MANILA — Despite the government shutdown of its broadcast operations, ABS-CBN on Thursday carried on its mission of being in the service of Filipinos, with the return of its flagship newscast "TV Patrol."

Since its 1987 premiere, "TV Patrol" has reached Filipinos nationwide through ABS-CBN's free TV channel — until the May 5 order that forced the network off air.

Two days after the halt of ABS-CBN's TV and radio broadcast, "TV Patrol" announced it would continue delivering the news, but through the network's other platforms, starting that same night.

May magbabalik. Abangan mamaya. #TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/EriD1tPdcd

— TV Patrol (@TVPatrol) May 7, 2020

By 6:25 p.m. on May 7, the iconic music of "TV Patrol" opened the program on ABS-CBN News' official website and pages on Facebook and YouTube, ANC, and the streaming service iWant. Overseas, it also aired live via The Filipino Channel.

For Filipinos who have long relied on "TV Patrol" for information, Thursday night meant trading their television viewing for streaming through their smartphones, tablets, or computers.

In photos tagging "TV Patrol's" social media pages, viewers shared their home setup for keeping up with the news. One family had a phone screen on their dinner table, while others had the YouTube livestream on their smart TVs.

Ayaw paawat ng nanay ko, nag-sling bag pa. Hahahahahahaha pic.twitter.com/w46Oq5yEO2

— Old-Souled Potato (@ChiefPeddler) May 7, 2020

Those images accounted for a mere few of the millions of Filipinos who tuned in as "TV Patrol" returned.

On Facebook, the newscast's stream reached 7.5 million views just within hours. Its concurrent viewers, or the number of people watching at the same time, peaked at around 218,000.

On YouTube, the livestream had over 73,000 peak concurrents, with a total of 720,000 playbacks, as of writing.

The comeback of "TV Patrol" was similarly celebrated on Twitter, as the program title ranked atop the list of trending topics in the Philippines, with comments ranging from "revenge" memes to those emphasizing the vital role of media especially during a public health crisis.

Here are some of them:

#TVPatrol tops PH Twitter trends as ABS-CBN's flagship newscast returns 2 days after the network was forced to go off-air on TV and radio stations nationwide. https://t.co/artVvBm5NXhttps://t.co/emkl07XIEw
Facebook: https://t.co/RtFGFiEDCw
YouTube: https://t.co/s0i79VdVfe pic.twitter.com/phdcaaPiuP

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) May 7, 2020

SLAAAAAAAAY!! 🟢🔵🔴 #TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/viXlx9Mihj

— AJ Dela Cruz (@an_drewjames) May 7, 2020

Our TV is turned off. Like normal nights we’re having our Dinner while watching #TVPatrol @ABSCBNNews #NoToABSCBNShutDown #DefendPressFreedom pic.twitter.com/wIcUO6bQT5

— J (@jomelness) May 7, 2020

Watching TV Patrol on Youtube using a smartTV. Just like watching a normal show. Proof that we are really moving towards digital TV and cable providers may become irrelevant in the future. Kaya gigil siguro sa ABS talaga. #TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/4udmJjUz9U

— Dominic Jake (@dominicjake) May 7, 2020

My mom while watching #TVPatrol. ❤💚💙 pic.twitter.com/8ibBrt8MAM

— DarkMOde (@scarface_28) May 7, 2020

When Kuya Kim said "Laban lang Kapamilya" in #TVPatrol Weather Weather lang segment tonight. I seriously felt that.

Like a true a family, ALWAYS AND FOREVER#TVPatrol #NoToABSCBNShutDown pic.twitter.com/xsnEcktByK

— Mon Forte (@MonforteKevin) May 7, 2020

The numbers don't lie. #TVPatrol

These only represent the people who are privileged enough to have access to the Internet.

What about those in the rural areas?#NoToABSCBNShutDown pic.twitter.com/dQp7yIxtzU

— Sean (@onemoreseans) May 7, 2020

The number of viewers is overwhelming l.

ABS-CBN is still loved by almost Filipinos.#TVPatrol #NoToABSCBNShutDown pic.twitter.com/65LsWJOaDQ

— Randy Agulan (@reago1203) May 7, 2020

Thank you #TVPatrol, you made my parents happy by streaming on YouTube. ❤️💚💙 pic.twitter.com/WLnPjx9saF

— Jack 🥳 (@ekswayz) May 7, 2020

Just checked the live viewers of TV Patrol atm. Wow. 🙌

And thank you, ANC for airing! Di kumpleto ang gabi without #TVPatrol ❤💙💚 pic.twitter.com/hLzckpBi3W

— A M E T H Y S T (@amethystxmw) May 7, 2020

The government works hard pero ABS-CBN works harder. Bringing #TVPatrol in digital platforms is a brilliant move specially in this time and age of social media. Though hindi lahat has access to internet, it only shows their commitment. In the service of the Filipino, they remain.

— Toni Delos Santos Jr. (@thisistonitoni) May 7, 2020

I used to watch only #TVPatrol on TV before ABS-CBN went off air. Now, through Facebook Live, I could watch again. Laban ABS-CBN. #NoToABSCBNShutDown pic.twitter.com/4htqC8TZPN

— JerMich1910 (@jhem0119) May 7, 2020

Oo naman multi tasking mama ko. 😅 Solid kapamilya eh. #TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/fsYH7rB5WK

— Ronamae Sulat 🅛 (@sulatnironamae) May 7, 2020

Sobrang Saya that's all I can say with tears of Joy after watching TV Patrol ❤💙💚#TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/YXFmCKyL3V

— mcdooo (@love_koto30) May 7, 2020

Ksm ko mga anak ko n nunuod,khit blita nlang pnonoorin nmin ok prin kesa WL request nl an may yanxi palace iblik nl khit s iwant tv nlang bsta Tagalog.. pic.twitter.com/g7C3DzqhyZ

— jeneth reyes (@reyes_jeneth) May 7, 2020

211k are watching #TVPAtrol on FB pic.twitter.com/BSUfzb6R0j

— Ethan Miranda 🇵🇭 (@tristanfull) May 7, 2020

Watching iwant sa laptop then try ko rin sa facebook sa mobile phone .testing para bukas sa laptop na lng pic.twitter.com/Tv6WdIF4Oj

— COACHARLANDO (@PHsupplementMNL) May 7, 2020

ABS-CBN News YouTube channel has increased its subscribers by 100K in just 2.5 days or a 33k daily compared to the previous daily count of 8K. It's daily views also rose to 8M compared to the previous 3 to 4 M. Salamat po Kapamilya ❤️💚💙#TVPatrol #NoToABSCBNShutDown pic.twitter.com/i0aOEiqVV6

— Rjay Reyes (@RjayReyes16) May 7, 2020

My mom atm... pic.twitter.com/LMd9njzYKw

— Welcome 2020 (@LTfangurl) May 7, 2020

TV PATROL PARIN!!!❤💚💙 thank you ANC#TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/Kxi8dxz01w

— ℍℕ𝕊 (@kianhns239) May 7, 2020

my mother while watching #TVPatrol Thank you #ABSCBN
we miss it kahit 1 night lang namin di napanood 😊#IStandWithABSCBN #NoToABSCBNShotDown #InTheServiceOfTheFilipino pic.twitter.com/bKktd1XQrf

— anneagozar (@agozarmikaela) May 7, 2020

No ABS-CBN on tv? No problem. Thank you @TVPatrol . Sarap ulit kayo panoorin. Looking forward to seeing you again on air. 😘#TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/sMaX7wKQha

— Royzer Blazer (@1D_RoyzerBlazer) May 7, 2020

Nw: TV Patrol via Livestream on Youtube. Abubwewe. 🥰#TVPatrol pic.twitter.com/9Dn0ye9e0o

— 🥺 👉👈 #NoToABSCBNShutdown (@otepcuerdo253) May 7, 2020

GRABI!!!!

200k+ viewers on FB Livestream
66k viewers on YT Livestream
Worldwide trending on Twitter.

THERE'S NO DOUBT WHY EVERYONE IS SAYING THAT ABS-CBN IS THEIR MAIN SOURCE OF INFORMATION!!!

IN THE SERVICE OF THE FILIPINO, THEY REMAIN!!!!#TVPatrol

— SENADORA (@KenrRodriguez) May 7, 2020