MANILA, Philippines - Kung pagbabasehan ang ticket sales, TV ratings at livestream viewing ay maituturing na tagumpay ang nakaraang championship series ng Barangay Ginebra at Meralco.
Ang bawat laro sa nasabing best-of-seven title showdown kung saan tinalo ng Gin Kings ang Bolts sa Game Six para kunin ang titulo ng 2016 PBA Governor’s Cup matapos ang walong taon ay sinubaybayan ng mga fans.
Pinanood naman ang naturang serye sa TV at livestream ayon sa Sports5 at ng digital arm nitong D5 Studio.
“Halos kalahati ng mga nanood sa TV noon, naka-tune in sa PBA,” sabi ni TV5 president/chief executive officer Chot Reyes.
“We’ve always had a good rating in any PBA finals. But the good rating soared to phenomenal in this series,” dagdag pa nito.
Sa Game Six ay umabot ang livestream viewers sa Sports5.ph ng 2,000 percent, habang nagtala naman ng 45-percent audience share ang serye sa TV.
Tinawag ng TV5 top boss at Gilas Pilipinas head coach ito bilang “a perfect storm.”
“It’s not only the Barangay Ginebra mystique. It’s the fact that they’d not been there for years. Talagang nauhaw at nagutom ang tao,” ani Reyes. “I don’t think it would be that huge if not for Ginebra and if Ginebra is there every year. The fact was that eight years sila nawala at biglang pumasok uli sa finals.”
Mula sa oras na alas-9:30 ng gabi hanggang alas-10:15 ng gabi sa Games Four hanggang Game Six ay pinataob ng TV5 ang iba pang networks sa ratings at audience share.
“It’s not just Ginebra. It’s also because every game was classic, each game bakbakan. Credit should also go to Meralco. They fought a good series, and the two teams engaged in a well-fought series,” ani Reyes. “Madaming factors na nagsama-sama. The result was the kind of rating that we got on TV and on online digital. The numbers were Gilas proportions. What a success it was!” dagdag pa ni Reyes.