ABS-CBN News and ANC 24/7 YouTube Channels were hacked when their pages became unavailable due to the video-sharing platform terminating the said channels.
According to the official statement released by ABS-CBN, YouTube temporarily suspended their channels at 6:30 AM following reports of a hacking incident the day before, Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Then, after working with YouTube, ABS-CBN and ANC 24/7 were able to get their channels back on the video-sharing platform around 3:48 PM the same day.
Despite losing its franchise, ABS-CBN continued providing information to Filipinos amidst crises such as the super typhoon Rolly. Pre-shutdown, ABS-CBN has been the go-to news source for netizens, especially during calamities and natural disasters. ABS-CBN received support from netizens with its special coverage and availability, especially in remote areas.
Kahit sabihin mong hindi naman kailangan ang ABS-CBN News kung meron namang GMA, TV5, PTV4, atbp., sadyang may mga remote areas talaga na tanging ABSCBN lang ang nasasagap ng antenna. #IbalikAngABSCBN #ABSCBN #RollyPh
— JOHN CARLO DUGAN (@CARLODUGAN) November 1, 2020
https://twitter.com/dgcrx/status/1322762222808952836
Some even lauded the network’s resourcefulness amidst the lack of franchise all in the service of Filipinos.
Yung biggest network na tinanggalan niyo ng prangkisa, ipinakita nila sa panahon na kailangan sila, full force pa rin kahit madaming nabawas sa resources. Di nila pinaramdam na malaki ang nawala sa kanila!
In the service of the Filipino!
❤️💚💙
— Dan Santos (@DanSantos8) November 1, 2020
Currently, the ABS-CBN News channel has 10.6 million subscribers, the highest number of subscribers for a Filipino news channel.
