The highly anticipated battle for noontime TV ratings on July 1 proved to be a victorious moment for bilyonaryo Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP), as TV5’s lineup outshined Felipe Gozon’s GMA and GTV. 

According to data from AGB Nielsen, TV5’s “E.A.T” featuring Tito, Vic & Joey and The Dabarkads achieved an impressive average rating of 8.4 percent. This far exceeded the ratings of Jalosjos family’s “Eat Bulaga-TAPE” on GMA (2.62 percent) and “It’s Showtime” on sister channel GTV (2.39 percent).

Interestingly, Eat Bulaga-TAPE surpassed It’s Showtime head-to-head as the ABS-CBN toprater was also broadcast on A2Z (1.28 percent) and Kapamilya Channel on cable (.27 percent).

This is one of the reasons why Pangilinan selected TVJ to replace Showtime in TV5’s noontime programming. ABS-CBN’s strategy of airing content on multiple channels divides the audience and revenue streams. Moreover, TVJ’s E.A.T. is a co-production with Pangilinan’s Mediaquest Holdings, which operates TV5.

The combined power of TV5 and TVJ extended beyond traditional television, as they dominated the streaming wars.

TVJ’s show peaked at 335,500 live viewers on Facebook, more than three times Showtime’s peak of 97,300 viewers.

TV5 and TVJ garnered an impressive cumulative total of 8.5 million views on Facebook, surpassing Showtime’s 1.9 million total views.

On YouTube, TV5 and TVJ achieved a total of 818,000 views as of the latest count, compared to Showtime’s 518,000 views.

Gozon’s attempt to steal the spotlight from TVJ’s dramatic return to TV by striking a deal with rival ABS-CBN has undeniably backfired, as the ratings and viewership figures clearly indicate.