Pinoys among longest TV viewers in Asia, says survey

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos are spending between four hours and five hours a day in front of television sets making the Philippines among the longest TV viewers in Asia, a survey conducted by Kantar Media.

In a roundtable discussion, Kantar Media general manager Gabriel Buluran said the National Rural Ratings Data June 2012 survey showed that average viewing hours of individuals during weekdays is between four hours and five hours.

This is higher compared to the viewing hours in Singapore and Hong Kong where the average is between two hours and three hours a day.

“We are among the longest viewers in Asia,” Buluran stressed.

The survey showed that average viewing hours in the urban areas is a little over five hours a day while average in the rural areas in just above four hours a day.

The survey revealed that viewing levels peak during prime time between 6pm and 9pm both in urban and rural areas.

Buluran explained that the Philippines have longer viewing hours due to the fact that Filipinos have bigger households compared to the size of household in other countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

He added that most of the people in Singapore and Hong Kong are employed and spend most of their time outside the house.

He explained that the company’s latest survey covers the rural areas as 90 percent of the households in urban areas have TV sets while only 65 percent of the households in rural areas have access to TV sets.

Data showed that around 8.82 million of the houses in urban areas have TV sets while 6.31 million of the houses in rural areas have TV sets.

Buluran also disclosed that hair care products continued to dominate all commercial spots last month as six out of 10 advertisements aired on local channels are shampoo and conditioner products.

Major brands that dominated the TV screens include Sunsilk Co-creations Smooth and Manageable Shampoo, Palmolive Naturals shampoo brilliant shine, Sunsilk Conditioner with Nutrivitamin technology, Clear Men deep cleans with activated carbon, Creamsilk Nature nourished conditioner, Head and Shoulders shampoo.

Completing the top 10 are Selecta Magnum Classic Belgian chocolate, Surf Lavander with freshness of petals, Globe postpaid My Super Plan, and Close Up toothpaste.

Buluran said there are more rural households compared to urban households in Visayas and Mindanao as 66 percent of the households tracked by the agency are rural households.

“Kantar Media has a truly representative TV ratings panel, and therefore, now provides true national television audience measurement data,” he added.