TV network GMA-7 reacted to a recent report by DZMM reporter Junrie Hidalgo, claiming that AGB Nielsen Media Research positively pointed at the Kapuso network as the group behind the alleged cheating and tampering of the ratings gathering in the province of Bacolod.
According to a statement sent by GMA to PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) through e-mail, Hidalgo angled his report as: "AGB Nielsen umamin sa dayaan, GMA network tahasang itinurong nasa likod ng dayaan."
DEBATE ON DATA. According to GMA network, such blatant accusation against them is completely irresponsible and baseless in the face of AGB Nielsen's court affidavit stating that there is no substantial proof to indict GMA of any wrongdoings.
"There is no evidence that shows any significant impact on NUTAM [Nationwide Urban Television Audience Measurement] data as a result of the activities purportedly launched by GMA network," stated by AGB Nielsen General Manager Maya Reforma in an affidavit submitted to the court.
NUTAM pertains to the nationwide coverage of the survey being conducted by AGB Nielsen.
Reforma also defended AGB Nielsen against ABS-CBN's view of its system and technical procedure. Aside from the civil case filed by ABS-CBN against AGB Nielsen before a Quezon City court, the Lopez-owned network also asked for a restraining order to inhibit the release of any data until "they [AGB Nielsen] guarantee first the integrity of their data."
"There is no basis for it," Reforma wrote further. "The data is accurate and reliable."
NOT LOGICAL. In an ABS-CBN emergency press conference last December 14, the network announced their complaint against AGB Nielsen after an informant reportedly showed up at their Bacolod office with a confession.
During the presscon, a video was played by ABS-CBN, showing the informant—hidden in a silhouette—talking about how a certain party was hiring some people with a mission to bribe the households included in the survey.
The informant did not point at AGB for the booboo. Rather, he was referring to a certain "network" as the culprit behind the dirty tactic. The name of the network was cautiously bleeped throughout the narration, although most members of the media suspected that ABS-CBN's fierce rival, GMA-7, was being targetted.
GMA-7'S STATEMENT. Here is GMA Network's official statement regarding the controversy:
"GMA Network strongly denies the baseless accusation that it is behind the ratings rigging alleged by an unnamed ABS-CBN informant
"Apart from being improbable, the informant's claims as bandied about by ABS-CBN is also not logical.
"GMA Network's ratings in the provinces—particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao—have not had any significant improvement since July of 2007 when it started to subscribe to the ratings of AGB. If there were any involvement in the alleged tampering of panel homes in the area by GMA Network, then its ratings there should have experienced significant increases.
"GMA does not conduct manipulative promo efforts anywhere in the country. What it does is conduct legitimate field promo activities that are not deliberately directed at panel homes but at the general television population of a certain locality.
