As the rest of the world witnessed Philippine history unfolding, Filipinos here and abroad turned to the country’s leading broadcast company, GMA Network, for election news and information across all platforms via the “Eleksyon 2022: The GMA News and Public Affairs Coverage”.
On air, significantly more viewers nationwide tuned in to the Kapuso Network’s biggest, most comprehensive, and most trusted election coverage compared to its counterparts.
The Kapuso Network’s special coverage was also the first to broadcast the partial and unofficial results tally both on-air and online through the Network’s forerunner in technology, GMA New Media, Inc. (NMI).
Based on Nielsen Philippines' overnight data for May 9 to 10, GMA’s and GTV’s election coverage (Eleksyon 2022 plus other election-related shows/newscasts) posted 45.6 percent and 20.9 percent people net reach, respectively, in NUTAM (National Urban TV Audience Measurement) -- for a combined net reach of over 50 percent.
Both coverages of GMA and GTV were ahead of counterparts on TV5 (19.5 percent), A2Z (11.2 percent), and Kapamilya Channel (3.4 percent).
Providing top-notch reportage was the whole GMA News and Public Affairs team led by its pillars Jessica Soho, Mel Tiangco, Vicky Morales, Arnold Clavio, Howie Severino, and Mike Enriquez.
Online, Filipinos turned to the Eleksyon 2022 website for the latest news and results of the polls on May 9 and 10, resulting in 78.9 million page views for GMA News Online over two days.
The Eleksyon 2022 livestream drew 7.7 million views on YouTube, 11 million views on Facebook, and 2.4 million views on Tiktok on May 9 and 10.
On YouTube alone, the said livestream peaked at more than 291,000 concurrent views – the highest among all news agencies. In addition, it was number 2 in the top trending list of YouTube Philippines and earned the top spot in terms of election-related coverage of news publishers.
GMA News platforms also continued to be the most-watched accounts among Philippine news organizations during this same period according to data from Tubular Labs. The GMA News YouTube channel had 40 million views on May 9 and 10, compared to 15 million for ABS-CBN News. Meanwhile, the GMA News Facebook page had 48 million views, compared to 32 million for ABS-CBN News.
Ably complementing GMA’s top-notch election coverage was its impressive, state-of-the-art set and graphics. Designed by Emmy award-winning U.S. firm FX Design Group, the studio featured LED video walls, color-changing panels, and open floor space. And with the latest version of Vizrt Graphics Solutions, GMA was further able to provide viewers with more meaningful and enriching content and presentations.
From the actual coverage to the immersive visuals, Eleksyon 2022 earned praises from viewers and netizens.
“Being far from home, I’m anxiously waiting for election results as I know this will affect the future of my beloved country and my family back home. in-depth coverage of Election 2022 made me feel that I’m part of everything that is happening. The news anchors delivered every news blow-by-blow in a very comprehensive way,” said Bernadette Bonete who is based in Los Angeles, California.
On Twitter, user @kapusongkim said: “Taking time to tweet my appreciation for @gmanews & @GMA_PA’s Election Coverage. Wonderful team! Comprehensive reports! #Eleksyon2022.”
“They started strong in Eleksyon 2019 in terms of graphics. Now, they've DONE it again. And since they have GMA HD feed on YouTube, talagang LEVELED UP siya ngayong Eleksyon 2022. You NEVER failed to impress me. Kudos to the graphics team and GMA News and Public Affairs,” commented James Joshua Escandor on YouTube.
“Maraming Salamat Sa Pagpupuyat para pilipino.Salamat sa graphic ninyo ang ganda. At pati ang new studio ninyo,” added Tom Ashlee Caguia.
Across the regions, abroad, over the airwaves
In the regions, GMA Regional TV (RTV) deployed over 60 news teams in key areas of North Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, Central and Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, South Central Mindanao, and Western Mindanao for its “GMA Regional TV Eleksyon 2022 Special Coverage.”
Through its 13 local newscasts and morning programs on May 9 and 10, GMA RTV was in full-force to provide GMA Network’s national coverage of the elections with the local news that matter via live reports from the regions. Viewers here and abroad were updated about the situations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao via GMA Regional TV Balitang Amianan, GMA Regional TV Balitang Bicolandia, GMA Regional TV Balitang Southern Tagalog, GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak, GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas, GMA Regional TV One Mindanao; GMA Regional TV Live!, At Home with GMA Regional TV, GMA Regional TV Early Edition, Mornings with GMA Regional TV, GMA Regional TV Balitang Southern Tagalog Early Edition, and GMA Regional TV Balitang Bicolandia Early Edition. On national TV, GMA Regional TV News aired local news on GTV. Updates and other news were made available on www.GMARegionalTV.com and the programs’ Facebook pages.
GMA RTV also set up its Eleksyon 2022 Help Desk in all its RTV stations. With the help of the Network’s Eleksyon 2022 partner-schools across the Philippines, student volunteers received calls and assisted the public on election-related concerns.
On the other hand, Kapuso viewers abroad were able to follow GMA’s election coverage with the “#StrongerTogether Election 2022 Special Coverage,” which aired live on GMA Pinoy TV and GMA News TV. With GMA’s news stringers abroad, live election updates from Hong Kong, New York, and Dubai, UAE were aired during the marathon coverage on May 9. In addition, GMA Life TV subscribers were able to watch Eleksyon updates on Balitanghali.
With 23 Super Radyo and Barangay FM stations nationwide, GMA’s flagship AM station Super Radyo DZBB 594 mounted the most comprehensive election coverage on radio via “Eleksyon 2022: DZBB Special Coverage.”
Super Radyo DZBB 594 partnered with GMA News and the Catholic Media Network to provide radio listeners and GTV viewers round-the-clock election news and updates in all its news programs until now.
“GMA’s Website is Lit”
Powered by GMA New Media, GMA’s Eleksyon 2022 website, www.eleksyon2022.ph, was also the go-to online source of netizens who noted how useful, well-designed, and comprehensive it was.
One of its noteworthy features, the Cartogram, shows how the candidates fared across the different regions in the Philippines. Unlike the usual heat maps, this aims to represent each of the country's regions adjusted for their population, to reflect the voting power of each area. The Barangay drill-down results also allows users to see how their barangay voted for the National, Provincial, or City positions.
The site’s results pages were even used as “dashboards” in various political headquarters.
The Eleksyon 2022 website also had a mobile application counterpart, which helped users easily access the latest updates on the election results.
Comparing GMA with other media outlets, Twitter user @joshuasurquia_ preferred GMA’s website: “Of these three, GMA News' tracking is the UX/UI-friendliest and most comprehensive. It gives a complete overview of national election results, a smart search for local elections results, and a cartogram/heatmap for more specific vote-tracking.”
On Facebook, Miguel Endoma, Jr. shared: “This is not a political post! As a Software or Website Quality Assurance Tester, I just want to say GMA's website and Cartogram is Lit!”
The “Eleksyon 2022: The GMA News and Public Affairs Coverage'' convened 51 election coverage partners, over 1,000 News and Public Affairs personnel across all platforms, 11 strategically located regional TV stations, and 23 Super Radyo and Barangay FM stations nationwide.