DWFT

DWFT (104.3 FM2)
City Quezon City
Broadcast area Mega Manila, and surrounding areas
Worldwide (online)
Branding 104.3 FM2
Slogan Your Hit Back Music Nation!
Frequency FM: 104.3 MHz
Cignal: Channel 316
G Sat: Channel 307
First air date December 18, 1979 (1979-12-18)
Format Classic Hits, OPM
Language(s) English
Power 25,000 watts
ERP 60,000 watts
Class A, B, upper C
Callsign meaning FM Two
Former callsigns DWIM (1979-1986)
DWBR (1986-2017)
Former frequencies 103.5 MHz (1979-1986)
Owner Philippine Broadcasting Service
Sister stations RP1 738, RP2 918, 87.5 FM1, RP Worldwide
Webcast 104.3 FM2 LIVE Audio
Website FM2.ph
104.3 FM2 (via PBS website)

DWFT (104.3 FM), broadcasting as FM2, is a radio station with a classic hits format in the Metro Manila area, owned and operated by the government of the Philippines through the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) under the Presidential Communications Group. Its studios and transmitter are located at 4th Floor, Philippine Information Agency Building, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.[1] It operates daily from 5:00 AM to 12:00 MN.

History

1979–1986: DWIM

DWBR started in 1979 as DWIM (then at 103.5 MHz) under the National Media Production Center, headquartered at the Philcomcen Tower in Pasig before moved to Broadcast Plaza in Bohol Avenue, and then later moved again to its present location at the Government Information and Media Center Building in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City. The station served music and news daily from 5 AM to midnight. Newscasters around that time were Jess Decolongan, Don Lee, and Bong Lapira. Other voices of DWIM included Babs Peña and Manny Freires.[2]

1986–2017: Business Radio

DWBR 104.3 from 1986 to 2017

It became DWBR (and moved to the current frequency at 104.3 MHz) in 1986, after the People Power Revolution. The station held the tagline: Weaving Beautiful Rhythms. It played old standards music, from the big band era to the Broadway era, playing songs from the 40s to 70s.

In early 1990s, it adopted the brand Business Radio, albeit retaining its music format. Since that time, it covered the latest business stories and issues in the Philippines with its coverage of the Philippine stock market. It also aired various talk programs that discusses relevant matters concerning business, the environment.

It was managed by its active manager Ms. Ma. Julita "Maju" E. Ramos. Regular newscasters included Bon Vibar, Cheryl Buenaventura-Ayuste, Rouella Santos, Alel Auxillos, Shirly Semic, and Edwin Santos. Other voices heard on the station were Manny Carvajal, Fred Patrick, Santi Bautista, Camille Victoria, Dean Bernardo, and George Boone.

In 2014, Broadcaster's Bureau, a weekday morning show, was replaced with Fresh, which played a mix of retro & current music hosted by veteran DJ George Boone.

Business Radio used to operate from 6 am to 10 pm daily, similar to its sister stations DZSR and DZRM.

2017–present: FM2

In late-2016, PBS announced that Business Radio will have its name change. First announced as "Radio 2", it was later changed to FM2 to avoid confusion with BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom, with the launch date set on February 2, 2017. Prior to this announcement, radio veteran Rizal "Bong" Aportadera, Jr. (Sonny B) was appointed by PCOO Sec. Martin Andanar as the Director of PBS in July 2016. A month later, Carlo Villo (Carlo José) was then appointed by Aportadera as the agency's Deputy Director and head of the new FM division. Villo serves as the program director for 104.3 FM, as well as its recently acquired 87.5 FM.

On January 15, 2017, Business Radio quietly signed off for the last time and went off the air for a week. On January 24, 2017, the station went on air for test broadcast playing the ‘80s and ‘90s music along with pre-recorded teasers carrying the New Republic tagline. Sonny B, Carlo José and George Boone had their warm-up 3 days after its test broadcast.

On February 2, 2017, past 5:30am, DWBR signed on as FM2.[3] At that time, it extended its broadcast time by two hours, broadcasting until midnight. Despite having a commercial-free, less talk and more music type of programming, FM2 still airs PSAs and public advisories. Its playlist focuses heavily on the 80s and 90s, with a tiny portion of 70s. Since summer of 2017, FM2 signs on an hour earlier.

In almost 9 months under the new format and for the first time in the history of government radio, 104.3 FM2 was ranked by Nielsen as the #1 station in the Niche (A, B, and upper C) market.[4][5][6]

On December 11, 2017, PBS retired its old callsign DWBR in favor of DWFT as it appeared on its website and now being used on sign-on and sign-off notices. The said callsign change is made to reflect the new branding, serving as complement to the newly launched sister station 87.5 FM1.

See also

References

  1. "PCOO E-Brochure" (PDF). Presidential Communications Operations Office. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  2. "104.3 FM2, The Number 1 Hitback Music Nation". Martin Andanar FB Page. November 25, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  3. "104.3 FM2 is Number 1". FM 2 Philippines FB Page. November 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. Danganan, Juzel (November 28, 2017). "Business Radio (now FM2) is most listener to FM station". Philippines News Agency. Retrieved November 28, 2017.

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