The Jessica Soho-hosted GMA Network special obliterated the Philippine record previously set by FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano and Bb. Pilipinas on the platform.
Filipino viewers are glued on their gadgets to watch GMA Network’s biggest election-related special yet, the Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews. The special aired on the network’s main channel and various online platforms, including Facebook and YouTube. On YouTube, concurrent live viewers whizzed past historic numbers, proving the massive attention the program received online albeit sans former Senator Bongbong Marcos’s absence.
In attendance were presidential aspirants, Vice-President Leni Robredo, Senator Manny Pacquiao, Senator Panfilo Lacson, and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. Marcos, on the other hand, was no-show, due to “…our belief that the hostess of said popular talk show is biased against the Marcoses, and therefore, we believe her questions will just focus on negativity about BBM…”. That said, even with an imperfect attendance, the TV special attracted an unprecedented number of viewers on digital platforms. On Facebook, live viewers peaked past 80,000, on the Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho page, alone.
LOOK: #JessicaSohoInterviews surpasses 200k concurrent live viewers on YouTube, setting a new Philippine record on the platform. Previous record was held by FPJ's Ang Probinsyano (170k) via Kapamilya Online Live pic.twitter.com/Vsx82vAeWl
— Je (@ImNotthatScary) January 22, 2022
On YouTube, the numbers are far more impressive. Within its first hour, The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews obliterated FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’s concurrent live viewership in November 2021, which stood at 171,000 on Kapamilya Online Live.
That figure further soared and went past the 200,000th mark, a first for any television special or regular series. Before the show ended, the numbers peaked to nearly 240,000, which obliterated the record set by the most recent edition of the Binibining Pilipinas pageant on the platform.
The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews is just first of many more election specials that major TV networks and news organizations are slated to conduct, as the Philippines races towards the next Presidential election. Next week, ABS-CBN will deliver its own via the Boy Abunda-hosted The 2022 Presidential One-On-One Interviews, set to air on Kapamilya Channel on cable TV and Boy Abunda’s YouTube channel.