DWRT-AM (990 kHz

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

) was an AM music

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

owned and operated by Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporation in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Since September 9, 2010, the 990 kHz frequency has been airing under the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

DZIQ DZIQ (990 AM) Radyo Inquirer was a news/ talk radio station owned and operated by Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporation, serving as the radio arm of the ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' in the Philippines. The station's studio is located on the 2 ...

-AM, through a

blocktime Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...

arrangement.

History

The first AM station owned by Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporation was 980 kHz, which was acquired from Transit Broadcasting Corporation in 1971. Under Trans-Radio, the station became known as DZTR - Radyo Pilipino. DZTR was a music AM station and features celebrities such as

Vilma Santos Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto (, born November 3, 1953) is a Filipino actress, singer, dancer, TV host, producer, and politician. She served as a House Deputy Speaker since 2019 to 2022 and as the Representative of Batangas' 6th district since ...

Tirso Cruz III Tirso Silvano Cruz III (born April 1, 1952) is a Filipino actor, comedian, and singer. He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Regarded as a "matinee idol", Cruz is a FAMAS Award and Gawad Ur ...

German Moreno German Molina Moreno (; October 4, 1933 – January 8, 2016), also known as Kuya Germs ( or ) and dubbed as "The Master Showman", was a Filipino television host, presenter, actor, comedian, talent manager, producer, writer, and director. Early ...

and others. On September 5, 1976, the station signed off to pave way for the launch of

99.5 RT DWRT (99.5 FM), on-air as 99.5 Play FM (stylized as ''PL>Y''), is a 24-hour radio station owned and operated by Real Radio Network Inc. It is one of the partner stations of Tiger 22 Media. Its studio is located at Unit 906-B, Paragon Plaza B ...

the following day.

DWRT-AM 990

Trans-Radio returned to AM radio in 1985 and launched DWRT-AM (990 kHz) as 99 Rock, playing AOR. A few years later, it shifted from rock to gospel. In 1994, it changed its format again to news & talk as DWRT 990. Its studios were moved to

Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan ( fil, Lungsod ng Caloocan; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most ...

. It aired music, public service & religious programing until it ceased broadcast in 2002. These were the years when Super Radyo DYSS 999 Cebu aired in Metro Manila via weak signal.

Rock 990

In March 2006, the station returned on air as Rock 990, adopting the

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

format. At that time, the studios were moved to Makati. Its music formula started off as an experimental program on its Cebu's sister radio station Y101 as an inspiration by Martha Tuason, and eventually led into the decision to re-open this station. The station utilized a computer backed programming which allowed it to be

live streamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but ...

over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. Rock 990 went off air in the first week of November 2006 due to transmitter facilities.

DWRT Nueve Noventa

In December 2008, the station went back on air as ''Nueve Noventa'' (Nine-Ninety), after a series of test broadcasts beginning October. It broadcast from 9:30 am – 5:00 pm, playing oldies, Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and love songs, accompanied by a pre-recorded stinger saying, "''Ito ang'' Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporation ... ''Nueve Noventa''!" (This is Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporation... Nine-Ninety!). During Christmas 2008, it aired information plugs about Christmas traditions in the Philippines, followed by Christmas songs whether local or foreign. By April 2009, it ceased broadcast temporarily and resumed briefly in July 2009 before going off-air again.

DZIQ-AM

After the national elections of May 2010, ''

Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded bro ...

'' acquired the station's

and changed its

, branded as ''Radyo Inquirer''. On August 16, 2010, Radyo Inquirer went on the air on terrestrial radio and its official launch was on September 9, 2010.Radyo Inquirer 990 takes center stage – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos. Retrieved on September 10, 2010
/ref> The Inquirer group subsequently acquired TRBC, making it as Inquirer's official broadcast arm. In July 2013, DZIQ-AM was rebranded as Inquirer Radio, maintaining most of ''Radyo Inquirer''’s format with minor program changes and the use of English similar to the current format of DZRJ 810 AM: The Voice of the Philippines. The move was abandoned after about a year and then in 2015, the station was renamed back as ''Radyo Inquirer'' and it changed back to all-Filipino language.

References