Niche radio stations ruled in the Philippine airwaves way back then (Part 1)

December 23, 2014

FM radio has started to trend the Philippines in the 70s (when Marcos declared Martial Law).

The first FM station to introduce was 99.5 RT. 99.5 RT was the radio station that was owned by the Tuazons (RT means Remedios Tuazon, the owner of that station).

99.5 RT is the first station that plays the latest and today’s music (and the first pop station introduces a special programs that also heard on weekends, and the first to introduce a retro programming, it is called the 24K). 99.5 RT is also a niche station that has ever been to the radio listeners. 99.5 RT also started the pop scene in the Philippines and also it change the landscape of the Philippine radio. It’s notable DJs was Jeremiah Junior, Al W. Leader (who is currently the voiceover of GMA Network), Joey Pizza, Johnny Cesar (now as a DJ of RJ 100), The Mighty Thor, Vince St. Price, Paul Reno, North Andrew (now the head of MTV Pinoy), Boo Kyler, Joe Schmoe, Joshua, and Lexi Locklear (Lexi Schulze). 99.5 RT is the forerunner of Magic 89.9, RX 93.1, Mellow 947, and the other pop stations that has the same format as 99.5 RT.

DWRX was launched on August 23, 1983 (2 days after the assassination of Ninoy Aquino) and owned by the Audiovisual Communications Inc. led by Rene Lacson and Freddie Garcia. However, the station had inherited the call letters “RX” from the station’s former owners, RX referring to “prescription music”. On that same year, the station adopted the pop format as Music City RX93 and became #1 in radio surveys in the mid-1980s. In 1987, it was reformatted as Light Rock RX93, carrying a light rock format. In October 1990, the station reverted to its pop format as Monster Radio RX93. Three years later, it carried the slogan “The First Creative Pop Station” and added the point .1 to its call number, becoming Monster Radio RX 93.1. In the late Nineties, it adopted its current slogan, Manila’s Hottest. The station is also known as Summer’s Hottest & Season’s Hottest. It’s because of that, it is currenly one of the most listened FM stations in the Philippines today.

93.9 FM is a radio station owned by the Radio Mindanao Network or RMN. It was first known as 939 WKC, a C-D-E radio station with its famous tagline We are Family.

It was managed by Mike Enriquez (Baby Mike was known back then). He left in 1995 for GMA Network to prepare for the elections and became widely known as Mr. Saksi. 939 WKC plays pop music through its existence. It was reformatted as 939 KCFM on November 1999, and was reformatted as an A-B market station that also has a simililarity to 99.5 RT, with its slogan ''Live It Up!. ''KCFM also featured Chico and Delamar (from RX 93.1) and King DJ Logan (before he went to the Vera-owned stations like Magic 89.9). On May 2002, it was reformatted back as a C-D-E station and rename as 93.9 i! FM, it is headed by Fred M. Davis (who was responsible for making 102.7 Star FM, WRR 101.9 For Life!, 101.1 YES! FM and 90.7 Love Radio successful stations). 93.9 i! FM has a similarity to the likes of Love Radio, YES! FM and Star FM.

DWLS-FM is a radio station that is owned by the GMA Network (LS over there means Loreto Stewart, the wife of GMA Network founder “Uncle Bob” Robert Stewart), it is first started as The Giant 97.1 WLS-FM in February 1986 (after the EDSA Revolution), and this is the first station to carry the CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) thingy. In 1992 (when GMA was reformatted as the Rainbow Satellite Network), DWLS-FM was reformatted as Campus Radio 97.1 WLS-FM. It targets the teenagers, young adults and high school/college students. Campus Radio is the first pop station to introduce the music chart show called the Top 20 @ 12 (it was hosted by the master of the chart show, the Triggerman, and it is a forerunner of the other pop chart show in the Philippines like Magic Pop 30, and it was first aired on Kiss FM 101.1), and to introduce a show about the young adults who want to become a DJ of Campus Radio and the other stations someday, it is called the Campus Aircheck (also act as a forerunner of the other programs that has a similarity to this, like the Junior Jocks of Magic 89.9). On Valentine’s Day 2007, listeners and the fans of Campus Radio bade its farewell, and it was reformatted as Barangay LS 97.1 through Mike Enriquez (also the head of GMA’s radio operations), and it is also reformatted as a hot AC or C-D-E station that also has a similarity of Love Radio, YES! FM and Star FM.

Magic 89.9 began its operations on Valentine’s Day 1986, starting with a 10 on-air crew led by Bernie Buenaseda, known on-air as Burning Bernie. It became a witness to history unfolding before the Filipinos as the station was also started 11 days before the late Corazon “Cory” Aquino became president and 7 months exactly before ABS-CBN was reopened. The Classic DJs during that period inclusive of Bernie, were the Fab 10; Little David, Joe D’Mango, Sgt. Pepper, The Gaucho, Paul Reno, Ken Fortun, Rockin’ Robin (eventually becoming Rockin’ V), Michael Vincent and Johnny Gizmo. Between 1988 to 1989, the station started broadcasting 24 hours a day, which turned out to be a huge success. The Battle of the Radios during that era, was supported by a wide variety of spoofs and gimmicks not to mention sidekicks (no computers, no hard drives but just a bunch of wires), which made broadcasting ultra-creative as compared to that done with the digital technology of today. On November 29, 1999, Magic 89.9 transferred its studios to the Paragon Plaza Building in Mandaluyong City to share facilities with sister stations 99.5 RT/99.5 Play FM and 103.5 K-Lite, Mellow Touch 94.7 (now Mellow 947), DWBL 1242 and DWSS 1494. Magic 89.9 became the first home of Love Notes, which was initially conceptualized as a gimmick. The 15 minute counseling program hosted by Joe D’Mango became an instant hit with office workers every Friday morning. Love Notes is also aired on ABC-5 from 1992 to 1996, It transferred to its sister station Wave 89.1 (now iDMZ 891) in 2001. In early 2000’s, the station started a trend on FM radio of making Fridays nostalgia days with the Friday Magic Madness program (now Friday Madness), that plays music from the 1980s hit music all day. On the other hand, weekend program Saturday Slam plays the 1990s music. That because, Magic 89.9 is also the most listened and most powerful FM radio station in the Philippines today.

NU 107 was the most listened, most trusted, and most responsible rock station all over the archipelago. It was established by Atom Henares, Mike Pedero, and Cris Hermosisima in 1987 (when WXB 102 went off the air). Because of that, NU 107 became famous and was responsible for bringing grunge, alternative rock hits, punk rock, New wave music, nu metal music. emo rock, and other kinds of rock on air. NU 107 also was responsible for bringing Pinoy rock, Pinoy unsigned artists and indie music to the mainstream, and NU 107 also became a tambayan (hang out) for the rockers out there. The most nostable of NU 107 was Francis Brew Reyes (drummer of Jett Pangan and Teddy Diaz’s band, The Dawn (also replaces Diaz as the guitarist of The Dawn and was known as the cousin of the late P.O.T.’s Karl Roy), and later became its station manager). NU 107’s notable programs was In The Raw, Stairway to Seven, Against The Flow, Midnight Countdown, and Remote Control Weekend. In November 7, 2010, NU 107 was closed down due to financial constraints, on the final day of NU 107, the fans and the rockers gather outside the NU 107 location carrying candles as a sign of support. Some of them wrote on a freedom wall their sadness and memories, as well as their wishes for the station and its staff. The disc jockeys openly wept as they thanked the supporters during the station’s final hour. Hermosisima was the last person on the microphone with the final words: ''“This has been NU 107, the Philippines’ one and only Home of NU Rock. This is NU 107, we are signing off”'', with The Eraserheads’ “Ang Huling El Bimbo” as the final song of the station. The crowd that gathered outside, sad as they were, joined in the singing, and there was loud chanting afterward. NU 107 signed-off on November 8, 12:05 a.m, after the usual sign-off notice and Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national anthem, was sung by everyone gathered in the station and outside the building premises especially the final line of the anthem, which was sung very loudly. Footage of this can now be found on YouTube as well as on other internet sites, as well as commentary and analysis of that final day of broadcast. After NU 107 gone, it was reformatted as 107.5 Win Radio (a hot AC or C-D-E station that has a similarity of Energy FM) and it is managed by Energy FM’s Manny Luzon (before that, he left Energy FM for good). Reformatted as a “more decent mainstream frequency”, it distinguishes itself from its competitors through “responsible programming” without playing songs “with double meaning” as is the structure for the masa market. Just four months after its debut, it landed at #7 according to the March 2011 KBP Radio Research Council survey. Last June 26, 2014, Win Radio had its last broadcast for the last time on 107.5 and transferred to 91.5 FM 2 days later. Since Win Radio left on 107.5 in 2014, it was reformatted as Wish FM 107.5 or Wish 1075 through the “Wish Concert” held last August 10, 2014 at the World Trade Center, and also it was reformatted as an AC station majority playing the classic hits (especially, love songs). It also unveiled the first Mobile FM radio booth bus, similar to the mobile radio booth used by Radyo La Verdad 1350, during the concert. Wish 1075 is also a niche radio station to the listeners.

88.3 FM was started as Citylite 88.3 from 1988-2003 (it was first managed by Manny V. Pangilinan, then it was later managed by Francis Lumen since MVP move his management to 92.3 FM, then it was sold to the Vera family that owns Magic 89.9). Citylite 88.3 is a radio station competed directly with 105.1 Crossover and Kiss Jazz 101.1. In 2003, Citylite 88.3 was reformatted as Jam 88.3 to cater to a larger more advertiser-friendly audience. Jam 88.3 was originally launched as an “easy listening” station. Within a year of launching, the station quickly established itself as a popular trend-setting station in the Philippines with unique programs and segments. Jam has a reputation for discovering new talent and music. It is largely recognized in the Philippine music industry for starting the Acoustic music trend of 2003 and 2004.

The station can also be credited for propelling the return to prominence of OPM (Original Pilipino Music) beginning in 2005. In 2007, after 103.5 K-Lite bade its farewell, Jam 88.3 plays majority of pop and alternative rock music rather than acoustic ones. In 2011, when NU 107 and UR 105.9 bade its ba bye, Jam 88.3 began its programming gradually shifted from pop rock-genres to fully transitioned alternative/modern rock and Indie rock music. Last September 11, 2012, it was relaunched as The New Jam. The station’s format is still the same, but includes mainstream rock & few new programs.

89.1 FM was first known as KB 89.1 in 1975, and became one of the country’s most listened to easy listening FM music stations, and the most notable DJ there was Peter Rabbit (Peter Musngi, who later became a voice-over and executive of ABS-CBN). KB 89.1 rebranded as 89 DMZ (which played dance, hip hop, OPM and other foreign songs, Hot AC and remixed music). The late rapper, Francis Magalona, worked with the station through his program, The Word-up Show, which aired on Saturday nights. It also became the home of the Mobile Circuit. Since then, 89 DMZ also became the station to dance or groove the right way, and the most notable voice-over there was The Unbeatable (Andy Santillan of RPN 9, also a DJ of 89 DMZ). From 1975-2001, 89.1 FM was owned by government-controlled IBC 13. In 2001, IBC and Blockbuster Broadcasting System went into a government-sponsored bidding and Blockbuster Broadcasting System won the frequency rights (Blockbuster Broadcasting System is also own by the Vera family), thus it was reformatted as Wave 891 (Wave 89.1 way back then). Wave was then managed by Joe D’ Mango (from Magic 89.9), and it first became an easy listening station that plays pop soul and pop jazz, but when hip-hop also invaded the Philippine scene, Wave became a full-time station that plays R&B, hip-hop, rap and something related to urban music.

KY 91.5 was a radio station plays classic rock hits all day, and was under the Mabuhay Broadcasting System, Inc. (owner of DZXQ 1350 KHZ), the notable DJ was Ben Tulfo. In 1998, when Manny Luzon started to manage KY 91.5 (and before Energy FM, Big Radio and Win Radio, because these 3 that mention was also dedicated to the C-D-E class and different owner but Luzon also own these), this station was rename as K91FM (which mainly played novelty and pop music). Still, Mabuhay Broadcasting System, Inc. is the owner.