Manila Broadcasting Company


Manila Broadcasting Company is a radio and television network in the Philippines. MBC is currently owned by the FJE Group of Companies of Fred J. Elizalde, which also operates hotels and Pasay-based amusement park Star City. Its AM flagship network, DZRH is the oldest radio station in the country while its FM flagship network, Love Radio is the #1 station in FM radio ratings in Metro Manila and several key cities.
MBC's corporate headquarters and studios are located at Vicente Sotto St., CCP Complex, Pasay City.
MBC forms its own network group with six national brands, specifically, DZRH radio and DZRH News Television, Aksyon Radyo, Love Radio, Yes The Best, Easy Rock, and Radyo Natin; operated either directly by MBC, or through its affiliate-licensees Pacific Broadcasting Systems, Cebu Broadcasting Company, Radyo Natin Network, and Philippine Broadcasting Corporation.
DZRH News Television, which is an extension of the DZRH brand into an audio-visual platform, is carried by some 1,000 cable providers throughout the Philippine archipelago.
The current president of MBC is Ruperto Nicdao Jr.

History

The Heacock era

The origins of MBC can be traced to DZRH, which first went on air as KZRH on the morning of July 15, 1939 by the Heacock Company, a prominent department store based in Escolta Street, Binondo, Manila. Years later, it bought KZRC from Isaac Beck in Cebu City. The Japanese took over the stations and KZRH became PIAM for their propaganda use.

The birth of MBC and DZRH

After World War II, the Elizalde brothers took over KZRH and KYRC. With the help of station manager Bertrand Silen, KZRH transferred its operations to the Insular Life Building in Plaza Cervantes. In June 1946, the Elizaldes established the network under the Manila Broadcasting Company.
KZRH returned to the airwaves on July 1, 1946. On July 4, 1946, it aired the live coverage of the Philippine independence from the United States and the inauguration of the third Philippine Republic.
In 1948, after the international telecommunications conference in the United States where the Philippines changed its first letter to "D", KZRH changed its callsign to DZRH, and has been expanded to over 30 stations nationwide. The same year, MBC launched its sister station in Manila, DZMB and DZPI.
In 1949, DZRH began airing the first radio drama, Gulong ng Palad.
Ben Aniceto began his long media career, working with DZRH, DZMB and DZPI as a radio talent.

1960s to Marcos dictatorship

When then-President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, MBC was temporarily closed for a few months.
In 1975, MBC ventured into the FM band when its stations DZMB and other MBC music AM stations moved to FM radio. This would become the nucleus of MBC's Love Radio Network.

The expansion of MBC

In 1985, Manolo Elizalde retires. His son, Fred J. Elizalde, becomes Chairman and CEO.
After the People Power Revolution ended the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, MBC begins to expand its FM stations while DZRH continues to broadcast nationwide. Ruperto Nicdao, Jr. became a board member of MBC in 1988 before he became President of MBC.
In January 1992, the application of MBC and Springs Foundation's Channel 11 to operate was denied by the National Telecommunications Commission, stating that it is "not legally, technically, and financially qualified". The channel was later acquired by Eddie Villanueva's ZOE Broadcasting Network and renamed DZOE-TV in 1998.
In 1994, DZRH relaunched itself as "One Nation, One Station" by launching the first nationwide satellite broadcast.
In July 2002, MBC studios were transferred from FJE Building in Makati to CCP Complex in Pasay.
MBC co-hosted the Aliwan Fiesta since 2003, in partnership with Cultural Center of the Philippines, and the cities of Manila and Pasay. Aliwan Fiesta is an annual event that gathers different cultural festivals of the Philippines in Star City in Pasay City wherein contingents compete in dance parade and float competitions, as well as in a beauty pageant.
After 35 years, MBC returned to television with the launch of DZRH News Television on October 1, 2007.

Acquisitions, new networks and changes

In 1995, MBC acquired DWKS-FM and changed its callsign to DWST as 101.1 Showbiz Tsismis. It lasts until 1998 and relaunched as Yes FM. During the 1990s, DYRC was spun off into Aksyon Radyo, established in 11 provincial AM stations.
On December 16, 1997, MBC launched Radyo Natin. Composed of 100 FM stations strategically across the nation by using state of the art satellite technology, Radyo Natin is able to reach audiences that has never been reached before by another radio station.
In January 1999, Hot FM was launched in Dagupan, Cebu City, General Santos and Zamboanga City, with more than 50 minor provincial radio stations.
In October 2008, MBC acquired DWRK from ACWS-United Broadcasting Network. Seven months later in May 2009, DWRK was relaunched as Easy Rock.
In 2017, Hot FM was unofficially ceased itself as most of the remaining Hot FM stations were rebranded and switched to Radyo Natin.
In 2018, MBC began to test broadcast its TV channel DZRH News Television on digital free TV using ISDB-T in Cebu, Bacolod and Iloilo.

2019 fire

MBC main offices and studios were affected by a major fire that originated in the nearby theme park and sister company Star City on October 2, 2019. While regular programming for its AM station DZRH was suspended as a result of the fire, MBC Manila radio stations transferred its operations and broadcasts, in interim, at BSA Twin Towers, in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, where its FM transmitters are located.

MBC Media Group

Radio networks

NetworkFormatLanguageYear of launchNotes
DZRHNews and talk radioTagalog1939MBC's flagship AM network. Flagship station is DZRH 666 kHz Manila.
Love RadioContemporary MOR, OPMTagalog1975Flagship FM network. Flagship station is 90.7 Love Radio Manila.
Aksyon RadyoNews and talk radioTagalog
Various dialects		1995MBC's regional AM network broadcasting in key provinces.
Radyo NatinContemporary MOR, News and talk radio, Community radioTagalog
Various dialects		1997MBC's largest network composed of 100 community FM radio stations. Flagship station is Radyo Natin Nationwide.
Yes The BestContemporary MOR, OPMTagalog1998Formerly known as Yes FM from 1998 to 2016. Flagship station is 101.1 Yes The Best Manila.
Easy RockAdult contemporaryEnglish2009Flagship station is 96.3 Easy Rock Manila.

;Defunct networks
NetworkFormatLanguageYearFate
Showbiz TsismisShow business-centric talk radioTagalog1995–1998Replaced by Yes FM/Yes The Best in 1998.
ComNetFull serviceTagalog1990sReplaced by Radyo Natin in 1997.
Hot FMFull service, Contemporary MOR, OPMTagalog1999–2017Stations in Cebu, Dagupan, Cauayan and Zamboanga were rebranded as Yes FM in 2014 and then they were rebranded again as Yes The Best in 2017.
Rest of stations were either disaffiliation or replaced by Radyo Natin also in the same year.

DZRH News Television

Subsidiaries / Affiliates