The major comeback in AM radio is here.
In a statement released on Thursday, May 29, Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC), which operates the 630 kHz frequency in Mega Manila, announced that it is officially dropping the DWPM Radyo 630 brand that it has been using since June 2023.
The station will embrace its roots and will formally relaunch to the familiar callsign many have been accustomed to, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630, beginning at 8:00 pm on the same night.
“It is the comeback that most Filipinos have been waiting for. Philippine Collective Media Corporation has rebranded DWPM Radyo 630 as DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 beginning May 29, 8 PM,” the post read.
Aligning with that move, Media Serbisyo Production Corp. (MSPC), the content provider of DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 that is co-owned by Prime Media Holdings and ABS-CBN, will also rebrand Teleradyo Serbisyo to DZMM Teleradyo.
“With this, the familiar sounds of DZMM, including the station’s thrust “Una sa Balita, Una Sa Public Service” will be heard again in the airwave,” the new look 630 further revealed.
Additionally, tried and tested radio anchors and personalities including Noli De Castro, Charo Santos, Doris Bigornia, and Alvin Elchico will all be part of the refreshed 24/7 programming line-up for the new DZMM.
DZMM Radyo Patrol will be heard on 630 khz on the AM band in Metro Manila, while DZMM Teleradyo will broadcast on cable and satellite TV, and online.
The Radyo Patrol branding traces its origins back to the pre-Martial Law radio station DZAQ-AM in 1953, which was a pioneering all-news network on the band.
After the EDSA Revolution, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 operated on the frequency from 1986 to 2020. The station’s line-up of reporters were also recognized, and were christened with their own number callsigns (e.g. RP 1, RP 2).
Two decades into its post-uprising Renaissance, television counterpart DZMM TeleRadyo—which was the first-of-its-kind in the Philippines as the first live hook-up of the station—went on air in 2007 via cable TV, before it was expanded to digital television.
However, after the debacle and eventual denial of the franchise renewal bid of its parent company ABS-CBN in 2020, DZMM went off-air on 630 AM and its shows were migrated to the TeleRadyo channel that aired exclusively on pay television and digital platforms—save for a brief period from June to November 2022 when they had a free-to-air comeback via ZOE TV’s digital subchannel.
Due to mounting losses, ABS-CBN Corporation pulled the plug on TeleRadyo as a standalone operation and entered into a joint venture with Prime Media Holdings, Inc. to bring news programs to various third-party platforms, including DWPM Radyo 630 and Teleradyo Serbisyo.
That event led to the return of sorts for TeleRadyo’s programming to 630 kHz in Mega Manila over three years since it was closed, with personalities led by Noli de Castro, Alvin Elchico, Doris Bigornia, Peter Musngi, and Amy Perez joining the JV.
Despite a reputable roster, the DWPM era did not stick with listeners, as proven by its low listenership in the game that DZMM once lorded over prior to its shutdown.