Nation Broadcasting Corporation
TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong, where the NBC corporate offices are located. | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mass media Broadcasting |
| Founded |
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| Founder | Abelardo "Abel" L. Yabut, Sr. |
| Headquarters | TV5 Media Center, Reliance cor. Sheridan Sts., Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines |
Key people |
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| Brands |
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| Services | |
| Owner |
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| Parent | MediaQuest Holdings (PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund) |
| Website | |
| Footnotes / references [2] | |
Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) is a Philippine radio and television broadcast company established in 1963. As of December 2013, NBC is a subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. NBC's radio and television stations are operated by sister network TV5 Network, Inc.;[3] its corporate offices and studios are shared with the latter at the TV5 Media Center, Reliance cor. Sheridan Sts., Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.
NBC operates television stations with airtime being leased by its sister network TV5 Network, serving as the primary broadcasters of sports channel One Sports in Metro Manila, Baguio, and General Santos; and as a UHF translator of free-to-air channel RPTV in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao, serving as a partial affiliate of Radio Philippines Network (RPN).
NBC also operates five radio stations under the brand FM Radio Philippines in Metro Manila, Baguio, Bacolod, General Santos, and Davao, serving as a partial affiliate of Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC); while its Cebu and Cagayan de Oro radio stations became a relay station of 105.9 True FM in Metro Manila.
History
Radio
AM Broadcasting
NBC was established by Abelardo Yabut Sr. in 1963, coinciding with the launch of DXYZ, the network's pioneer AM station in Zamboanga City, using a surplus transmitter that he bought from Deeco Electronics in Manila. Throughout the next years, NBC established a string of 10 AM stations in provincial areas.
In 1987, NBC acquired DWXX 1026 AM from Hypersonic Broadcasting Center and it was reformatted as DZAM, which featured news, commentaries, and well-balanced mix of entertainment and music programming. In 1998, DZAM changed its call letters to DZAR, and reformatted into a news and talk based station.
NBC also pioneered in many ways as the first network to broadcast 24 hours a day outside of Metro Manila (via DYCB 765 in Cebu City). It was the first network to bridge the archipelago with the utilization of satellite broadcasting, and continues to cover the live games of the Philippine Amateur Basketball League and the Philippine Basketball Association.
DZAR was the first to launch in 1998 through its nationwide transmission. At the time, DZAR 1026 and other NBC AM stations were rebranded as Angel Radyo. In 2005, The Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) leader pastor Apollo Quiboloy (through Swara Sug Media Corporation) acquired all of NBC's AM stations and were rebranded as Sonshine Radio.
FM Broadcasting
In 1973, DWFM was established as the first FM station during the martial law era. It was the Yabut family's first entry to the nation's capital, and the third FM station in the said area. MRS 92.3 was an adult contemporary station, which played listeners' most requested songs. Two years later, in 1975, NBC put up the first FM station in Cebu City, DYNC 101.9; and DXFM 101.9 in Davao City. Its provincial stations carried the format as well. When PLDT media subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. bought NBC from the consortium led by the Yabut family and real estate magnate Manny Villar in 1998, its stations rebranded into their respective names under the @ Rhythms banner.
DWFM in Manila became Joey and aired a smooth jazz and R&B format. Tony in Zamboanga aired oldies, ranging from the 1950s and 1960s. Rocky in Iligan aired modern rock. The remaining NBC stations in Baguio (Jesse), Cabanatuan (Donna), San Pablo, Laguna (Lovely), Naga (Nikki), Legazpi (Alex), Bacolod (Jamie), Cebu (Charlie), Davao (Danni), Butuan (Jake), Cagayan de Oro (Sandy), General Santos (Anna) and Cotabato (Marco) aired a contemporary hit radio format. The Rhythms banner was dropped in 2004, leaving their names intact.
On April 8, 2007, XFM began after 923 Joey was signed off on April 4, just before Holy Week. XFM featured ambient, chill, down-tempo, electronica, house, lounge, trip-hop and indie music on radio until its ground-breaking format in February 2008.
In October 2009, the Manila, Cebu and Davao stations discontinued their Smooth AC format. The Manila station was leased to Francis Lumen's All Youth Channels, and rebranded as U92, a CHR radio brand used as complementary to then AYC-operated MTV Philippines, broadcasting from a state-of-the-art studio at Silver City Mall in Pasig City. The U92 branding would eventually shut down on September 30, 2010, following the dissolution of AYC's lease agreement with NBC, as a result of MTV Philippines' shut down in February. The Cebu and Davao stations were leased to AudioWAV (WAV Atmospheric), a Makati City-based multinational instore radio company known for producing customized music and messaging for large chains across Southeast Asia and North America, and rebranded as WAV FM.[4] The other provincial stations retained their formats.
On October 1, 2010, ABC Development Corporation, TV5 Network's legal predecessor and NBC corporate sister, took over the management of 92.3 FM. The result was the launch of Radyo5 92.3 News FM, the first news/talk station on the FM band. On November 8, it had its debut at 12:30 am and its first day of broadcasting began at 4 am. Beginning February 21, 2011, its provincial stations started carrying Radyo5 programming, either as relays of the Manila station, or as regional outlets with dedicated local programming.
Television
Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC-41) is a commercial UHF television station owned by First Pacific conglomerate and headed by Manuel Pangilinan, who is also the chairman of the telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT).
The name was unfamiliar to many Filipinos. NBC TV 41 used to be MTV Philippines. MTV ("Music Television") is a cable TV network which was originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. MTV later became an outlet for a variety of material aimed at adolescents and young adults.
After six years of partnership in the Philippines, MTV Channel 41 has gone off the air after a multi-year deal with All Youth Channel (AYC). This follows the dissolution of the partnership with NBC. MTV Philippines became a defunct channel in February 2010. It was inactive until October 2010 when it began test broadcasting as TV5 and when ABC Development Corporation took over the management of NBC stations. It then took over the blocktime of UHF Channel 41, which alternates programming ABC Development Corporation. It was simulcast with Radyo5 92.3 News FM for a few months when it debuted on November 8.[5] TV5 was scheduled to set up the first free-to-air interactive-radio-on-TV channel with a format similar to DZMM TeleRadyo and RHTV in the first quarter of 2011. It was set to broadcast after its initial simulcasting of 92.3 News FM if Associated Broadcasting Company introduced this UHF channel. It plans to initialize test broadcasts on various cable and satellite operators nationwide.
On February 21, 2011, AksyonTV launched as TV5 introduced the new UHF channel. AksyonTV was launched at exactly 4 am, airing its first program, Andar ng Mga Balita, hosted by Martin Andanar (is now with CGTN anchor), which was a simulcast of the morning news program on Radyo5 News FM of the same title.
After 8 years as news channel (sports content was later added), AksyonTV is announced to be rebranded as 5 Plus on January 13, 2019, with its programs consisting of mostly sports from ESPN5 and serving as a complementary channel for The 5 Network.[6]
On March 8, 2020 (after 14 months as 5 Plus), the channel was relaunched when One Sports took over its channel space, making it available on free TV and other pay television operators. Meanwhile, its original satellite channel counterpart of One Sports was rebranded as One Sports+.
Recent developments
On February 1, 2024, in line with the launch of new channel RPTV, NBC TV stations in Cebu (DYAN-TV), Cagayan De Oro (DXCO-TV), and Davao (DXAN-TV) were converted into mirror feeds of the channel, replacing sister channel One Sports.
In October 2024, it was reported by news website Bilyonaryo that Prime Media Holdings (through Philippine Collective Media Corporation) has signed a blocktime and content licensing agreement with MediaQuest Holdings for NBC-owned 92.3 FM in Metro Manila and other provincial stations, effective November 4, converting into outlets of PCMC's Favorite Music Radio as its relay national feed. NBC confirmed the deal in a press statement on October 28, which also stated True FM's programs transferring to Bright Star-owned DWLA 105.9 MHz in Metro Manila and DXET 106.7 MHz in Davao (which TV5's previous owners divested to Interactive Broadcast Media in 2010, and was later operated by the city government of Digos in 2022 until 2024), while retaining its stations in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro and losing its stations in Baguio, Bacolod and General Santos to PCMC. The deal would eventually transfer NBC's FM assets and licenses to PCMC, subject to regulatory appeals and other commercial terms. NBC's owned TV assets are not included in the deal.[7][8][9]
In line with the transition, NBC rebranded Radyo5 as the True Network, a multimedia brand that expands the presence of True FM into other media platforms including television (True TV, a pay TV channel on Cignal), podcast (True Pods), and digital/social media platforms (True Digi).
Legislative franchise renewals
On April 8, 1998, Republic Act No. 8623 renewed NBC its congressional franchise for another 25 years, The law granted NBC a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain for commercial purposes and in the public interest, radio and/or television broadcasting stations in the Philippines.[10] On March 29, 2022, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11667, which renewed NBC another 25 years to perform the same obligations, but now includes clauses involving digital television transmission in the Philippines.[11][12][13]
Assets
One Sports
One Sports is a TV5 Network Inc.'s sports channel with Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) as its primary content provider, which aired on its flagship station, UHF channel 41, and was launched on March 8, 2020. One Sports serves as a sports channel for TV5 with its programs primarily produced by its sports division of the same name. It was formerly called 5 Plus, when it was launched on January 13, 2019, and AksyonTV, a Filipino-language news channel launched by TV5 in 2011–2019. It is also available in most satellite and cable TV systems.
True Network
| Type | Broadcast FM radio network / pay TV channel |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | Nationwide |
| Founded | November 8, 2010 |
| Motto | Laging True Sa'yo Kapatid! |
Former names | Radyo5 |
| Type | Pay television channel |
|---|---|
| Country | Philippines |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Affiliates | News5 One PH |
| Headquarters | TV5 Media Center, Reliance cor. Sheridan Sts., Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Programming | |
| Language | Filipino |
| Picture format | 720p/1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Nation Broadcasting Corporation (MediaQuest Holdings) |
| History | |
| Launched | May 1, 2024 (soft launch) November 4, 2024 (official launch) |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Cignal TV (Nationwide) | Channel 19 |
| SatLite (Nationwide) | Channel 19 |
| Digital terrestrial television (Nationwide) | Channel 5.5 |
| Streaming media | |
| Cignal Play | Available on the Cignal Play website or via mobile application |
| YouTube Live | Online Stream |
True Network is a multimedia platform brand of NBC. Formerly known as an all-news/talk radio network Radyo5 ("Radyo Singko") which broadcasts on FM stations owned by NBC and operated by sister company TV5 Network, True Network broadcasts its flagship FM radio brand known as True FM and its pay television channel counterpart True TV (not to be confused with TruTV, an American pay TV channel). In addition, selected True Network programs are also aired on channels of TV5 (via RPTV) and Cignal TV (via One PH) as well as on podcasts.
True Network is available on FM radio thru 105.9 FM in Metro Manila and selected provincial stations nationwide.[9]
TV Stations
One Sports
| Branding | Callsign | Channel | Power | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Sports Manila | DWNB | 41 | 30 kW | Originating | NBC Transmitter Site, Block 3, Emerald Hills, Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Antipolo |
| One Sports Baguio | DZYB | 36 | 1 kW | Relay | Mt. Sto. Tomas, Tuba, Benguet |
| One Sports General Santos | PA | 22 | PLDT Bldg, Beatiles St., General Santos |
RPTV
| Branding | Callsign | Channel | Power | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPTV Cebu | DYAN | 29 | 10 kW | Relay | TV5 Transmitter Compound, Mt. Busay, Brgy. Babag 1, Cebu City |
| RPTV Cagayan de Oro | DXCO | Macapagal Drive, Upper Bulua, Cagayan de Oro | |||
| RPTV Davao | DXAN | TV5 Heights, Broadcast Ave., Shrine Hills, Brgy. Matina Crossing, Davao City |
One PH
| Branding | Callsign | Channel | Power | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One PH Naga | PA | 40 | 1 kW | Affiliate | SMART Cellsite, Maharlika Highway, Naga, Camarines Sur |
Radio Stations
True FM
The following stations are operated by TV5 Network, Inc.
| Branding | Callsign | Frequency | Power | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| True FM Cebu[a] | DYFM | 101.9 MHz | 10 kW | Cebu City |
| True FM Cagayan de Oro[b] | DXRL | 101.5 MHz | Cagayan de Oro |
FM Radio
The following stations are operated by Philippine Collective Media Corporation.
| Branding | Callsign | Frequency | Power | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FM Radio Manila | DWFM | 92.3 MHz | 25 kW | Metro Manila |
| FM Radio Baguio[c] | DZYB | 102.3 MHz | 10 kW | Baguio |
| FM Radio Bacolod[c] | DYBC | 102.3 MHz | Bacolod | |
| FM Radio General Santos[c] | DXOO | 97.5 MHz | General Santos | |
| FM Radio Davao[d] | DXFM | 101.9 MHz | Davao City |
Defunct/Inactive AM Stations
| Callsign | Frequency | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DZAR | 1026 kHz | Metro Manila | [e] |
| DWAR | 819 kHz | Laoag | |
| DZRD | 981 kHz | Dagupan | |
| DZYT | 765 kHz | Tuguegarao | |
| DWSI | 864 kHz | Santiago | |
| DZYI | 711 kHz | Ilagan | |
| DWAY | 1332 kHz | Cabanatuan | |
| DZSP | 864 kHz | San Pablo | |
| DYAR | 765 kHz | Cebu City | |
| DXYZ | 963 kHz | Zamboanga City | |
| DXCL | 1098 kHz | Cagayan de Oro | |
| DXRD | 711 kHz | Davao City | |
| DXRE | 837 kHz | General Santos | |
| DXRO | 945 kHz | Cotabato City | |
| DXRB | 873 kHz | Butuan | |
| DXBL | 801 kHz | Bislig | |
| DZYZ | 576 kHz | Olongapo | [f] |
| DWTT | 1368 kHz | Tarlac City | |
| DXRT | 873 kHz | Tawi-Tawi |
Defunct/Inactive FM Stations
| Callsign | Frequency | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DWYC | 88.7 MHz | Cabanatuan | [f] |
| DWJY | 94.3 MHz | San Pablo | [g] |
| DZMC | 91.1 MHz | Tarlac City | [h] |
| DZRB | 95.9 MHz | Naga | [f] |
| DWMR | 97.9 MHz | Legazpi | |
| DXTY | 101.1 MHz | Zamboanga City | |
| DXRI | 98.3 MHz | Iligan | |
| DXOK | 94.7 MHz | Cotabato City | |
| DXEY | 96.7 MHz | Butuan | [i] |
Notes
- ^ Semi-satellite station of 105.9 True FM Manila.
- ^ Relay station of 105.9 True FM Manila.
- ^ a b c Relay station of 92.3 FM Radio Manila.
- ^ Relay station of 89.5 FM Radio DavNor.
- ^ Former owned by Sonshine Media Network International until its demise on December 19, 2023 due to NTC's suspension order. On January 18, 2024, the NTC issued a cease-and-desist order against SMNI for violating its suspension order.
- ^ a b c Off the air.
- ^ Acquired by Philippine Collective Media Corporation in 2022 and transferred to Sariaya, Quezon. Currently broadcasting as FM Radio Quezon.
- ^ Currently owned by Acacia Broadcasting Corporation. Currently broadcasting as Jelexie Radio.
- ^ Acquired by Baycomms Broadcasting Corporation in 2018. Currently broadcasting as Brigada News FM.
References
- ^ Lucas, Daxim L. (January 9, 2026). "INSIDER INFO: Jane Basas exits Mediaquest as MVP weighs next move". InsiderPH. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
- ^ "General Information Sheet of Nation Broadcasting Corporation of the Philippines as of Nov. 25, 2022" (PDF). VERA Files. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
- ^ "Company Overview of Mediaquest Holdings Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg. August 4, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "audioWAV to add more FM stations in 2010!". AudioWAV Media. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ TV5 allocates P10b to battle ABS-CBN, GMA-7 Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Manila Standard Today. Retrieved 10-4-10.
- ^ "SPORTS AND MORE: AksyonTV redefines action as "5 Plus"". News5. December 14, 2018. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ "From DZMM to Radyo5-DWFM: Prime Media scoops up radio assets of MVP Group". Bilyonaryo. October 27, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ "NBC, PCMC in radio asset transfer talks". BusinessWorld. October 29, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "Lipat bahay: MVP moves Radyo5-True FM to another station as PCMC takes over 92.3 frequency". Bilyonaryo. October 28, 2024.
- ^ "R.A. No. 8623: An Act Granting the Nation Broadcasting Corp. A Franchise to Construct, Install, Establish, Operate and Maintain Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations in the Philippines". April 8, 1998.
- ^ "Republic Act No. 11667 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
- ^ "Cignal TV, 4 other broadcast firms secure 25-year franchise". pna.gov.ph. March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "Cignal TV gets 25-year franchise renewal". philstar.com. April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.