ABS-CBN flagship news program TV Patrol struggled to compete in TV ratings as it returns to free TV after more than a year of hiatus.
On May 5, 2020, TV Patrol bade farewell from free TV following the cease-and-desist order of the National Telecommunications Commission that pushed ABS-CBN to shut down its operations.
Since then, ‘TV Patrol’ shifted to cable channels and digital platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
Almost a year after its goodbye from free TV, the news program finally returned on January 3, 2022 via A2Z, as it celebrated its 35th year.
The show was rebranded with an improved logo, on-air graphics, opening billboard, and a new segment titled Uso at Bago presented by Migs Bustos.
Henry Omaga Diaz, Bernadette Sembrano, and Karen Davila, serve as the main anchors of the news program.
As the news program returned to free TV, data showed that it struggled to regain its power.
Before the ABS-CBN shutdown, TV Patrol used to top the rating chart however, currently, it barely joined the Top 20 Most-Watched programs list of AGB Nielsen.
On January 3 and 4, ‘TV Patrol’ failed to enter the Top 20 list.
This implies that its rating falls below 2.9%.
On January 5, it was able to secure the 18-19th spot in the chart, tied with Viral Scandal with a 2.9% rating however, the following day it failed to enter the list again.
Despite its low TV ratings, just like other Kapamilya programs, TV Patrol remains a winner in terms of online views.
From January 3 to January 6, it gained a total of 2.7 million views on its YouTube episodes while 24 Oras gained a total of 2.05 million views.
Considering the wider audience reach of GMA Network, it is expected that its programs will dominate the free TV.
