According to a nationwide survey by Kantar Media, the UAAP basketball games on Studio 23 enjoy an average viewership of 124,690, which is more than twice the average viewership of NCAA. The survey also shows UAAP’s dominance in ratings when the two leagues had 16 simultaneous telecasts of games.
The UAAP also enjoys great game-attendance figures in two of the biggest stadiums in Metro Manila—the SMART-Araneta Coliseum and the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena. In fact, one of the most attended games was the second round meeting between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UST Growling Tigers, which was attended by nearly 17,000 fans.
Aside from television ratings and gate attendance, the UAAP also continues to lead in terms of online engagement. UAAP fans everywhere have been very active in posting game updates, promos and conversations on Facebook, Twitter, and message boards like www.pinoyexchange.com. In addition, page views of www.uaapsports.studio23.tv spiked to 461,000 during Jeron Teng, Chris Javier, and RR Garcia’s buzzer beaters in one weekend. Live streaming also spiked to 13,736 online viewers per game during the UAAP Cheerdance Competition last Saturday.
“The UAAP has the right mix of drama, action, and history that is so appealing to the Filipino audience. But the league will not survive if fans stop going to games to watch their teams live, or if they do not open their televisions to catch the telecast. The success of UAAP is because of them,” says Studio 23 head March Ventosa.
Ventosa also shares that they expect the ratings to further increase as UAAP’s senior men’s basketball division enters the semifinal round (the “Final Four” round). Currently, the UAAP Final Four consists of the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the UST Growling Tigers, the National University Bulldogs, and the De La Salle University Green Archers.
You can watch the Final Four games in HD on Balls (SkyCable Channel 167) or at http://uaapsports.studio23.tv. For blow-by-blow game updates, head on over to Twitter and follow @UAAPSportsTV.