nielsen saying it was “prematurely filed” before the court.

Why isn’t there one TV ratings system in the country that regularly and methodically measure the audience ratings of specific shows and networks? Why are the two measures providing persistently contrasting results.

Why is it that in the US we are informed every month how specific programs and shows and networks outperform one another, even with particular audience segments?

Surely, this is not the fault of Filipino audiences?

The simple answer is that the ratings are being produced by the market researchers on demand by the TV networks. There is plenty of money in this transactional arrangement.

Advertisers’ satisfaction ratings

It struck me while puzzling over the TV ratings maze, that there is one worthwhile satisfaction survey that the Social Weather Stations should be commissioned to conduct as a service to the Filipino public and the business community.

SWS should survey the legions of TV advertisers, big and small, that advertise at great cost on the leading broadcast networks, ABS-CBN and GMA. It should ask companies one by one whether they are satisfied with, or find credible, the TV ratings system that each network parades as proof that it is on top.

yenmakabenta@yahoo.com

Two solons urge MRT3 privatization

Two solons sought the privatization of the operations and management of the MRT3 following the numerous breakdowns it had recently.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian sought for the complete privatization of the operations and management of the trouble-plagued Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-3 that runs from North SM EDSA, Quezon city to Avenue in Pasay city.

“Government is a poor operations manager. Time and time again, we have seen how poorly government operates a business endeavor,’’ Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate economic affairs, issued the statement after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) officially terminated Monday its contract with its service provider Busan Universal Mail Inc. (BURI) because of alleged BURIs’ poor performance.

The DOTr said the Philippine National Railways (PNR) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) would provide sufficient technical support and expertise for the smooth transition of MRT-3 maintenance work.

Gatchalian cited the cases of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the National Power Corporation (Napocor) and the various airports in the country, where government performance leaves much to be desired.

DOTr Undersecretary Cesar Chavez said there are three international firms that have signified intention to be the next service provider of MRT-3.These are Sumitomo Corporation of Japan; SMRT Corporation of Singapore; and RAPT Development, the service provider of LRT System Line 1.

“Sumitomo is a world-class and experienced company,’’ Gatchalian said.

Under the Aquino administration, DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications) officials threw out its contract with Sumitomo and entered into an agreement with APT Global corporation where one of its board of directors was related to a DOTC official.

After rescinding the contract with APT Global, DOTC awarded the service contract to BURI.

Gatchalian said that it is ‘’about time to kick out BURI.’’

Meanwhile a House leader renewed his call to privatize the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 to make it more reliable and efficient in delivering services to about half a million passengers a day.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone called on the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to ensure that the operations and services of the MRT 3 will be improved following its decision to terminate the maintenance contract with the Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI).

“The DOTr should should present to Congress with a viable alternative, if any, now that it has terminated its maintenance contract with BURI. DOTr should show and convince the public that MRT 3 will not further deteriorate its services without a maintenance provider,” he said.

“Now that BURI has vowed to question the termination in court, the legal tussle between the two parties might drag on for months or years which may put MRT 3 services is jeopardy,” he expressed concern.

He expressed hope that the DOTr made a fair-and-square decision when it decided to terminate the contract and to take over the maintenance of the MRT 3.

“Hopefully, the termination is not designed to just eased out BURI and replaced it with a favored maintenance provider,” he said.

According to reports, the government will in the meantime, take over the maintenance services of MRT 3.

“The question is: are there competent technical people that can immediately takeover the maintenance of MRT 3? Second, how long can the government procure all the necessary parts needed to maintain MRT 3 given the very tedious procurement process under Republic Act 9184, or the procurement law,” Evardone, chairman of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries pointed out.

He said the DOTr should allay the fears of the public and convince them that with the termination of the maintenance contract, the MRT 3 services will substantially improve to alleviate the plight of the riding public.

“I still maintain that the best option is to totally privatized the MRT 3 to make it more efficient,” he said.

Evardone earlier called on Congress to support the bid of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. to buy out the 77 percent stake of the government in MRT 3.

Metro Pacific chair Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier said they are “prepared” to do the buy-out and rehabilitate and upgrade the MRT-3, which may cost some P12.5 billion

He said no formal offer has been made, and there was no final amount yet.

“To me, this is the best solution to improve the services of MRT 3. MRT 3 should be privatized to make it more efficient as a public mass transport system,” Evardone said..

He also proposed that Congress should immediately pass the bill seeking to establish a single regulatory body for all mass transit facilities. The measure was filed by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Ilang proyekto ng pamahalaan, inaasahang matatapos sa susunod na taon

Inaasahang matatapos sa 2018 o sa susunod na taon ang ilang infrastructure projects sa ilalim ng Buid Build Build Program ng Duterte Admnistration.

Kabilang dito ang Cavite Gateway Terminal, Southwest Intermodal Transport Exchange, New Bohol Airport-Panglao, Mactan-Cebu International Airport at ang Light Rail Transit (LRT) 2 East Extension Project.

Nuong Abril matatandaang pinangunahan ng DOTr ang ground breaking ng Cavite Gateway Terminal, ang kauna unahang barge terminal sa bansa kung saan inaasahan pag natapos ang proyekto ay ay mababawasan ang mga dumadaang truck sa Metro Manila.

Dumadaan din sa imporovement & modernization ang ilang pantalan sa bansa tulad ng Iloilo, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Basco, Bataraza, Calapan, Catagbacan, Dapitan, Larena, Legazpi, Makar, Matnog, Opol, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Tubigon, Iligan at Surigao port.

Tuloy tuloy din ang paggawa sa LRT-1 Cavite Extension project maging ang LRT-2 kung saan hanggang Antipolo na ang magiging byahe nito.

Maliban dito, isinusulong din ng DOTr ang pagkakaroon ng subway system sa bansa kung saan inaasahang uumpisahan ang konstruksyon nito sa 2019 at matatapos sa 2025.

Transforming celebrities one eyebrow at a time

Rachelle Ann Go (right) with Jane Pecson
Jane Pecson of Fleek Eyebrow & Beauty Clinic said the trend of having brows on fleek has seen her clinic enjoy increasing demand and flourishing clientele including celebrities.

Some of the famous ones are Kristel Fulgar, MYX VJ, host and model Sunshine Kim, Barbie Imperial, Karen Reyes, Nikki Bagaporo, Nicole Estrada and international singer Rachelle Ann Go.

“Uso ngayon ’yung mga thick eyebrows partly because of international celebrities like the Kardashians and model and actress Cara Delevingne. Now the trend is thick eyebrows pero hindi ’yung ang kapal kapal ng kilay but in a natural way,” explained Jane.

She added that her clinic uses the micro-blading technique. Also popular nowadays are Feather Brows and Bold Brows.

“Our artistas love this look because it looks more natural compared to the old fashion tattoo,” shared Jane.

Fleek has branches at MPlace Mall, SM Mall of Asia and Mega Plaza, Ortigas. Already a year in the business, Jane revealed its plan to open five branches of Fleek clinic every year.

• • •

Special event


Mhelwin Jeremae Rapadas, model of designer Christian Albert Fider

A special event was held recently at Kalye Crisologo in Vigan City, spearheaded by Mayor Juan Carlo Medina. The event was the World Costume Festival 2017 (Vigan and Luzon Leg). Popular designers from the Ilocos region and Pangasinan showcased their fabulous designs through their models who paraded on the ramp.

One of the designers was Christian Albert Fider who’s the pride of Tayug, Pangasinan. Sunflower-inspired gowns were worn by models Mhelwin Rapadas and James Cabote. Christian has been designing and competing in various fashion competitions for the last five years.

• • •

ABS-CBN, GMA contest ratings lead in October

ABS-CBN Corp. maintained its leadership in nationwide television ratings in October, while GMA Network Inc. claimed it won the ratings game in urban households.

In a statement, ABS-CBN said it had an average national audience share of 46 percent in October, higher than GMA’s 33 percent based on data from multinational audience measurement provider Kantar Media.

Kantar Media uses a nationwide panel size of 2,610 urban and rural households to represent the total Philippine TV viewing population.

The Kapamilya network said it dominated all time blocks for October.

In particular, ABS-CBN won in the primetime block (6 p.m. to 12 midnight) as it got a 50 percent audience share, ahead of GMA’s 31 percent.

The primetime block is considered the most important part of the day for advertisers as this is when most Filipinos watch TV.

In Mega Manila, ABS-CBN had an average audience share of 36 percent versus GMA’s 34 percent, while it had a higher audience share of 41 percent compared to GMA’s 27 percent in Metro Manila.

Nine of the 11 most watched programs nationwide in October also belong to ABS-CBN, led by the long-running police drama FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, which recorded a national TV rating of 39.9 percent.

Also in the top 10 were Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin, It’s Showtime, ASAP, Pusong Ligaw, The Promise of Forever, Ipaglaban Mo, TV Patrol, La Luna Sangre, The Good Son, Tonight with Boy Abunda, Little Big Shots, I Can See Your Voice, Wildflower, Wansapanataym, MMK, Home Sweetie Home and Goin Bulilit.

As of mid-September, ABS-CBN said it sold 3.6 million units of its TVplus digital service, helping drive its terrestrial television penetration in Metro Manila. One in 2 homes in the area have TVplus, according to Kantar.

ABS-CBN also offers content online through iWant TV. The top five most watched programs on the platform in October were La Luna Sangre, Wildflower, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, Pusong Ligaw, and The Good Son.

Meanwhile, GMA said in a statement it got a higher average total day audience share of 41.7 percent for the period of Oct.1 to 28 compared with ABS-CBN’s 38.1 percent, based on Nielsen Philippines TV Audience Measurement’s National Urban TV Audience Measurement (NUTAM).

GMA said it also ruled across all day parts in NUTAM as it got a 38.5 percent people audience share as compared to ABS-CBN’s 35.9 percent in the morning block, a 45.4 percent audience share as against ABS-CBN’s 37.5 percent in the afternoon block, and 40.2 percent audience share versus ABS-CBN’s 39.4 percent share in the evening block.

GMA also beat its rival in Urban Luzon where it had an audience share of 47.2 percent compared to ABS-CBN’s 32.6 percent.

As for Mega Manila, GMA stayed ahead of competition with an audience share of 48.8 percent compared to ABS-CBN’s 29.3 percent.

More Kapuso shows are in the list of top programs in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement.

Pepito Manaloto is the most-watched program for October, also making in the list are Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, 24 Oras, Magpakailanman, Celebrity Bluff, Super Maam, Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko, 24 Oras Weekend, All-Star Videoke and Alyas Robin Hood.


Also making to the list are the most-watched programs are Wowowin, Ika-6 na Utos, My Korean Jagiya, Bubble Gang, Wish Ko Lang, Imbestigador, Eat Bulaga, Sunday Pinasaya, Impostora, Haplos and Tadhana.

• • •

Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, Nov. 7, go to Gen. Ernesto Mata, Annabel Santiago, Alice Bernal, Erwin Tagle, Coke Nicolás, Roberto Castro, Rommel Gumatay, Dennis Odessa, Claudio Sapo Rapadas, Mickie Joy Hyatt, ABS-CBN’s Aaron Domingo, Maricar de Mesa, and QC Councilor Mayen JuicoNov. 8: Basil Valdez, Deo Endrinal, Teresita Guiao, Joel Atencio, Jocelyn Poon, Gabriel Ripollet, Lou de Guzman, Karla Pizarro, Venida Viernes, Boysie Agustín, Aida Martínez, Hazel Cabrera, Oliver Volante, and Lauren Young… Condolence to the family of colleague Vir Mateo who died Oct. 26 and was cremated on Nov. 5 and Isabelle Granada who died Nov. 5…

Manila wary of lone wolf attacks after twin US shootings

Following shooting attacks that killed scores of people in Texas and New York in the United States, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has ordered the city police to see to it that its security measures are fool-proof to ensure the safety of the visiting heads of states attending the upcoming Asean Summit.

Estrada, citing the warning recently aired by Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla, also called on the Manila Police District to be wary of possible sympathetic attacks by individuals or groups still loyal to the defeated Maute-ISIS terrorists in Marawi.

“So far there are no security threats—no actual, direct or imminent threats. But there are intelligence reports that we are closely watching—the possibility of lone wolf attacks,” Estrada warned, quoting MPD director Chief Supt. Joel Coronel.

“We are not being overly suspicious,” Estrada insisted, “but we should listen to the AFP’s advice to be more vigilant and more observant of our surroundings.”

Coronel admitted that such lone wolf attacks, similar to the one carried out by the Uzbekistan-born suspect in the New York terror incident and the lone gunman that went on a shooting spree at a Baptist church in Texas, are possible

“Sympathetic attacks from Marawi, because of the Marawi crisis…. that is a possibility, this is one of the repercussions like what happened in the United States recently… to express sympathy or express support to the Maute Group. We are watching this,” Coronel said.

To protect the City of Manila, he said they have asked the help of the local Muslim communities.

“We are working closely with our Muslim communities through their elders. They are cooperating with us, in fact, helping us in securing the Muslim areas. Hopefully, we will not be infiltrated by the Jihadists or extremists. We are counting on their help, their vigilance in the community,” Coronel added.

As part of preparations for the ASEAN Summit, Coronel announced they will start fielding 2,700 police personnel starting November 5.

They will be part of the 23,000 policemen and soldiers that will compose the ASEAN Security Task Force under the operational control of Director Napoleon Taas.

With this commitment of 2,700 policemen to the ASTF, Coronel said the MPD is left with around 1,400 policemen to protect the city.

“There will be a lot of security convoys. Closures and rerouting will start on November 13 and 14,” he said as he called on the public to stay away from the venues of the ASEAN Summit as far away as possible to avoid inconvenience.

These include the CCP Complex, SM MOA Arena and in Manila, hotels where the foreign delegates and VIPs will be billeted such as Manila Hotel, Manila Diamond Hotel, New World Manila Bay, Pan Pacific, and Century Park Sheraton.

“Since November 13, 14 and 15 are holidays, we recommend that Metro Manila residents visit other places outside of Metro Manila for vacation. That’s our advice,” Coronel said.

http://manilastandard.net/sunday-lgu-section-pdf/ncr/251095/manila-wary-of-lone-wolf-attacks-after-twin-us-shootings.html