March 19, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-03-19) (analog) October 16, 2023; 13 months ago (2023-10-16) (digital test broadcast) December 7, 2023; 12 months ago (2023-12-07) (digital official broadcast)
Last air date
December 6, 2023; 12 months ago (2023-12-06) (analog)
Central Luzon Television (commonly referred to as CLTV 36) is an independent regional infotainmentdigital-only television station based in Pampanga, Central Luzon in the Philippines, with the call signDWRW-DTV. It is the sole television property of the RadioWorld Broadcasting Corporation (formerly known as the Central Luzon Broadcasting Corporation), a subsidiary of the Laus Group of Companies, which also owns a radio station, DWRW-FM.
The station's offices, studio complex, and transmitter are located at the third floor of the Corporate Guarantee Building, Laus Group Complex, Jose Abad Santos Avenue, Dolores, San Fernando, Pampanga.
It broadcast operates daily from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. In 2017, CLTV 36 was the leading free-to-air regional television channel in the country based on the AGB Nielsen survey, for two consecutive years,[1] and was awarded the Best Local TV Station by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), Paragala Central Luzon Media Awards and Gandingan Awards.
Corporate Guarantee and Insurance Company building, the headquarters of CLTV 36, in April 2017
Background
As one of the youngest terrestrial television stations in the Philippines, it was created when the Philippine Congress granted it a franchise under Republic Act No. 8219 (which lapsed into law) on September 12, 1997, and it was duly licensed by the country's NTC on January 10, 2007.
CLTV 36 began transmission on March 19, 2007. In 2008, it was relegated to an all-news and infotainment channel.
The station pioneered extensive and frequently updated coverage of national and local elections and natural disasters that hit the region, including typhoons and northeast monsoons. In 2013, CLTV 36 launched their entertainment programming through the Star Mill Talent Search.[citation needed]
Before the station's 9th anniversary, on April 2, 2016, it was rebranded as CLTV 36 Metro Central Luzon,[7] along with a new theme song eponymous with the station's branding, performed by the Chocolate Factory Band, and Star Mill alumnus Jeneal Mariano and Andy Pangan.[8]
On its 10th anniversary in 2017, the station reverted to its original name CLTV 36 with a new slogan, "The Region's Infotainment Channel".
On January 7, 2018, the station reverted to its original slogan, "One Region, One Station".
On March 22, 2019, CLTV 36, as part of its 12th anniversary celebration with the theme "Championing Local Pride" (also used as a slogan from 2019 to 2022), held its inaugural Social Services Conference and Expo (SocSeCon) at Robinsons Starmills mall in San Fernando, Pampanga.
On June 26, 2020, despite challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic, the station launched #SaleseMuRin with the re-usage of their 2011 station theme, "Tawag ng Panahon" (lit.'Call of Time').
On May 14, 2021, CLTV 36 revealed its new logo during its 14th anniversary, replacing the 2007 logo, and revealed its additional programming lineup for 2021.
On May 20, 2022, the station celebrated its 15th anniversary through a business conference and Partner Appreciation Night with the theme, "Ibalik ang Sigla, Ibalik ang Saya ng Lokal na Ekonomiya" (lit.'Bring Back the Vigor, Bring Back the Fun to the Local Economy'), at Robinsons Starmills in San Fernando.
In November 2022, the station revived one of its previous slogans "Atin 'To" (first used in early 2010s), as well as the station's 2007 logo; the now-former logo continued as a secondary until December 2022. The station re-used its former theme songs throughout its history: their 2013 station theme, "CLTV 36, Kasama Mo", composed by Andy Alviz; and the 2016 station theme "CLTV 36 Metro Central Luzon", albeit with modified lyrics and covered by Kapampangan performer Chew the Cud.
In mid 2023, the station began to de-emphasize its pan-regional content, and began increasing amount of programs focused on Pampanga and Kapampangans, while maintaining a small portion of programs in Filipino and English. Thus, the relaunch included the slogan "Pusung Makabalen" (which is the Kapampangan term for the Filipino phrase "Pusong Makabayan" or "Patriotic Heart").
In February 2024, CLTV 36 moved its transmission back in the original site in San Fernando with its newly renovated tower atop of CGIC Building. It ceased operations of the Clark Tower and is still yet to be sold or utilized by another company.
In the last weeks of September 2024, the station has slowly decreased its Kapampangan-centric content and its "Pusung Makabalen" slogan has been dropped in favor of gradually returning its pan-regional content while still maintaining a small portion of programs on its native dialect. Plans of building SFN or repeater towers in different parts of the region to expand its Digital TV coverage on every capital cities of Central Luzon provinces have been laid but has not yet been materialized.
In 2008, about a year since it began broadcasting, the station received its first KBP Golden Dove Award (Sonia Soto for Best Provincial Public Affairs Program Host). CLTV 36 was again honored as the three-time Best Provincial TV station by the same award-giving body for the 2012, 2014 and 2015 editions, along with the award for their programs Balitang Central Luzon (Best TV Newscast, Provincial) and So To Speak (two-time Best TV Public Affairs Program, Provincial).
Corporate Guarantee Building, Jose Abad Santos Avenue, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Central Luzon
CLTV 36 programs are retransmitted nationally via pay television providers: numerous regional cable and satellite providers in Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales; as well as out-of-market cable access in Rizal, Laguna (including Santa Rosa and Calamba) and Cavite. In 2016, the station became available nationally via major satellite provider Cignal.[7]
Central Luzon Television (Main DWRW-DTV programming)
Fully migrated from analog to digital
Since September 10, 2023, CLTV 36 has utilized its analog UHF channel 36 (605.143 MHz) for its digital terrestrial television (DTT) tests during off-air hours. It initially conducted its digital test broadcasts daily, except for Mondays and Wednesdays, from 07:30 pm to 10:00 pm.
Analog-to-digital conversion
CLTV 36 made several announcements on its broadcast and social media pages about a change happening on October 10, 2023, the culmination of plans to convert the station to DTT which began in May 2021.[9] The conversion was later moved to October 16, 2023 and began its regular test broadcast on digital from 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm. On December 1, 2023, CLTV 36 began broadcasting on digital as early as 12nn and has gone full-time digital broadcasting the whole day on December 7. The traditional analog TV broadcast permanently ended on December 6 at 12:00 PHT, after 16 years since its maiden broadcast of the station.[10][11][12]
However, it is currently operating at 2,500 watts, as it is currently not viewable in other parts of Central Luzon, with later plans to upgrade the transmitter power output to expand the signal to the entire Central Luzon area, either through upgrade on the main transmitter and/or implementing SFN transmitters to different parts of the region, particularly every province of Central Luzon.
_(Olongapo-Gapan_Road,_San_Fernando,_Pampanga;_2017-04-14).jpg)
