99.5 Hit FM

DWRT (99.5 FM), broadcasting as 99.5 XFM, is a commercial radio station owned by Real Radio Network Inc. and operated by Y2H Broadcasting Network, Inc. under an airtime lease agreement. Its studio is located at Unit 906-B, Paragon Plaza Building, EDSA corner Reliance St., Mandaluyong, and its transmitter is located at Palos Verdes, Antipolo.

History

1976–2006: The first 99.5 RT

Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporation was established in 1971 by Emilio Tuason after he acquired the AM radio franchise ( 980 kHz) of Transit Broadcasting Corporation, owned by the Vergara family. Under Trans-Radio, the AM station adopted the call sign DZTR-AM “Radyo Pilipino” (unrelated to the current AM radio network owned by the Radio Corporation of the Philippines). In 1976, Trans-Radio acquired an FM radio franchise, assigned to 99.5 MHz and took the call sign DWRT-FM. It began broadcasting on September 6, 1976, as "99.5 RT", as the first Top 40 station in the Philippines. The station was initially located at #10 Doña Natividad Building on Quezon Avenue (near the Welcome Rotonda) in Quezon City. After the building caught fire two years later, it transferred to Suite 608 of the Pacific Bank Building (now known as Security Bank Centre) at 6776 Ayala Avenue in Makati. Tuason also became one of the station's deejays (his on-air names were "J.W. Christian" and "E.T.") until personal problems forced his retirement from the station in 1987. Mike Pedero, who was also one of its DJs, served as programming manager until he left the station for RK96 Real Radio in 1980.

99.5 RT grew in popularity by introducing new British and American acts into its audience. One of the most notable examples of this was in the early 1980s, when RT popularized the song "More to Lose" by the obscure English new wave duo, Seona Dancing. The station kept listeners guessing about the identity of the song by announcing the title as "Medium" and done by the artist "Fade," two words which were descriptions of the song: a medium tempo with an ending that faded out.

From 1983 to 1986, RT was one of the FM stations that delivered news on the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. as well as his funeral, the Snap Elections of 1986 between Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino, and the People Power Revolution.

On October 11, 1985, rival station Kiss FM 101.1 (now 101.1 Yes FM) was launched with most of its staffed poached from RT, Some of Kiss FM's innovations toppled RT in the ratings. In turn, RT was reformatted as the Red Hot Radio a few months after the People Power Revolution and played only new wave music similar to WXB 102 (now 102.7 Star FM), albeit with a more commercial approach. This proved to be unsuccessful, leading to the station reverting to its original format a year later. In 1989, it switched to a modern rock format but reverted to its original format again by the early 1990's and recovered financially.

Programming

Over the years, RT has used various slogans, including "The Sound Of The City" (1976–77), "Your Radio Music Authority" (1978–79), "The Rhythm Of The City" (1980–1996; 2008–2012), "Red Hot Radio" (1986–1988), "Your Maximum Music Authority" (1988–1996), "Source For The Best Hits" (1996–1998), and "Your Music Authority" (1998–2001). From 2001 to December 18, 2006, before its rebranding, 99.5 RT's slogan was "The Most Hit Music."

RT was also home to American syndicated radio programs ''American Top 40'' and the ''Rick Dees Weekly Top 40''. In the early 1980s (specifically 198384), RT also ventured into the music-video business. As one of the early music video shows in the Philippines, ''Rhythm Of The City'', which aired on Monday at 7:30pm on then government-owned MBS-4 (now known as PTV-4), aired videos from artists such as Men At Work, Naked Eyes, Real Life, Michael Jackson, and some North American acts during a time when then-fledgling MTV had not yet established its presence in the Asian region.

RT's popularity was buoyed by its staple oldies show, ''24K Friday'' playing the hits from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

99.5 also became the first radio station in the Philippines to have ventured into having a home on the Internet, launching its first bulletin board in 1995.

New ownership

On June 14, 1996, Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporation sold DWRT-FM to a group led by Jose Luis "Bobet" Vera (Quest Broadcasting, owners of then-rival Magic 89.9) and moved to the adjacent Royal Match Building (6780 Ayala Avenue). Under the new management through Real Radio Network (formerly E.M. Orozco & Sons, Inc.), the station attempted to maintain its upmarket format.

In April 1999, RT moved to its present location at the Paragon Plaza Building, along EDSA, Mandaluyong.

Over the next few years, 99.5 RT's sound slowly became similar to other Top 40 radio stations in Manila. By 2004, most of its veteran DJs had left and were replaced by younger ones. During this period, programs like ''Up and Coming'' (a new music countdown show, which later split into two: ''RT Top 10 Biggies'' (daily) and the ''RT40'' (weekly)), ''On the Decks'' (a dance show hosted and with live dance music mixes by Dj David Ardiente, which later became David's House), ''RT Sunday Sessions'' (where various artists performed live in the radio station's studio), ''The GetUp and Go Show with Joe Schmoe, Alex and Lellie'', ''Dinner and Drive Show'' (formerly known as Da Brainy Bunch), and ''The Playground with Da Kid, Lexi Locklear and BB Fred'' were developed. Beginning in 2004, RT put up an annual concert event called, "Ripe Tomatoes", featuring up to 30 OPM bands playing back-to-back on a single night.

In 2006, a corporate decision was made to rename 99.5 RT to HiT FM starting in January 2007. Thus, at midnight on December 18, 2006, the station signed off as the original iteration of 99.5 RT. For the next two weeks, the station played non-stop music, with occasional liners from the DJs, and teasers about the new station. On January 1, 2007, DWRT-FM officially signed on as HiT 99.5.

2007–2008: Hit FM

On January 1, 2007, Hit 99.5 signed on and presented almost uninterrupted music programming while its slate of programs officially debuted on January 8, 2007. The programming was essentially the same as RT's, but more content-driven rather than music-oriented similar to its then-sister station in Davao 105.9 Mix FM. Hit FM catered to a young audience, whose demographics included youths in high school and college. In August of that year, its on-air name was changed to 99.5 Hit FM.

99.5 Hit FM signed off for the last time on Holy Wednesday, March 19, 2008. Some of its on-air personnel later moved to Jam 88.3 and Magic 89.9. " Nice to Know You" by Incubus was the station's swansong before the Holy Week interregnum.

2008: Campus

The 99.5 frequency resumed broadcast as 99.5 Campus FM on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, under a venture led by DJ's displaced from Barangay LS 97.1 (formerly "Campus Radio 97.1 WLS FM"). The move was a result of an overhaul made by DWLS under Mike Enriquez two months prior when Barangay LS brought in new personnel from its provincial stations and competing networks as a part of competing in the contemporary MOR or "masa" format

Aside from most of the displaced Campus Radio airstaff, 99.5 also included some of the retained Hit FM jocks. The new incarnation of 99.5 was aimed to reflect the earlier ethos of the former Campus Radio. Early in May 2008, the station was renamed Campus 99.5 but the on-air format was essentially the same, with familiar programs, segments and jocks from Campus Radio 97.1 WLS FM re-introduced later on.

Collectively, the station's on-air announcers were known as the Campus Air Force, a nickname carried over from DWLS-FM.

On the afternoon of August 14 at 4pm, Campus 99.5 was abruptly discontinued due to managerial difficulties and struggles with the format's sales performance. The station then switched to an automated all-music format with only pre-recorded station IDs played intermittently between songs. ''BrewRats!'' continued on its usual schedule until August 21 before implementing a one-week hiatus. On August 24, a new set of stingers announced that a new format and station image would be premiered in days.

Campus Radio was revived on March 21, 2009, as an internet radio station but was discontinued in 2012

2008–2012: The second 99.5 RT

On September 1, 2008, at 6am, after two weeks of automated music programming, the station resumed its broadcast under the reinstated 99.5 RT. Joshua Z was the first DJ to go on board that morning, followed by other jocks who have worked with the frequency's three incarnations (most of the original RT roster and HiT and one from Campus). The station initially reused its old and familiar slogan, "The Rhythm Of The City" while pivoting its playlist in a more eclectic direction, attempting to sound like RT's first Iteration but with the use of Tagalog-English or "Taglish" during live spiels.

The station also introduced its 2nd slogan from 2009 to 2010, dubbing itself as "The Best Music on the Planet", also used by its then-sister station in Davao, 105.9 Mix FM. Annually, during the summer season (April to June), it brought back the "Red Hot Radio" slogan, which was originally used from 1983 to 1988. In 2010, RT launched "The Farm", an on-air training program for the beginner/student jocks.

On October 2010, RT repositioned itself into rock-leaning CHR, earning its 3rd slogan, "The Drive", after the Sunday night-only program of the same name, in solidarity with NU 107, which closed on November 7, 2010. Since then, RT played a minority of songs from the 90s and early 2000s (at most 3 tracks per hour) to promote 24K Weekend. In June 2011, RT repositioned itself again into Adult CHR with a slight indie lean, dropping "The Drive" in favor of its previous slogan "The Best Music on the Planet".

In mid-October 2012, management decided to reformat the station. Half of its on-air crew was dismissed (replaced by selected Junior Jocks from Magic 89.9), and some of the shows ended. The station continued to air using the 99.5 RT brand but with new teasers (including a "station under construction" stinger), until December 9 when 99.5 RT signed off for the last time. Koji Moralez was last to board and its last song was " Kings and Queens" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

2012–2025: Play FM

On December 10, 2012, at 6am, DWRT signed on as 99.5 Play FM. Socialite Tim Yap, RT mainstay Sam Oh, and former Magic jock Nikko were the first airstaff to go on board that morning, followed by the remaining RT jocks and selected junior jocks transferred from Magic 89.9. The very first song played was "Play" by Jennifer Lopez. The programming and imaging at launch was similar to that of its sister station, Magic 89.9, and the defunct 99.5 Hit FM, albeit catering to a younger audience.

The official jingles and audio imaging of Play FM were later launched on September 15, 2014, months after Rizal "Sonny B" Aportadera's transfer to the station. The jingles were made by German audio imaging company Sound Quadrat and its US-based subsidiary Benztown Branding, whose other clients include leading European CHR stations BBC Radio 1 (United Kingdom), Europa Plus (Russia), and NRJ (France), as well as Play FM's former sister station 103.5 K-Lite (now under the ownership of Advanced Media Broadcasting System).

Prior to 2014, Play FM DJs had the freedom to time their ad-libs as they pleased. However, following the revamp, most DJ ad-libs were restricted to no more than 60 seconds each time they went on air, except for advertising commitments. This strategy was implemented to allow more songs to be played during each program. Nevertheless, this time limit did not apply to certain shows, such as ''Club Play'' and ''Play It Live'', where the DJs had more time for artist interviews, guest interactions—whether inside the radio booth or remotely—as well as promotions and live performances.

In the wake of the Duterte administration, Bong Aportadera (''Sonny B'') and Carlo Jose left the station; and were appointed by then- PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar for the revitalization of the state-run Philippine Broadcasting Service. At the same time, Lil' Joey became station manager in January 2017. The station updated its jingles, followed by launching with its tagline "Just Press Play" along its current slogan "Number 1 for New Music and all the Hits".

In 2018, CJ Rivera (CJ the DJ), the music and program director of Magic 89.9, became Play FM's station manager, until his retirement in 2023. Rivera died on August 20, 2024 after battling cancer. Under Rivera's helm, the station revamped its jingles again, featuring voice of DJ Renzo from The Home Run. ''Playback'', a music block featuring songs from the 2000s and early 2010s, was moved to Thursdays.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, DWRT reduced its transmitting power, limited its broadcast hours, and transitioned to an all-music format with off-air spinners while continuing to update its musical catalog, despite financial issues and massive layoff on its on air staffs and employees. However, by 2024, with Wave 89.1 leased to Adventist World Radio and 103.5 KLite rebranding to AllRadio, rumors began circulating within industry circles that DWRT would soon be rebranded under a third-party airtime lease agreement.

99.5 FM signed off quietly for the last time under the "Play FM" brand at 12:00 am of May 1, 2025, coinciding with Labor Day and signalling the end of the CHR/Top 40 format on the station after 49 years since the RT brand.

2025-present: XFM

On March 19, 2025, photos circulated online showing Remelito Uy, CEO and owner of Philippine FM radio network XFM and Y2H Broadcasting Network Inc. signing an airtime lease agreement with Real Radio Network Inc. executives at a Starbucks in Quezon City.

No official confirmation was released from Uy or his representatives after the signing, but industry insiders projected the agreement as a corporate move that will utilize DWRT as the co-flagship radio station of XFM, alongside DXSS-FM in Metro Davao, and the 3rd news/music-formatted FM station in Mega Manila after 105.1 Brigada News FM and 105.9 True FM (formerly Radyo5 92.3 News FM).

Hours after DWRT signed off for the final time as Play FM on May 1, 99.5 FM began its test broadcast playing conventional middle of the road hits interspersed with stingers voiced by ex-DZIQ and current DWAR 1494 anchorman Jupiter Torres mentioning a target launch of the new brand set for June 2025.

Despite the impending change, the station retained its airing of centralized on-air advertisement/promotional sponsorship thru Tiger 22 Media as a local opt-out. 99.5 XFM formally made a soft launch on June 8, 2025.

Compilation CDs of DWRT-FM

*''24K Friday'' ( MCA Music Philippines, 2006)
*''24K Friday 2'' (MCA Music Philippines, 2007)
*''Freestyle: "Playlist"'' (Viva Records, 2009)

See also

* Y101 Cebu
*DYBN

References

External links

*

News and talk radio stations in the Philippines
Radio stations in Metro Manila
Radio stations established in 1976
Tiger 22 Media Corporation
{{coord missing, Metro Manila