DWET-TV (VHF channel 5 Analog, UHF channel 18 Digital) is a television station in Metro Manila, Philippines, serving as the flagship of the TV5 network. It is owned and operated by the network's namesake corporate parent; TV5 also provides certain services to RPTV flagship DZKB-TV (channel 9) and One Sports flagship DWNB-TV (channel 41) under an airtime lease agreement with station owners Radio Philippines Network and Nation Broadcasting Corporation, respectively.
The three stations, alongside flagship radio station True FM 105.9, share studios at the TV5 Media Center, Reliance cor. Sheridan Sts., Brgy. Highway Hills, Mandaluyong. DWET-TV maintains its alternate studios and hybrid analog/digital transmitting facilities (for VHF channel 5 and DTV UHF channel 18) at the TV5 Complex, 762 Quirino Highway, Brgy. San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City; while its alternate digital transmitting facility (for DTV UHF channel 51) is located at the NBC Compound, Block 3, Emerald Hills, Sumulong Highway, Antipolo, Rizal.
History The First ABC-5 as Associated Broadcasting Corporation (1962–1972) DWET-TV traces its history to DZTM-TV, On June 19, 1960, Joaquin "Chino" Roces, owner of the Manila Times, obtained a radio-television franchise through Republic Act 2945. He established the Associated Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), with the initial studios located along Pasong Tamo in Makati, Rizal (now part of Metro Manila).
ABC's first radio station DZMT, DZTM, and DZWS. After the success of its radio station, the company decided to expand into television ABC Channel 5 began broadcasting in July 1962, the seventh television station in the Philippines (after ABS Channel 3 and CBN Channel 9, which were owned by the Bolinao Electronics Corporation (now ABS-CBN Corporation) which used to operate Channel 2, IBC Channel 13 by the Inter-Island Broadcasting Corporation) and RBS Channel 7 by the Republic Broadcasting System (now GMA Network, Inc.)
On September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law, resulting in the forced shutdown of ABC.
Sining Makulay, Inc. (1978–1987) ABC's vacated frequency was then utilized in 1978 by Sining Makulay, Inc. (a cable TV firm of Roberto Benedicto who by then already owned RPN, IBC, and BBC) for its cable operations. This lasted until 1987 – a year after People Power revolution deposed Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. (and forced Roberto Benedicto to go into self-exile) – when Corazon Aquino signed Executive Order (EO) No. 205, ending the cable monopoly of and shut down Sining Makulay (a year after it was sequestered by the government), leaving Channel 5 vacant.
The Second ABC-5 as Associated Broadcasting Company (1987–2003) After the People Power Revolution in 1986, Chino Roces advocated for the network's reinstatement with President Corazon Aquino. In 1987, Roces applied for a permit with the National Telecommunications Commission and acquired a one hectare property in Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. Following Roces' death in 1988, his son Edgardo Roces along with Edward Tan took over efforts to revive the network. They planned to reuse the Makati studios but was dropped since the facilities were outdated and small (Unlike its rival ABS-CBN which partially reused its own complex). Tan and Roces secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase capitalization. In 1989, ABC broke ground for the construction of a new studio complex and transmitter tower and reacquired the Channel 5 frequency. In 1990, ABC completed construction of its studio complex and transmitter tower in Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. In November 1991, ABC began test broadcasts featuring Japanese documentaries.
On February 21, 1992, at 5 p.m, the network returned to the air. The flagship station adopted the call sign DWET-TV under a new corporate entity as ABC Development Corporation, with Associated Broadcasting Company adopted as on-air and trade name, a nod to its pre-martial law incarnation.
Early in the network's revival, it expanded to Cebu, Davao, Baguio, Naga, Bacolod, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, and General Santos. By the end of 1993, the network ranked third in ratings, with two more stations planned in 1994 ahead of its satellite broadcast launch.
In the 1990s, ABC aired a public service announcement titled Dial His Mother's Number daily at 6:00 pm, before the station ID and, on weekdays, the news program Balitang-Balita. It ran until 2004, after Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco purchased the network and became its CEO.
On February 4, 1994, ABC launched nationwide satellite broadcasting. The network experienced rapid growth under Chief Operating Officer Tina Monzon-Palma. On December 9, 1994, ABC obtained a 25-year legislative franchise through Republic Act No. 7831, which authorized the network to establish and operate television and radio stations countrywide.
In 1998, ABC began airing Three Minutes a Day with Father James Reuter, SJ, a short daily gospel reflection produced by the Family Rosary Crusade that aired from Monday to Saturday. It aired until ABC's final sign-off on August 8, 2008, the day before the network relaunched as TV5.
In 2001, ABC started producing local versions of popular game shows, including The Price Is Right (hosted by Dawn Zulueta), Wheel of Fortune (hosted by Rustom Padilla), and Family Feud (hosted by Ogie Alcasid). The move came during a period of game show popularity among Philippine networks.
In 2001, ABC began airing a daily 3 o'clock Prayer from the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Mandaluyong. The segment also ended with ABC's farewell broadcast on August 8, 2008.
Cojuangco era (2003–2008) In June 2003, the joint consortium of Tan and Roces sold ABC TV and radio stations to a group led by businessman Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco Jr. Cojuangco, the former chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and owner of Dream Satellite TV and Bank of Commerce, formally acquired the assets in October of the same year. Cojuangco became the president and CEO of ABC, with Jose T. Pardo, a former secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, serving as the network's board chairman.
Under the new management, changes were made to the news and public affairs division, broadcast equipment was upgraded, and the network acquired broadcast rights for Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) games. Network executives led by Roberto Barreiro coined a new slogan, "Iba Tayo!" ("We're Different!"), replacing "Come home to ABC!". ABC aimed to differentiate itself with fresh programming formats targeting the growing middle- to upper-class youth market. ABC continued to support the Family Rosary Crusade until August 3, 2008, days before its relaunch as TV5. The network featured the religious pre-identification campaign "Please Pray the Rosary" announcement before its programs, although this was gradually phased out during the programming revamp.
In 2005, ABC received the "Outstanding TV Station" award at the 2005 KBP Golden Dove Awards, and several programs on the network also received awards in their respective categories.
In early 2007, ABC implemented budget cuts that mainly affected its news department, resulting in significant layoffs and a diminished capacity for coverage before the 2007 general elections.
In November 2007, ABC launched new sports programming, including NBA basketball, professional boxing, and WWE events, as part of a five-year deal with Solar Entertainment. Due to high costs and poor ratings, the programs were dropped throughout 2008. The NBA review show House of Hoops was cut back and eventually cancelled by April 2008. The PBA, which was previously aired on ABC, did not have its contract renewed and instead found a new home on RPN through a partnership with Solar Entertainment, leading to RPN's privatization by Solar in 2011.
First TV5 era (2008–2018)
ABC-MPB Primedia partnership (2008–2010) In March 2008, Cojuangco announced a partnership between ABC and MPB Primedia Inc., a local company backed by Media Prima Berhad of Malaysia. The partnership was a long-term strategy to enhance ABC's competitiveness in the network wars between ABS-CBN and GMA. MPB Primedia Inc. was established as an asset for Media Prima's proposed private equity fund to invest in media companies in Southeast Asia. Under the agreement, MPB Primedia Inc. produced and sourced entertainment programs, while ABC would continue to be responsible for news programming and station operations. In addition, MPB Primedia was granted rights to schedule and manage sales of ABC-5's airtime. Christopher Sy was appointed CEO of MPB Primedia, Inc., but resigned in January 2009 due to reported differences in management style.
ABC aired its final broadcast at around 22:00 PST on August 8, 2008, with its late-night newscast Sentro as the last program. A countdown to the Network's relaunch followed until 19:00 PST the next day when it officially rebranded as TV5; the TV5 brand was also used as the trade name of MPB Primedia in press releases and station notices, while ABC retained its trade name after the relaunch. The network retained its alternative programming line-up but aimed to cater to "Progressive Pinoys, including those 'young at heart to market classes C and D. TV5 also unveiled an upgraded 120-kilowatt stereo TV transmitter. Some ABC programs, such as Shall We Dance, Nick on TV5, Kerygma TV, Light Talk, and Sunday TV Mass, were carried over to TV5's line-up. The TV5 AniMEGA, a programming block focused on Japanese anime series, was launched on the network.
Under the new management, TV5's audience share increased from 1.9% in the second quarter of 2008 (before the rebranding) to 11.1% in September 2009.AGB-NMR Arianna That same month, TV5 began airing two hours of Singaporean content produced by MediaCorp's studios division, mainly its Mandarin dramas and English sitcoms, dubbed in Filipino, such as The Little Nyonya starring Jeanette Aw, Under One Roof starring Vernetta Lopez, Moses Lim and Daisy Irani Subaiah, and Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd starring Gurmit Singh and Irene Ang.
TV5 continued its partnership with the Family Rosary Crusade, which produced Holy Week specials including Ang Pitong Hapis ni Maria (2009), a Black Saturday special hosted by Father Erick Santos, Buhay ni Kristo (2012), and Sugo and Unos (2014). Its spin-off program Family Matters aired from 2010 to 2016.
Acquisition by PLDT, the Kapatid Network years (2010–2018) On October 20, 2009, Media Prima announced its intention to divest its share in MPB Primedia / TV5, along with its affiliated ABC TV stations, and sell it to MediaQuest Holdings, the broadcasting division of PLDT. The decision was driven by the company's losses during the year. The acquisition was completed and officially announced by Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan on March 2, 2010; he had previously intended to acquire ABC as early as 1999. New programming was introduced through a trade launch at the World Trade Center in Pasay and on April 4, 2010, the network rebranded itself as the "Kapatid" ("sibling") network to compete with ABS-CBN and GMA Network.
On October 1, 2010, TV5 took over the management of MediaQuest's Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) stations. DWFM was relaunched as Radyo5 92.3 News FM (now 105.9 True FM), a TV5-branded news radio station, on November 8, 2010. DWNB-TV was rebranded as AksyonTV, a news channel based on TV5's newscast Aksyon, on February 21, 2011. TV5 outranked GMA Network to become the second most-watched network in key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, including Iloilo, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. The network shared the top spot with ABS-CBN in General Santos.
On December 23, 2013, TV5 began broadcasting from its new headquarters, the TV5 Media Center located in Reliance, Mandaluyong.