It played a huge role in the country’s history for almost six decades.
On Friday, October 30, Advanced Media Broadcasting System’s (AMBS) ALLTV will formally cease broadcasting on very higher frequency (VHF) channel 2 on analog television in Mega Manila.
The move is in line with the the directive from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on the shutdown of all analog frequencies in the region by November 22, 2026.
Affected by this shift are analog TV viewers of ALLTV in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, as well as parts of Bataan and Laguna—which will only see the channel’s programming via digital terrestrial television channel 16 from October 31 (Saturday) onwards.
This switch-off is significant as it will mark the end for one of the country’s most historic and legendary frequencies.
It was back in 1969 when the frequency was first utilized by ABS-CBN following the adjustments made to accommodate the launch of Kanlaon Broadcasting System (later known as the Radio Philippines Network (RPN), now RPTV).
At that time, ABS-CBN, which was formed by the merger between ABS and CBN a few years earlier, was using both channels 3 and 9. However, it moved to channels 2 and 4, with KBS taking over channel 9.
The network would continue to be seen on channel 2 until September 1972, when the imposition of Martial Law by President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. led to the closure of all media establishments such as ABS-CBN.
The following year, in 1973, channel 2 would resurface on screens as the Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), owned by Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto.
It would have a brief run as City2 Television in the 1980s, before switching back to BBC-2 as the People Power Revolution deposed Marcos and the frequency was sequeatered by the administration of President Corazon Aquino.
She would later re-award channel 2 to the Lopez family, led by Eugenio “Geny” Lopez, Jr. After a few months of operating BBC-2, they moved to quickly revive ABS-CBN by September 1986.
For the next 34 years, the network, which was also known as the “Star Network” and “Kapamilya Network,” would be seen on two and with the term “Dos” being colloquially used to refer to ABS-CBN—up to this day.
However, in May 2020, the NTC directed ABS-CBN to close down its free-to-air network on TV and radio—which included channel 2—pending the status of its renewal bid before Congress.
Two months later, in July 2020, the Lower House voted to deny the bid and by September 2020, all frequencies once operated by the company were taken back by the commission by September of the same year.
In January 2022, the NTC awarded former ABS-CBN frequencies to other players, with the flagship station channel 2 on analog and DTT channel 16 given to AMBS.
Eight months later, in September 2022, AMBS launched ALLTV, carrying a mix of its own original productions and archived programs from its predecessor, ABS-CBN.
Over a year later, ABS-CBN and AMBS entered into a bigger partnership by letting ALLTV carry classic shows from Jeepney TV, noontime variety program It’s Showtime, flagship newscast TV Patrol, and the talk show Magandang Buhay starting April 2024.
It would be furthered in December 2025 as a licensing agreement that took into effect in January 2026 saw ALLTV fully embraced being a Kapamilya by getting an on-air branding as Kapamilya Channel sa ALLTV2.
That would only be an interim name as by March 2026, the channel has been given the name ABS-CBN sa ALLTV2, featuring a mix of programs from the Kapamilya Channel and AMBS’ in-house productions.
Meanwhile, other channels such as GMA, TV5, and PTV are set to also wind down their analog operations in Mega Manila in the coming days.
