DWDG-TV
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
| City | Tuba, Benguet |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | GMA News TV-22 Benguet |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | GMA News TV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| |
| History | |
| Founded | 1995 |
Former channel number(s) | 24 (1995-2015) |
| |
| Technical information | |
| ERP | 10 kW TPO |
| Links | |
| Website | GMA News TV |
DWDG-TV, channel 22, is a commercial television station of Philippine television network GMA News TV, owned by Citynet Network Marketing and Productions, a subsidiary of GMA Network Inc.. Its hybrid Baguio City satellite studio is located at #16. Kisad Road, 2nd Floor, Midland Currier Building, Baguio City while its transmitter's location is at Mt. Sto. Tomas, Tuba, Benguet, sharing transmitter facilities with GMA Dagupan.
History
As Citynet Television and EMC / Channel [V] Philippines
In 1995, GMA Network, the Philippines' Largest Network, launched its UHF TV station in Benguet under the branding Citynet Television 24 (or just Citynet 24). As started its operations, the station was programmed like an independent station—GMA intended Citynet 27 to be its main outlet for imported programming (particularly from the United States), freeing up slots in GMA Network's schedule for more domestic productions. By 1999, the costs of operating the station in this format were becoming too high for GMA. The station was turned into a music channel under the interim branding EMC, the Entertainment Music Channel—which was also the country's first locally operated music channel. A few months later by December 19, 1999, GMA reached a deal with Asian broadcaster STAR TV to allow this channel to be a carrier of Channel V Philippines and it had already aired selected Channel V programming from its international version. This arrangement did not last long—a stake in GMA was recently purchased by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, who already owned MTV Philippines through the Nation Broadcasting Corporation and its parent company MediaQuest Holdings. This conflict of interest, along with the increasing competition from the MTV affiliated network, led to the channel signing-off on July 25, 2001.
As QTV/Q, GMA News TV and moved to Channel 22
After four years of silence in Benguet, on November 11, 2005, the station returned its operations. DWDG-TV, together with other GMA's sister UHF stations nationwide, were launched as an all-female lifestyle channel QTV (standing for Quality Television; later renamed as simply Q in March 2007). With the return of its TV operations, its flagship station in Metro Manila was DZOE-TV—which GMA lease as part of a partnership with the religious broadcaster ZOE Broadcasting Network (gaining control of the station in exchange for providing equipment for ZOE, and allowing airtime for ZOE-produced programming on QTV), with the GMA-owned flagship station in Manila serving as a UHF translator (GMA had previously operated as the independent station Citynet 27, before it went silent in the middle of 2001). The new network would feature a lineup predominantly aimed towards women, with a mixture of domestic and imported lifestyle programs and dramatic series. On February 7, 2011, GMA Network announced that it would replace Q with the news channel GMA News TV. As Q's programming ended on February 20; the network, broadcasting under transitional branding Channel 11 (along with other stations nationwide), continued to air teasers for the impending re-launch from February 21–25, and signed off completely on the 26th and 27th of the same month in preparation for its re-launch of a secondary network a day later. On February 28, 2011, DWDG-TV and other GMA's sister UHF stations nationwide were reformatted and formal re-launch as news and public affairs channel GMA News TV, and as part of GMA News and Public Affairs's plans to expand its presence on free-to-air television. And in 2015, GMA News TV Benguet was transferred its channel assignment to Channel 22.