DZBB-TV

"GMA-7" redirects here. For the article about the television network, see GMA Network.

For the radio station, see DZBB-AM.

DZBB-TV (GMA 7)

Metro Manila
City of license	Quezon City
Branding	GMA TV-7 Manila
Slogan	Kapuso ng Bawat Pilipino
Channels	Analog: 7 (VHF)
Translators	D-5-ZG 5 Iba, Zambales D-5-ZB 5 Baler, Aurora D13ZR 13 Occ. Mindoro
Affiliations	GMA Network
Owner	GMA Network, Inc.
Founded	October 29, 1961
Call letters' meaning	DZ Bisig Bayan (named after sister radio station DZBB) (or BoB Stewart)
Sister station(s)	DZOE-TV (GMA News TV) DZOZ-TV (ZOE TV) (affiliator for GMA News TV Channel 11)
Former callsigns	None
Transmitter power	100.000 Watt TPO (1,000.000 Watt ERP)
Height	236.8 m (777 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	14°40′12″N 121°3′0″E
Website	iGMA.tv

DZBB-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of Philippine television network GMA Network Its studios are located at the GMA Network Center, at the corner of Timog Avenue and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Quezon City. Its transmitter station is located at Barangay Culiat, Tandang Sora in Quezon City.

History

DZBB-TV traces its history to Metro Manila radio station DZBB, owned by Loreto F. de Hemedes, Inc., later renamed Republic Broadcasting System, Inc. of Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart. After the success of its radio station, the company ventured into television. On October 29, 1961, RBS Channel 7, the third television station in the Philippines, started operations with just 25 employees (other stations had 200), a surplus transmitter, two old cameras and no lighting equipment and props.

The station was always in the red and Stewart was about to give up when the program "Dancetime with Chito" became a big hit and advertising revenues rolled in. Canned programs from the United States further sustained its success.

GMA Radio-Television Arts logo in Metro Manila in 1978.

In 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines and the station was forced to shut down. It was not until 1974 that the station went back on-air. RBS, including its TV and radio stations, were sold to a triumvirate composed of Felipe Gozon, Gilberto Duavit, Sr., and Menardo Jimenez who introduced a programming concept catering to the new audience. The new management acquired new equipment and introduced new programs, a new name, GMA (Greater Manila Area) Radio-Television Arts, and a new identity, "Where You Belong."

When democracy in the Philippines was restored in the People Power Revolution in 1986, other television stations began to air, some with their original owners. The political instability of the country also added to the station's burden, when soldiers stormed into its studios for two days in a part of coup attempt to topple then President Corazon Aquino.

On November 7, 1988, DZBB officially inaugurated a new 100,000 watt transmitter in Quezon City. Known as the "Tower of Power", the 777 ft (236.8 m) transmitter helped improve the channel's reception in Luzon, and was also the tallest man-made structure in the country at the time.

References

• "GMA Turns Gold". Manila Bulletin. 2000, June 14. pp. S1-S12. 
• Anastacio & Badiola. "what's the story, pinoy tv?". Archived from the original on 2005-09-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20050908073707/http://www.geocities.com/pinoytv/index.htm. Retrieved August 21, 2006. 

See also

• GMA Network
• List of GMA Network affiliate stations