Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – New radio station DWPM Radyo 630, a joint undertaking between ABS-CBN and House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s Prime Media Holdings Incorporated (Prime Media), launched softly on Friday, June 30, a development that will be keenly watched on how this project will fare under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr..

As disclosed last month when ABS-CBN announced the closure of its news channel TeleRadyo due to financial losses, Prime Media has a controlling 51% in a joint venture company, while ABS-CBN owns 49% of the company. In the joint venture, ABS-CBN will provide the content, while Prime Media controls the broadcasting.

DWPM Radyo 630 TeleRadyo Serbisyo Para sa Mamamayan (TeleRadyo Service For the People) signals ABS-CBN’s return on free radio, more than three years after it lost its free-to-air channels. It is also on ABS-CBN’s cable service, Sky Cable, and other cable subscribers, as well as ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel.

The station opened with the program, Gising Pilipinas, anchored by veteran ABS-CBN reporters Alvin Elchico and Doris Bigornia from 6 am to 7:30 am. They were the former hosts of TeleRadyo’s SRO from 8 pm to 10 pm. Elchico said the new station was still unavailable on YouTube.