Going National: Thoughts on the Potential of the Unified MOR Brand

ABS-CBN’s MOR (My Only Radio) FM stations are set to become one national entity.

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MOR Philippines is uniting 17 MOR stations in the country under one sound and one vibe to bring more entertainment and information to KaMORkadas nationwide. #MORPMA2018 #MOR1AndOnly

A post shared by ABS-CBN PR (@abscbnpr) on Jun 1, 2018 at 6:38am PDT

In a recent press conference led by the DJs of the flagship MOR 101.9 (DWRR-FM) Manila station, they announced that MOR 101.9 and its 16 regional affiliates will join forces together to form MOR Philippines. Via ABS-CBN PR:

“Under MOR Philippines, 17 MOR stations will unite to bring listeners from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao one vibe and one sound.”

The press release cited the MOR stations’ strong performance in the ratings as the main reason for the launch of MOR Philippines. For instance, the Manila flagship MOR 101.9 got 33% of the average audience share among all Mega Manila stations in the recent Kantar Media survey.

So what are the possibilities that lie ahead for MOR Philippines? Here are three potential plans for the network.

Simulcast of MOR 101.9 Shows in Other Stations

Simulcasting a Manila radio program in the provinces is nothing new in the Philippines. In fact, on a few occasions, MOR 101.9 sister station DZMM 630 simulcasts some of its newscasts to other ABS-CBN-owned AM stations in the country.

The unified MOR Philippines could also do the same thing on some of its programs. For instance, ‘Dear MOR’ and ‘Heartbeats with Chacha’ are very popular shows in 101.9, and putting them on a nationwide scale via simulcast will only grow their audience further.

Improving the Standard of MOR Provincial Stations

While MOR stations in the provinces performed well in their own right, there is still a need for improvement, especially since MOR Manila is the only one with social media handles throughout. ABS-CBN, being the darlings of social media and the master of constant innovation, could do just that.

Providing each MOR provincial station with its own Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts could help broaden their fanbase further. Not only that, upgrading its facilities and strengthening its reach may also enable MOR to penetrate beyond other far-flung areas.

Same Plugs, Same Playlist

In order to live up to the ‘one vibe and one sound’ motto of MOR Philippines, each of the 17 stations will need to have something in common. This means a more ‘national’ station ID for all stations and a more consistent playlist to boot.

Such a reboot will take some time to develop. But when done correctly, MOR 101.9 and its affiliates should flourish with a much-improved beat.

MOR Philippines will be one hell of a rebuilding project that ABS-CBN’s radio division will have to take. It will be interesting to see how this unification of all MOR stations will pay off, so good luck.

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Slow Start for You’re My Home

‘You’re My Home’ is off to a slow start, losing to its Kapuso rivals during its first week. (Photo credit: PhilStar.com, ABS-CBN)

It seems that ABS-CBN is not used to airing a fifth primetime teleserye at 10:10 p.m.

This was the case when ‘You’re My Home’ premiered last week to replace the top-rated ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’. So far, the series is off to a slow start, mainly because viewers are still trying to get used to watching another teleserye at night.

The maiden episode of ‘You’re My Home’ last November 9 earned an 8.8% rating in Kantar. In contrast, ‘My Big Bossing’ on ‘Kapuso Primetime Cinema’ garnered a 10.6% rating.

The same held true in AGB Nielsen, although they only counted Mega Manila ratings. ‘You’re My Home’ finished with a 10.2% rating, compared to ‘My Big Bossing”s mark of 15.3%.

For the week, ‘You’re My Home’ only managed around 9% ratings in Kantar, compared to the average combined rating of 10.5% for ‘Kapuso Primetime Cinema’ and ‘Bubble Gang’. In AGB Nielsen, ‘You’re My Home’ averaged 5% less than its competitors on the Kapuso network.

Although ABS-CBN is starting to divert away from imported programs with this move, airing too many teleseryes on primetime appear to take its toll on viewers. Predecessor ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737’, for example, performed well in the ratings, and that’s only because it aired as a reality show, thus providing a bit of a break for viewers.

Even the Asianovelas that preceded PBB performed well for the same reasons. That said, it’s hard to see why the Kapamilya network decided to gamble on yet another teleserye on Primetime Bida, despite the fact that it may create the possibility of a viewer’s burnout.

Nevertheless, it’s too early to tell how ‘You’re My Home’ will perform as the weeks wear on. Yes, it’s been only two weeks since it premiered, but ABS-CBN can only hope that the ratings will improve as the story intensifies.

ABS-CBN, GMA Cancel Each Other’s No. 1 Claims

Once again, ABS-CBN and GMA one-up each other when it comes to television ratings.

For the month of January, both stations staked their own claims as the No. 1 television network in the country. Based on Kantar’s figures, ABS-CBN earned a 42% share over GMA’s 36%, while Nielsen’s figures say that GMA attained a 35% over ABS-CBN’s 33%.

While ABS-CBN claimed to have won the ratings battle in Balance Luzon (45% over GMA’s 36%), Visayas (56% over GMA’s 26%) and Mindanao (48% over GMA’s 31%), GMA’s regional figures showed that the station only won in Urban Luzon (39% over ABS-CBN’s 29%) and Mega Manila (41% over ABS-CBN’s 26%). GMA failed to report on the figures for Visayas and Mindanao because both areas remain a weak point for the network.

On the other hand, ABS-CBN did not report on the figures for the morning and afternoon blocks because of the network’s low ratings in both categories. ABS-CBN claimed victory in the primetime block, while in a separate statement, GMA won in the morning, afternoon and primetime blocks.

As it has been the case for the past several years, the one-upmanship between the two stations continue to be a subject of debate among television fans. But the truth is, even with their claims as the No. 1 station, that doesn’t mean they are better than the other, especially when facilities, revenue, talent and programming quality are considered.

That said, expect the game of wits between ABS-CBN and GMA to continue. At the end of the day, only one can lay claim to being the undisputed No. 1 station in the country.