Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation


The Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation was a Philippine television network that began operations on November 4, 1973 and ceased transmission on March 20, 1986.

History

Following the declaration of Martial Law on September 1972, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation's assets were seized by the government. Roberto Benedicto, a crony of then-President Ferdinand Marcos and owner of the Kanlaon Broadcasting System, took over the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center complex on Bohol Avenue in Quezon City after the KBS Studios along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City were destroyed by fire on June 6, 1973, a few months before BBC went on air. The new network was named the "Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation" after Mount Banahaw, a dormant volcano located in southern Luzon known for its hot springs and mystical associations. Upon commencement of operations, the BBC had the former DZAQ-TV Channel 2 as its flagship television station; its callsign was changed to DWWX-TV, complementing its new sister radio stations DWWK 101.9 and DWWA 1160.
In July 1978, BBC, RPN and another Benedicto-owned network, the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation , transferred to the Broadcast City compound in Old Balara, Quezon City, with the transmitter located along Panay Avenue, Quezon City, with the then newly upgraded 35 kW transmitter for better broadcast reception. This left Channel 4 as the sole tenant of the erstwhile ABS-CBN Broadcast Center complex, then renamed MBS Broadcast Plaza.
By December 1973, the network also operated DYCB-TV 3 in Cebu and DYXL-TV 4 in Bacolod, both originally owned by ABS-CBN. Their call signs were also changed to DYCW-TV and DYBW-TV, respectively. The Cebu and Bacolod stations switched affiliations to GTV in 1978 and reverted to their former call letters.
BBC-2 was rebranded as City 2 Television from 1980 until 1984 when it was reverted back to BBC-2.

Closure and handover to [ABS-CBN]

At the height of the People Power Revolution in 1986, the operations of BBC, along with those of RPN and IBC, were halted after reformist soldiers disabled the transmitter that was broadcasting Marcos' inauguration from Malacañang Palace. Upon Corazón C. Aquino's subsequent accession to the presidency, BBC, RPN, IBC and the Broadcast City complex were sequestered by the new government and placed under the management of a Board of Administrators tasked to operate and manage its business and affairs subject to the control and supervision of Presidential Commission on Good Government.
BBC ended its operations on March 20, 1986. The PCGG awarded the radio and television frequencies occupied by the BBC back to ABS-CBN in July 1986, eventually resuming broadcasts on September 14, 1986. Despite the handover of ownership, DWWX-TV is still used as the callsign of the network's flagship station in Metro Manila
BBC was well-remembered for its trademark jingle, Big Beautiful Country, composed by José Mari Chan and sung by various OPM singers of the 70s. By 1980, its relaunch as City 2 made history as the first national station to incorporate computer-generated graphics using the Scanimate system for its station identity and promo spots, followed only by RPN in 1981.

Programming

Radio stations