THE PHILIPPINES – AUGUST 23, 2011 – ABS-CBN’s "TV Patrol" bagged an International Emmy Awards nomination for its extensive coverage of the Manila bus siege in August 2010, making it the only Philippine television news organization to be in the final list of nominees.
"TV Patrol", currently the leading TV newscast with the most number of viewers nationwide, is the only Asian newscast pitted against contenders from Brazil, Iceland, and the United Kingdom.
“On August 23, 2010, eight Hong Kong tourists were killed during a dramatic hostage drama in Manila that lasted for almost 12 hours. There were 22 tourists from Hong Kong and three Filipino nationals on board the Hong Thai tourist bus when it was hijacked at around nine in the morning,” the citation said in the International Emmy’s official website.
It is the second time for ABS-CBN News to earn a nomination in the International Emmy’s News category. The first time ABS-CBN News earned an International Emmy nod was in 2007 for “Bandila’s” coverage of the controversial Subic Rape Case. No other Philippine TV news organization has ever made it to the final nominees other than ABS-CBN.
The same news coverage of "TV Patrol" became a finalist for the Breaking News category at the New York Festivals Awards in Las Vegas last April.
Based on the national TV ratings data provided by Kantar Media, "TV Patrol" is the number one TV newscast with a TV rating of 28.5 percent or almost ten points higher than its competitior "24 Oras" (19.7 percent) of GMA.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN News won three awards at this year’s Commguild Awards for Ted Failon won as Best Male News Presenter, Karen Davila as Best Female News Presenter, and Sol Aragones as Best Field Reporter.
The International Emmy Awards is given by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (IATAS). Only the news and current affairs nominees have been revealed on its website.