Four years since it was originally launched as a provincial radio outlet.
On Monday, November 4, Favorite Music (FM) Radio took the airwaves in Mega Manila via the DWFM 92.3 FM frequency, which was formerly occupied by Radyo5 True FM for the past 14 years.
Owned by the Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC), FMR 92.3 broadcasts a wide array of sounds, such as Contemporary middle-of-road (MOR) tracks, classic songs, and original Filipino music (OPM).
Some of the personalities that have signed up with the upstart are the likes of former MOR 101.9 disc jockey Jhai Ho, Radyo 630 / Teleradyo Serbisyo anchor Migs Bustos, Pretty Boy Tonyo, Alex, Kim Churva, Totoy Bola, and Pogi Alcasid.
For its first day on the region’s airwaves, FMR started with a test broadcast from past 12:00 mn until 5:00 am, when the morning show ‘Good Vibes Morning’ with Pretty Boy Tonyo kicked off the new chapter in the historic frequency.
Other programs in the station’s initial line-up are ‘Hapi Morneeeng,’ ‘Rampa,’ ‘Request Express,’ ‘Wazz Happoning,’ ‘Banana Krew,’ ‘Six In The City,’ ‘Love Me Tonight, Cathy,’ and ‘Maine Event.’
Similar to its affiliate AM radio station Radyo 630, co-owned by PCMC with ABS-CBN Corporation under Media Serbisyo Corporation (MSC), FMR 92.3 is expected to launch its own online simulcast via YouTube in the coming days.
Aside from its radio assets, PCMC also operates free-to-air TV channel PRTV Prime Media, which airs programming from Radyo 630 and its television counterpart Teleradyo Serbisyo.
DWFM AND NBC
DWFM 92.3, still owned by Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), began as the popular station named MRS or Most Requested Songs in 1973.
The format was popular enough to have lasted 25 years, before the Joey @ 92.3 was introduced, before it eventually adopted the ‘Rhythms’ branding.
After two more format and name changes as the XFM and U92, the frequency found footing anew when it was revamped under the purview of TV5 in November 2010.
Branded as the Radyo5 92.3 News FM, it pioneered the 24/7 news-and-talk format heavily associated with the AM band on the FM spectrum. Although, due to budget constraints, the 24/7 broadcast set-up ended in the mid-2010s.
During its later years, Radyo5 reinvented itself as True FM in March 2023 after it added more non-news and public service content to its line-up like ‘Sana Lourd,’ ‘Heart 2 Heart,’ ‘Shout Out,’ and ‘Dr. Love.’
Then, on October 28, owner-operator NBC announced that it will be relinquishing its control over 92.3 FM after 51 years, after reaching a deal with FMR 92.3’s owner PCMC to blocktime the station.
NBC also disclosed its intention to ultimately sell the prime frequency altogether to PCMC, along with its radio assets in the provinces.
DWNB-TV, Nation Broadcasting Corporation’s television channel in Mega Manila that airs One Sports, is not part of that deal and will continue to be jointly operated by both NBC and Cignal TV.