How necessary is it to simulcast First Yaya on three channels?

In another episode of questionable decisions made by local TV networks.

On March 12, GMA Network officially announced on an updated trailer for the upcoming primetime series First Yaya that it would air on three channels come Monday. Namely on the flagship channel 7, GTV on UHF channel 27, and on digital terrestrial TV channel Heart of Asia. But how necessary is it to simulcast the program on those platforms?

Analysis of the 8pm timeslot pre-First Yaya

Recently, the now-concluded Anak ni Waray vs. Anak ni Biday which had been airing on the first Telebabad slot (after 24 Oras) since February and March 2020 and January and March 2021 boasted a new all-time high ratings of the show. On the March 11, 2021 episode of the show alone, WvB registered a 19.1% NUTAM People rating.

Meanwhile, the latest data available for their rival show FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano is only for the March 9, 2021 episode. Still based on AGB Nielsen’s rating chart, FPJAP hovered around 9.2% combined on all TV platforms, making WvB the highest rating program on the slot when it got 17.6%. The main reason for that being is GMA’s far-superior free-to-air TV reach over their rival ABS-CBN program that airs on Kapamilya Channel (exclusive to cab-sat), A2Z (limited to Mega Manila), and TV5 (who is still in the process of expanding its national reach). But the Coco Martin-starrer does have the following online, especially when it had a 103 thousand concurrent viewers via Kapamilya Online Live on YouTube and the top 2 most-watched spot on iWantTFC.

Over at GMA’s sister channel GTV, the previous tenant of the 8pm slot, The Lost Recipe, is also a ratings success. This time, using a different metric, the series was able to register an audience share of 8.6% between January 18 and February 26 on the Nielsen NUTAM People Audience Share chart, at least according to a GMA press release. The ratings of the program is high enough to trump the viewership rating of TV5 during the same period. Thus, TLR has the recognition of being GTV’s highest-rating program at the moment.

Entry of First Yaya

Obviously, First Yaya would reap the benefits sowed by their predecessors on the slot. With Anak ni Waray vs. Anak ni Biday nearing 20% rating on the timeslot, coupled with the viewership of The Lost Recipe on GTV, they’re on their way to conquering free TV. Apart from that, the addition of Heart of Asia will also help as it is one of the widely available DTT channels distributed by GMA. But it wouldn’t be an easy and smooth-sailing ride for the show.

Admit it or not, the triple threat of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano is hard to resist. With growing staple of the show’s platforms on free TV and cable/satellite, coupled with the undeniably superior online presence via iWantTFC and Kapamilya Online Live, First Yaya could just find themselves in the middle of a rude awakening.

Both warning and caution signs should also be issued for First Yaya’s simulcasting setup. With the broadcast of the show on three TV channels, they would risk viewership dilution and exhaustion. Especially with GTV’s initial cause of becoming an alternative station to GMA, First Yaya could just be a letdown for the channel’s loyal viewers. Particularly with 27’s youth-skewing target demographic, seeing something they would otherwise see on the “older” flagship could turn them off.

For HOA, the simulcast of both FY and TLR (aka mirroring GTV between 8:00pm and 9:35pm), is also another red flag that should be seen. In the short term, it is a nice approach to put “fresh content” on the channel that is dependent on archived content. But with HOA’s primary proposition of being an alternative channel, the management must figure out other ways to gain long-term benefits. One good suggestion could be replay telecasts of primetime shows in the mornings, while the HOAC’s evening schedule is filled with other types of programs.

Also, considering the fact that the channels are widely available on key cities nationwide, setting up “options” could just not be as effective as their rival, whose main purpose for spreading out is to improve their free TV reach and not simply dominate.

For the sake of transparency, there’s no denying that there are also benefits in terms of ratings and ad revenue in this setup. Advertisers could select only one or two platforms, yet be seen in the same program. TV ratings (although diluted), could swing up for First Yaya because of this.

But the cons outweigh the pros as the alternatives that GMA provided were basically lost because of this new setup. Also, the superiority of the flagship network’s reach alone is also enough reason to not do so. Instead, they could concentrate their efforts on building up their online presence by creating a service that would rival KOL and eventually level the playing field. That is if they’re still dead serious in competing with their South Triangle neighbor.

Going back to the question, is it really necessary to do this new strategy? To be blunt about it, it’s gonna be a no.