With the pandemic still harrowing in 2021, many Filipinos took advantage of what the internet could offer.
This seemingly resulted in a dramatic rise in followers and traffic of local TV networks across social media platforms.
May it be for the better or the worse—but mostly, for the better—it’s hard to miss how social media and a variety of video-sharing and streaming platforms made a lot of things turn around in 2021. The second (hopefully, also the last) of the pandemic years, saw an enormous uptick in engagement and traffic in social media, as many Filipinos migrated to social media to fill their curiosity about so many things. Social media platforms like facebook and twitter, continue to function in a variety of crucial roles, including information dissemination, as a real-time communication line, and as a way to escape.
Like most media outlets anywhere in the world, Philippine TV networks and production studios naturally turned to social media to strengthen their campaign of effective news gathering and information dissemination. These TV networks understandably kept tabs on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, among other social media platforms, to deliver and gather real-time news. That gave them an upper hand in garnering more followers than before.
ABS-CBN, with its practically 360° tilt to the digital realm, immediately took the lead in the digital race. Its domination overwhelmingly reflects on its humongous lead in followers and engagement over its nearest competitors. On YouTube, for example, the network’s main entertainment account, ABS-CBN Entertainment, grew from 30 million subscribers to 37 million subscribers in just 13 months. The channel first crossed the 30 millionth mark in October 2020, becoming the first YouTube channel operated by a media entity in Southeast Asia to accomplish the feat. Its biggest rival, GMA Network, grew with 5 million additional subscribers through the same period. The main Kapuso YouTube Channel, GMA Network, first breached 20 million subscribers in October 2020. That figure currently stands at 25.5 million.
Other ABS-CBN-operated channels that have strong followings on the video-sharing site include, ABS-CBN Star Music with 7.2 million subscribers and 2.9 billion lifetime views, ABS-CBN Star Cinema with 5.4 million subscribers and 1.4 billion lifetime views, Pinoy Big Brother with 4.9 million subscribers and 2.6 billion lifetime views, The Squad Plus with 3.2 million subscribers and 320 million lifetime views iWantTFC with 2.9 million subscribers and 320 million lifetime views, and Pilipinas Got Talent with 2.3 million subscribers and 1.1 billion lifetime views.
In terms of lifetime views, ABS-CBN keeps its lead with a staggering 44.8 billion views. That’s 6 billion more than the figure reported in October 2020, when the channel’s lifetime views stood at 38.8 billion. GMA Network’s main channel, on the other hand, currently has 24.1 billion views.
The two networks’ news departments also made gigantic leaps in YouTube subscriber and engagement count in 2021. ABS-CBN News’ eponymous YouTube account had its 13 millionth subscriber in October. GMA News, on the other hand, breached 10 million subscribers in September, this year. GMA Public Affairs’ YouTube channel also experienced similar growth. The channel achieved 15 million subscribers in May and added two million more, seven months later.
On Facebook, ABS-CBN reigns supreme as its main pages, ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN News, achieve 32.1 million and 22.8 million followers, respectively. The former crossed 30 million followers in June, while the latter had its 20 millionth followers in April, a year earlier. Other ABS-CBN-operated pages with a strong presence on the platform include DZMM Teleradyo with 2.6 million followers, TV Patrol with 11 million followers, It’s Showtime with 14 million followers, Pinoy Big Brother with 9.8 million followers, The Voice of the Philippines with 3.9 million followers, Star Magic with 5.1 million followers, Maalala Mo Kaya with 5.7 million followers, and Star Cinema with 9.8 million followers.
GMA Network’s eponymous facebook page is nearing 26 million followers, while GMA News is just a few thousand short of followers before hitting 20 million. GMA Network’s page attracted more than five million followers within a 16-month frame. Other GMA Network-operated pages with more than a million followers include 24 Oras with 9.2 million followers, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho with 27.1 million followers, State of the Nation with 1.3 million followers, Artist Center with 1.2 million followers, GMA Drama with 8.9 million followers, and Unang Hirit with 3.8 million followers.
This year, both GMA News and ABS-CBN News, along with other news agencies, hopped on the TikTok bandwagon. The latter now has 187,000 followers and 1.2 million likes, while the former has nearly 700,000 followers and 7 million likes.
On Instagram, ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN News have 2.6 million and 2 million followers on their main official accounts. GMA Network, on the other hand, has 1.9 million followers, while GMA News has 1.7 million followers.
On Twitter, ABS-CBN Entertainment and ABS-CBN News have each attracted 1.6 million and 7.8 million followers, respectively. ABS-CBN News Channel’s official page also maintains a strong Twitter presence with 5.1 million followers. TV Patrol, the flagship newscast of ABS-CBN, has 2.4 million followers, while Teleradyo has 1.4 million followers. GMA Network and GMA News, on the other hand, have 1.5 million and 6 million followers, respectively. GMA News Breaking is also strong with 1.6 million followers.
This upward surge in subscribers, followers, and views seems poised to ensure in the coming months or years as the local entertainment landscape continues to evolve, adapt and expand. It will be wise for these giant production companies to take cues from the trends to survive.
