Game 2 of Philippine Azkals vs Indonesians rated well on TV—report

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—The second football game of the Suzuki Cup semifinals between the Philippines and Indonesia, which went almost head to head with the San Miguel Beer-Air 21 quarterfinal game over RPN 9 on December 19 rated significantly higher.

However, the game of crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra versus Alaska on February 17 topped the ratings with a higher average of 5.7 percent in Mega Manila, 5.9 in Metro Manila, and 5.5 percent in the suburbs.

Although comparatively low ratings in Mindanao brought down the national average, the Ginebra-Alaska game still topped the football match with a 4.7 average.

The football match was telecast “live” on Studio 23 while the PBA games were aired on Solar TV-RPN 9.

The Philippines-Indonesia 2 rated 3.7 percent nationally while the pro league’s San Miguel-Air 21 game rated 2.7.

In the breakdown of the ratings, the football match rated 3.8 percent as against 3.3 for basketball in Mega Manila. In Metro Manila, football outrated basketball 4.2 against 3.7.

In the suburbs, the Philippines-Indonesia game rated 3.1 as against 2.9 for the San Miguel–Air 21 showdown. In Northern Luzon, the gap was much wider with football garnering a 3.5 rating and basketball 1.3 percent.

In the Visayas region, which is regarded as a hotbed of football, Game 2 of the Philippines-Indonesia semifinals rated double that of the SMB-Air 21 game, 5.4 to 2.7 percent.

In Mindanao, football also was way ahead, rating 5.3 percent to 2.8 for the PBA game.

The first game ratings of the PBA quarterfinals between Talk N’ Text and Rain or Shine was considerably lower than the ratings for football with a national rating of 1.5 percent compared with football’s 3.7.

The resurgence of public interest in football was anchored on the success of the national team given the monicker Azkals after they held three-time Suzuki Cup champion Singapore to a 1-1 draw and stunned defending champion Vietnam, 2-0.