Dominican television viewership has recorded unexpected growth according to a new national study by Media Express and CNC led by marketer Johnny Matos.
The strategic alliance between market research firm CNC and Media Express expanded the audience measurement sample from barely 400 households to more than 13,000 homes across the Dominican Republic.
Data gathered by Media Express and Onyx reveals that open television continues to hold a decisive place in daily habits, defying years of industry assumptions that broadcast channels were losing ground to digital platforms.
Matos, who serves as general manager of Media Express, stated that the methodology shift provides a far more accurate representation of audience behavior than traditional partial studies could offer.
He noted that the media industry needed continuous measurement reflecting actual content consumption across multiple platforms rather than focusing solely on the physical television set.
The expanded metrics benefit television channels alongside advertisers, advertising agencies, content producers, and commercial enterprises seeking reliable market data.
Shift from ratings to audience size
Matos proposed a fundamental change in how the broadcasting sector evaluates program performance, urging industry executives to stop centering discussions exclusively on traditional ratings.
He explained that ratings represent only a statistical percentage, whereas audience size reflects the actual number of individuals consuming specific broadcast content.
Adopting audience numbers provides a clearer picture for investment decisions by detailing how many people watched a show, where they were located, what time they tuned in, and which platform they used.
The study concluded that television remains robustly active across the Caribbean nation, with Matos emphasizing that claims of its absolute decline stem largely from opinions unsupported by statistical evidence.
Rather than displacing televised material, the expansion of internet access has broadened distribution channels, allowing programs to travel across platforms without losing cultural relevance.
Viewing patterns across Dominican provinces
Findings from the research highlighted a marked contrast between viewing habits in Greater Santo Domingo and those in the country's outer provinces.
In Santo Domingo, the nation's capital and largest metropolitan area, long working hours and heavy traffic congestion reduce the time residents spend on home entertainment.
In contrast, provincial families outside the capital region tend to dine earlier, remain at home longer, and average five to six hours of daily television viewing.
Overall television viewing time is heavily dominated by domestic programming, with 78 percent of consumption focused on local Dominican channels.
Matos stated that viewers continue to prioritize national news, entertainment, and locally produced events over international television options.
Cable adoption and weekly audience metrics
The study revealed that 75 percent of overall television consumption in the country occurs through cable services, encompassing formal pay-television providers alongside shared and informal community connections.
More than six million people tune into local television channels each week, confirming the medium's role as a primary vehicle for mass communication in the Dominican Republic.
Seasonal factors also alter viewing trends significantly, as summer school vacations keep approximately three million students at home, increasing household screen time.
Major sporting events consistently generate substantial spikes in viewership, with live broadcasts of the FIFA World Cup, regional baseball tournaments, and the Central American Games drawing millions of shared viewers.
Industry adoption and future expansion
Market adoption of the new measurement system has progressed rapidly, with Matos reporting that between 60 percent and 70 percent of major Dominican media outlets have adopted or are implementing the service.
Specialized advertising planning agencies and emerging channels that previously lacked access to reliable audience metrics have also integrated the data.
Media Express has chosen a gradual outreach strategy, described by Matos as an evangelization phase aimed at encouraging commercial decisions grounded in verified data rather than speculation.
Future phases of the project will expand measurement capabilities to encompass radio listening habits, which have shifted heavily toward mobile phones, applications, and digital platforms.
The alliance also plans to launch audience tracking for print and digital news publishing to measure article reach and trace how news stories originate, spread, and impact social media ecosystems.
