Philippine Broadcasting Service

On May 8, 1933, the United States-sponsored Insular Government established and operated radio station DZFM (then KZFM) in the Philippines on the frequency of 710 kilohertz with a power of 10,000 watts through the United States Information Service. In September 1946, two months after the Philippines became an independent country from the US, KZFM was turned over to the Philippine government. With the transfer was born the Philippine Broadcasting Service, PBS the second broadcasting organization after Manila Broadcasting Company.

The station was first operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs until it was transferred to the Radio Broadcasting Board (RBB) which was created by President Manuel Quezon on September 3, 1937. Meanwhile, in the same year, an international telecommunications conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, reassigned the letter "D" to replace the former "K" as the initial call letter for all radio stations in the Philippines. In January 1942, the RBB was abolished to give way to the establishment of the Philippine Information Council (PIC) which then assumed the function of the RBB, including the operation of DZFM. In turn, the PIC was abolished on July 1, 1952, and since then, until the creation of the Department of Public Information (DPI) in 1959, DZFM and the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) had been operated under the Office of the President.

Over the years hence, the PBS had acquired 13 more radio stations, one TV station which it time-shared with two other organizations, and changed its name to Bureau of Broadcast Services.

At the same time that the BBS was blazing a broadcasting trail now known as "network broadcasting", another government organization was building up its broadcast capability to rival, or in some instances, to complement, that of the BB. The National Media Production Center (NMPC) had acquired the facilities of the Voice of America in Malolos, Bulacan in 1965 and steadily brought the old complex up to standards by a steady overhaul, fine-tuning, and outright replacement of outmoded equipment and machines. The NMPC operated the Voice of the Philippines, VOP, on both medium wave-918 kHz (formerly at 920 kHz until 1978) and shortwave 9.810 mHz transmissions. In 1975, the NMPC obtained DWIM-FM. With this new station and some provincial stations that came under its wings earlier, the NMPC was a network and effectively covered a wide range of the Philippine listenership.

In the 1970s, public broadcasting in the Philippines was thus represented by the BB and the NMPC and catered to the educational and cultural needs of its audiences while endeavoring to keep it entertained with fare from indigenous material. Public service features were the keystone of its programs.

During the final months of Martial Law, both the BB and the NMPC were brought under one administrative roof in 1980 when the Office of Media Affairs was created to provide a loose union for both networks within the Broadcast Plaza along Bohol (now Sgt. Esguerra) Avenue in Diliman, Quezon City. It was not an ideal situation, to say the least, since, as there had been no clear guidelines on the proper implementation of their respective operational strategies, the BB and the NMPC often squabbled, to the detriment of public broadcasting goals. Unification had created more problems for the OMA to overcome.

PBS logo from 1987 to 2017.

After the EDSA Revolution, the Office of Media Affairs was abolished, followed by both the NMPC and the BB. Under Executive Order No. 297, on the basis of the OMA, President Corazon Aquino reestablished the Bureau of Broadcast Services (BBS) and reinstated PBS as the network under the Office of the Press Secretary's control, which led to the formation of a national radio service based on the stations in which both the NMPC and BBS had, with the PBS hosting two national AM stations and a national FM station in Manila and a number of provincial owned-and-operated and affiliate stations in the country's administrative regions.

During the last months of the Aquino administration, PBS along with its TV counterpart, People's Television Network transferred its offices from ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center complex to PIA/Media Center Building in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City on January 22, 1992.

In 1996, PBS relaunched its flagship station (DZFM) as Radyo ng Bayan.

During the first years in the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, the PBS-BBS was transferred to the newly created Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), after the OPS was abolished.

In the beginning of 2017, PBS relaunched its FM radio service with the relaunch of FM2 and the debut of FM1 as well, forming the basis of the national FM radio division under the agency, which was later reinforced by the launch of FM1 Davao, the first state-owned regional FM radio station serving Metro Davao.

On June 5, 2017, as part of the network's 70th anniversary, PBS relaunched its flagship brand Radyo ng Bayan as Radyo Pilipinas. Three months later, on September 18, sports station DZSR merged its programming with infotainment/cultural station DZRM and became Radyo Pilipinas Dos.

On July 16, 2018, PBS-BBS and the Global Satellite Technology Services Inc. (G Sat) signed a Memorandum of agreement allowing PBS-BBS to add its channels to its G Sat radio channel line up.[1]

In October 2019, China donated over PHP130 million worth of radio broadcast equipment to the PCOO's Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS). The donation, which includes live broadcast room equipment, FM broadcast transmitter equipment, and medium wave transmitter equipment. The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will soon begin the rehabilitation of at least 14 (10 AM and four FM station) PBS Radyo Pilipinas stations nationwide.[2][3]

During his first State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Congress would pass a proposed law merging the PBS with its TV counterpart, People's Television Network to form the "People's Broadcasting Corporation (PBC)", which serves a unified broadcasting entity of the republic encompassing radio, television, print and online media.

Radyo Pilipinas (formerly known as Radyo ng Bayan), the flagship AM radio station of PBS-BBS, is situated at 738 kHz on the AM band with a power of 50 kW. The station operates Mondays to Fridays from 4:00 AM to 12:00 MN, Saturdays from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM and Sundays from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM. As the government's flagship radio station, it serves as a medium of development communication, a conduit between the government and the people, aiming to mobilize all sectors of society towards development and nationalism. Live government news is aired here.

Radyo Pilipinas Dos (formerly known as Sports Radio and Radyo Magasin) is situated at 918 kHz on the AM band with a power of 50 kW. The station operates daily from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. RP2 mainly airs sports talk programming and a few general information content such as current affairs and lifestyle.

Radyo Pilipinas [Worldwide] (DZRP) is the network's official external radio station broadcasting on both shortwave and internet streaming, which caters to the Overseas Filipino Workers and Filipino communities around the world. The station operates daily from 11:30 PM to 12:00 NN PST (15:30–04:00 UTC). RP Worldwide's main programming consists of 2–3 hours of broadcast in Filipino and English languages, and is transmitted via shortwave through the facilities of Voice of America in Tinang, Tarlac.

The current station manager of Radyo Pilipinas is Alan Allanigue, while the current station manager of Radyo Pilipinas Dos is Cecille Quimlat, and the current station manager of Radyo Pilipinas Worldwide is Rey Sampang.

In 2016, PBS established the FM division following the appointment of Carlo Jose Magno Villo as Deputy Director General. From 2016 until his departure in January 2020, Villo headed the FM division, which includes its FM networks: FM1 and FM2.

Republika FM1 is PBS' flagship music station, focused on contemporary hit radio (Top 40) with a few local music. The station is situated at 87.5 MHz in Metro Manila and 87.9 MHz in Davao City, and is planning to expand in other major cities.

Capital FM2 is the secondary music station, focused on classic hits from the 80s and 90s, as well as 2000s on Fridays. It is situated at 104.3 MHz in Metro Manila, and is recognized as the number one niche radio station in the A/B/C market based on Nielsen Ratings.

The following stations are owned by their perspective local government units or organizations. Though PBS is listed by the NTC as their owners, it acts as their affiliates.