The Philippines' top broadcaster was forced off air on Tuesday over a stalled operating licence renewal, drawing fresh accusations that the authorities are cracking down on press freedom.
Since angering President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, proposals to extend ABS-CBN's franchise have been delayed in Congress as the president repeatedly attacked the media group in speeches.
Duterte is notorious for tangling with media outlets critical of his policies, sparking concern that press freedoms have been eroded.
"It's painful for us that we are being shut down, but it's also painful for millions of our countrymen who believe that our service is important to them," chairman Mark Lopez told viewers just before the main channel went dark.
Outside the company's broadcast compound, a handful of supporters waved placards against a backdrop of burning candles.
ABS-CBN's 25-year licence expired on Monday, but officials had given assurances that the radio, TV and internet giant would be allowed to operate provisionally.
However, the National Telecommunications Commission's cease-and-desist order on Tuesday cited the expiration and said the outfit's operators would have to appeal for a return to the airwaves.
Early in his term, Duterte accused the network of failing to broadcast his 2016 campaign advertisements and not returning the payments made for them.
Rights and press freedom groups said the shutdown order was an assault on the right to free speech, as the conglomerate broadcasts news coverage watched by millions daily.
The shutdown also comes with the nation battling to contain the coronavirus pandemic and an accompanying flood of online disinformation.
"This is a very serious blow to press freedom in the Philippines," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch. "It's hard to think that Duterte doesn't have anything to do with this."
Amnesty International's Butch Olano said the move was "especially reckless as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic".
"This is a dark day for media freedom in the Philippines, reminiscent of martial law when the dictatorship seized control over news agencies."
The Philippines is ranked 136th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
