The two-hour finale of Marimar last Friday, March 14, generated a whooping 52.6 percent rating to break its own record of 49.5 percent last November 16, 2007. More importantly, Marimar's 52.6 percent beat the 52.1 percent rating posted by Darna on April 14, 2005.
Marimar's final episode—featuring the wedding of Marimar (Marian Rivera) and Sergio (Dingdong Dantes) with the live telecast of the wedding reception—posted an even higher rating of 57.5 percent in non-cable households.
Meanwhile, the delayed telecast of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao's rematch with Mexican fighter Juan Manuel Marquez last Sunday, March 16, posted a rating of 48.5 percent. The telecast was actually more than two-hours late because the fight, which was won by Pacquiao via a split decision, finished at past 12 noon (Manila time) and was broadcast live on radio and pay-per-view in cable channels.
However, the rating of the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch was slightly lower than the telecast of Pacquiao's fight with Marco Antonio Barrera on October 7, 2007, which posted 50 percent.
Right after the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch—which preempted the timeslot of Kay Susan Tayo, Takeshi's Castle, and SOP—GMA-7 had another Marimar special dubbed as Marimar Memories. This special took the No. 2 spot in the daytime race with 28.4 percent.
It was followed by Showbiz Central with 17.6 percent, the rerun of Ang Cute ng Ina Mo with 13.5%, and The Buzz with 9.3 percent to round up the Top 5.
In the primetime race, Kap's Amazing Stories took the top spot with 32.8 percent; closely followed by Tok! Tok! Tok! Isang Milyon Pasok with 31.9 percent, and Mel & Joey with 30.4 percent.
The pilot episode of Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition Plus scored 13.4 percent to grab the ninth slot.
Going back to Friday's ratings, Kamandag came in second after Marimar in the primetime race with 43.3 percent while Joaquin Bordado took the third spot with 39.4 percent. Because Marimar ran for two hours, the timeslot of two Koreanovelas (The Legend and Coffee Prince) was preempted.
The primetime newscasts 24 Oras and TV Patrol World took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Completing the Top 10 were Kung Fu Kids, Bubble Gang, Lobo, Palos, and Maging Sino Ka Man.
In the daytime race, Eat Bulaga! was again the No. 1 program, taking 22.3 percent rating. It was followed by Daisy Siete (20 percent), Maging Akin Ka Lamang (19.1 percent), Kaputol ng Isang Awit (18.5 percent), and Takeshi's Castle (17.8 percent) to complete the Top 5 programs.
Eat Bulaga! was also the No. 1 daytime program last Saturday, March 15, posting a rating of 25.8 percent.
Wish Ko Lang was a far second with 16.5 percent, followed by StarTalk with 15.9 percent and Wowowee with 15.4 percent.
The final episode of Ai-Ai delas Alas's Volta took the No. 8 slot with 13.5 percent.
Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho took the top spot in the primetime race with 37.1 percent; followed by Bitoy's Funniest Videos with 35.3 percent, Imbestigador with 30.9 percent, and Kakasa Ka Ba Sa Grade 5? with 26.6 percent.
